Re: Triangular trees.

**JimLewis** Fri Jun 26, 2015 9:01 pm

The only "rules" in bonsai are those rules dealing with all the aspects of growing and keeping plants healthy. There are no rules in the bonsai art department. There may be a few "guidelines" that it behoves the grower of bonsai to understand -- whether or not they follow them.

Toshiro Fri Jun 26, 2015 11:34 pm

@ Jimlewis thank you for reaffirming that point. to us novice bonsaiphiles in this day and age it looks like a completely different picture. I wanted to help this person who seems to be in a position i was in not to long ago.

kimo Sat Jun 27, 2015 12:37 am

Not triangles but with good "design principles and absolutely healthy" bonsai. and very beautiful and ramified. and won major awards internationally.

kimo Sat Jun 27, 2015 12:52 am

not triangle from Bill

kimo Sat Jun 27, 2015 1:05 am

not triangle bonsai but all stunning from all over the world.
really it depends on the skill and artistry of the involved person. shape doesn't matter.

steveb Sat Jun 27, 2015 3:22 am

Most bonsai hobbyists have dozens of trees. Why not style some as 'natural' and some in the classical Japanese style? I've seen incredible trees that belong to both types.

kimo Sat Jun 27, 2015 3:25 am

fiona wrote:
beer city snake wrote:brings us right back to naka saying: dont make a tree look like a bonsai - make a bonsai look like a tree.
... which in turn brings us right back to the simple observation that few if any of the top bonsai in Japan look like anything like trees.

Perhaps we need to widen our Naka inspirations/quotations to answer Marco's original question and ask, rather than if they must have a particular shape, if our bonsai 'have philosophy, botany, artistry, human quality behind it' which Naka claims they must 'to be a bonsai'

... and Why do we look only at Japan? If we are looking for best deciduous bonsai for example, Taiwan is the best place to look. then Malaysia and China. and for tropical trees Indonesia is the top country for that. Maybe the problem is that most bonsai people are too confined to ideas that bonsai is a Japanese art only. maybe John Naka got a wider perspective than most Japanese artists.