Comprising a Life

In 1981, I invited a client  out to visit my bonsai collection. He was so taken by the bonsai, he felt I should visit the Mecca of my art and paid for my entire trip to Japan. I chose a bonsai tour led by bonsai legends, John Naka and Ben Oki.

It visited all the famous bonsai nurseries in Japan and took in many private collections as well. As we made our way, first from the Southern most island of Kyushu up through the main island of Honshu to Tokyo and surrounding areas. We stopped at any bonsai exhibitions we saw, scheduled or not.

Our tour also provided visits to many shrines and temples and included visits to the major cities of Nagasaki, Kyoto, Nagoya, Osaka and Yokohama.

Of course we spent a lot of time in Omiya (an hours train ride from Tokyo), famous for its bonsai nurseries. The tour also included a visit to Tokoname famous for its bonsai pottery and members were able to purchase or order bonsai pots right from the potters there.

The following pictures were taken in and around Kyoto.

The following photographs were taken at Nikko, home to the famous Toshogu Shrine.

The Toshogu Shrine is where the famous Shogun of the Edo Period in the 17th century, Tokugawa Ieyasu, was worshiped after his death. It became as luxurious and elaborate as it looks today when the grandson of Ieyasu, the third Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu, reconstructed it. The engravings on the Yomei-mon Gate are especially overwhelming, provided with every luxury imaginable and redolent in gorgeous colors. The engravings of the three monkeys in Shinkyu-sha and the statue of Nemuri-neko, the sleeping cat, are also well known.