"While Buddhist monks and delegations sent from Japan to China
had been bringing back to Japan miniaturized crafted landscapes as souvenirs starting not that long after the art of penjing had been established in China, it wasn’t until the Kamakura period in Japan (1192-1333 AD) that the Japanese seem to have adopted this craft. The catalyst for this widespread adoption was the introduction of Zen Buddhism to Japan. Around the same time in Japan, penjing was distilled down to single, miniature trees, rather than miniature landscapes being the focus, with famed Zen master Kokan Shiren being particularly influential in the spread of Zen Buddhism and defining bonsai as an art form....
"And if you visit the Tokyo Imperial Palace and tour their bonsai collection,
you can spy some of the finest specimens in the world, including one of the oldest known bonsai trees, the Third Shogun (pictured after the jump), which is a five-needle pine that has been steadfastly maintained for an astounding five and a half centuries. [Via -- TIFO]
From Bonsai!
Sometimes Nature nurtures us, and we, in turn, nurture Nature.
Every now and then --- wonder about it and us.
That's like a Japanese panel come to life.
I guess those depictions of pine trees really were lifelike depictions of bonsai, not stylized at all. (Just as astonishing as finding out that China has weird curvy mountains just like the ones in their art.)
Posted by: Suburbanbanshee at July 27, 2015 3:24 AM"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper N.B.: Comments are moderated to combat spam and may not appear immediately. Comments that exceed the obscenity or stupidity limits will be either edited or expunged.
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