Let’s imagine that you have just purchased a big bush and you want to make it into a bonsai.  The first step is to determine where the front of the future tree will be, you remove any branches that are not needed and finally you very carefully arrange the remaining branches of the tree to positions that best compliment the composition of the tree.  All of this is well and good, but have you ever thought about just what is the target of what you are trying to accomplish?

Long ago the Japanese developed a deep love of nature which stems from both Buddhism and Shinto religions.  What better way to express this appreciation of nature than to have a potted plant which you could admire at your leisure.  How does one do this?  What exactly is nature?  It is easier to discuss the attributes of nature than it is to define it in a way that is useful in creating a potted plant. Think of a pine tree growing at very high altitude in the Sierras.  Clearly this tree represents the forces of nature. These forces should be reflected in our bonsai. An immediate attribute is very old age.  We like bonsai that have short fat trunks and trees get these trunks only after many years of growth even though the actual age of our tree may be only less than ten years. A second attribute is survival for many years. Many of our trees have areas of bare wood.  When the bare wood is on a branch it is known as a jin and on the trunk we have a shari.  Both of these signify that in spite of setbacks, the tree is still growing.  To be a first quality bonsai the new tree must show age and survival.

The Japanese view their bonsai as a symbol of nature, not a scale model of a particular tree.  The careful placement of branches on our bonsai creates an idealized tree.  In keeping with the value of a symbol, it is more perfect than any tree you will see growing in the wild.  Trees in nature lose branches to lightning or fire or insect attack and the results are in random locations of the tree.  If the bonsai tree that you create from your bush is successful, the viewer will be reminded of a tree that he has seen in the past even though “real trees” are far less perfect and the symbolic value of your tree has been fulfilled.