tokyojuly07

Gallery - Tokyo, July 2007

Bjorvala Bonsai Studio

Shimpaku by Masahiko Kimura

In July 2007, just before returning home from a year of language study in Kyoto, Bjorn's family came to visit in Japan. Bjorn and his father Tom took this opportunity to visit several famous bonsai gardens and nurseries around the country, including those of Masahiko Kimura and Saburo Kato in Tokyo and Shoichi Fujikawa in Osaka. Featured on this page are the nurseries visited while in Tokyo. Please enjoy!

Masahiko Kimura
While attending the Kokufu-ten in February 2007, Bjorn met Ryan Neil, Mr. Kimura's apprentice from the U.S. The two have kept in touch, which has proved well worth it in several instances. Not only were Tom and Bjorn invited to visit Mr. Kimura's private garden in July, but Ryan provided Bjorn with the inspiration and means to secure a position as a full-time bonsai apprentice in Osaka beginning in June 2008. The bonsai featured to the right is a large collected Shimpaku Juniper estimated to be nearly 1,000 years of age. This masterpiece has yet to be shown outside of Mr. Kimura's garden.

Saburo Kato
It was a quiet but hot and humid day in the Omiya Bonsai Village. Mansei-en was a highly anticipated destination and was well worth the train ride from Tokyo. Although Mr. Kato was not in at the time, one of his apprentices, Hirao (whom I had met back in February) welcomed us into the garden and allowed us to snap a few shots. Pictured to the left is an overview of Mansei-en in summer.

Tomio Yamada
While in the Omiya Bonsai Village, Tom and Bjorn visited several gardens including Mr. Yamada's Seiko-en. This particular garden was founded by Mr. Yamada and his father and is home to an incredible collection of masterpiece bonsai. Although pictures were prohibited within Seiko-en, Mr. Yamada's daughter kindly allowed a photo of the large Shishigashira Japanese Maple (left) to be taken.

Hiroshi Takeyama
A trip to the Omiya Bonsai Village is not complete without a stop at Mr. Takeyama's Fuyo-en. This garden is dynamic no matter what season one happens to visit. The stark silhouettes in winter, the fresh new growth in spring, the light foliage in summer, and the incredible array of color in fall make Fuyo-en a necessary destination for the bonsai enthusiast. Pictured to the right is a famous Juniper entitled "Dragon Flying into the Clouds."

Toju-en
This garden in the Omiya Bonsai Village is a bit lesser known; however, it is home to several excellent bonsai, many of which have won important awards around Japan. The owner was very kind and invited us in for hot tea (despite the already unbearable heat). After a bit of conversation in Japanese, the owner presented us with a copy of a twenty year old Taikan-ten album. Pictured to the left is Tom Bjorholm with a large Japanese White Pine.

Kunio Kobayashi
On this particular day, the entire Bjorholm family decided to come along for a visit to Mr. Kobayashi's Shunka-en in Edogawa East Tokyo. Mr. Kobayashi greeted us at the entrance and kindly invited us in to explore the garden while he and his apprentices quickly arranged the tokonoma within the museum. After a personally guided tour through the museum, we were invited to have tea with Mr. Kobayashi and his wife. Over the next hour, Mr. Kobayashi kindly answered any and every question we asked and provided a wealth of insight into the possibility of myself becoming a bonsai apprentice in Japan. After a tiring hour of translating between Mr. Kobayashi and my family, we were presented with a gift - two suiseki that had recently been collected from the Kamogawa by Mr. Kobayashi. Mr. Kobayashi's hospitality combined with the unmatched bonsai museum make Shunka-en a must-see for any bonsai enthusiast visiting Japan.