Bonsai

盆栽 / Heian period– / Style / Botanical Arts

Japan's living sculpture: the scenery of an ancient tree condensed into a pot. The stylistic vocabulary of trunk line, branch pads and root spread — and care handed across generations — makes time itself the work.

Miniature scenery in a pot / Trunk line and branch pads / Root spread and patina / Care across generations

Bonsai — 大宮盆栽美術館（CC BY-SA 4.0）Bonsai — ジョン・ナカ『護神』（CC BY-SA 3.0）
大宮盆栽美術館（CC BY-SA 4.0） ／ ジョン・ナカ『護神』（CC BY-SA 3.0）

Dictionary entry

Best used for
Comparing primary sources and canonical works · Extracting principles that transfer to other media
Type
Observe the letters, signs and scale of reference works
Composition
Extract the one structure that governs gaze and information
Material
Verify the materials and behaviors specific to era, region and process
Caution
Don't reduce it to surface signs. Verify the context of era, region, technology and makers.
Further study
the Ōmiya Bonsai Village / penjing and the Chinese lineage / John Naka and the diaspora

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