Once the image of bonsai was a hobby for elderly people but now it is also popular among young people, women, and non-Japanese people. Especially shohin and Zoki (deciduous trees) gain popularity because of the cuteness and easiness of care.

Won Prize in Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition

Tetsuo Kinoshita is a young collector in Sue of Ayagawa town. He has the bonsai shelves area about 230 square meters at his house in the west side of Tokame mountain. There are about 50 pots of Zoki and Sanyaso such as Chojubai quince, azalea, and camellia. In addition, he has numerous species of cultivating seedlings.

At the age of 20, he started collecting bonsai because of his father, Toshio. At first, he cultivated an azalea which was popular in those days, and now collects many kinds of trees such as camellia, cape jasmine, and heavenly bamboo.

He showed his bonsai in Kokufu bonsai exhibition this year for the first time and won a prize with a 40 years old azalea “Kozan.” Additionally he cultivates a 50 years old silverberry which had won a prize in the exhibition. The tree attract everyone by the unique atmosphere at his shelf.

Provide Sense of Season

He belongs to Sanuki branch of Nippon Bonsai Association and exchanges information and goods with many fanciers in Kagawa and Okayama. “Most friends are as old as my father and grandfather. They are very kind to unusual young fanciers like me,” he says.

It is important to water for plants in pots. So watering is his daily routine before work everyday. In summer in Kagawa, bonsai trees must be cultivated carefully because of the light rain and intense heat.

He tells about the attraction about bonsai, “Zoki provides us a sense of the season with the flowers and fruits. In addition, during cultivation, we can enjoy the growth with the branches and so on.”

Finally he says, “Trees are living. I want to keep the condition and try to improve.”

(By Shigeo Hano)