🌳BONSAI BONANZA🤏
Kyōto hosts 2 major exhibitions of Bonsai each year at the Miyako Messe: the 'Nihon Bonsai Taikanten' (日本盆栽大観展) in Autumn, and the 'Gafūten Shōhin' (小品盆栽 雅風展) in January, which focuses on Bonsai so small they can be held in the palm of your hand.
Some time during the Tang dynasty, 'penjing' (盆景), the Chinese tradition of creating miniature landscapes in a tray, arrived in Japan. Here the emphasis moved from creating entire scenes to focusing on individual trees, replicating full-grown specimens on a minute scale.
#Japan
Penjing began to arrive in Japan from the 7thC, brought back from the mainland by returning embassy officials and Buddhist students, but the first appearance of (what we would recognize as) Bonsai in Japanese art is in the 1195 'Saigyō Monogatari emaki' (西行物語絵巻).
#bonsai
🍃DEADWOOD BONSAI💀
Some of the most stunning Bonsai utilize deadwood as part of their overall aesthetic: 'jin' (神) is a branch stripped bare, 'shari' (舎利) is a bark-less part of the trunk, and an 'uro' (洞) is a hollow or irregular-shaped wound in the trunk.
#bonsai #盆栽
The process of creating deadwood takes great skill & a lot of time (often many years). It is a complex task that involves killing, stripping, bleaching & painting (with lime sulfur) each portion.

🦴jin (神 kami/spirit)
🦴shari (舎利 bones left after cremation)
🦴uro (洞 hollow)
Some of Japan's earliest depictions of dwarf trees appear in the 'Ippen Shōnin-eden' (一遍上人絵伝 1299), 'Kasuga-gongen-genki-e' (春日権現験記絵 1309) & 'Boki-ekotoba' (慕帰絵詞 1351) scrolls. Zen monks in particular promoted 'penjing' as a cultured pastime to leading figures.
In the 14thC dwarf trees were known as 'Hachi-no-ki' (鉢の木), after the deepish bowls they were grown in. A famous 1383 Noh play by Zeami (世阿弥) called 'Hachi-no-ki' (in which a Samurai burns his last 3 trees to warm a traveling monk) helped popularize these proto-Bonsai.
This stunning 500-year old Bonsai was recipient of the "Prime Minister's Award" (内閣総理大臣賞).

One of the key factors in determining the 'worth' of Bonsai is their age. It's only after about 100 years that their value truly increases, so many trees become treasured heirlooms.
As the 'Nihon Bonsai Taikanten' (日本盆栽大観展) is held at the end of fall, there were many wonderful autumnal trees on display.

My favourite was a miniature persimmon, under which an elderly chap took a nap.
#Japan #bonsai #盆栽 #Kyoto #京都
The 'Sandai-shōgun-no-matsu' (三代将軍の松), not pictured, is a National Treasure and one of the oldest Bonsai. Planted in 1610, it is thought Shōgun Tokugawa Iemitsu (徳川家光) at one time cared for the tree (thus the name). It's now part of the Tōkyō Imperial Palace collection.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Camellia Tea Ceremony

Camellia Tea Ceremony Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @camelliakyoto

12 Jan
🎎2022🍵
It may be the freezing sleet & miserable weather, or it may be the flurry of guests cancelling their spring vacations (uncertain about the Japanese government's plans), but I'm feeling gloomy today😔

BUT...rather than wallow, let me show you around our small business🙇‍♂️ ImageImageImageImage
🌸OUR TWO TEAHOUSES🍁

🙇‍♂️Camellia Garden is across the road from Ryōan-ji (竜安寺), west Kyōto.
tea-kyoto.com/garden

🙇Camellia Flower is on Ninenzaka, close to Kōdai-ji (高台寺) & Kiyomizu-dera (清水寺), east Kyōto.
Kimono rental is available here.
tea-kyoto.com/flower ImageImageImageImage
A shoutout to the wonderful guests that have managed to visit us over the last year, especially the lovely @stonecoldkilzer, @PaprikaGirl_JP, and @kimono_haxel🙇‍♂️🙏🍵💕

➡️tea-kyoto.com
#Japan #Kyoto #京都 #teaceremony #茶道 #CamelliaTeaCeremony #茶道体験カメリ ImageImageImageImage
Read 11 tweets
12 Jan
🎍SAYING GOODBYE TO THE NEW YEAR🤔

In many countries Christmas decorations are taken down on the 12th day of Christmas (January 6th), also known as Epiphany. To keep them up any longer is nowadays considered bad luck.
But what about Japan? Well, that depends where you live. ImageImageImageImage
In Japan the New Year holiday period is known as 'Matsu-no-uchi' (松の内).
From December 13th ('Shōgatsu-goto Hajime' 正月事始め) preparations for welcoming the New Year begin: pine decorations are cut/bought ('Matsu-mukae' 松迎え) & the house is cleaned ('Susu-harai' すす払い). ImageImageImageImage
When does the New Year period end?
Well, in eastern Japan it usually finishes on January 7th, but in western Japan it goes on until the 15th.
In 1662 the Shōgun fixed January 7th as the 'end' of the New Year...but this decree arrived late in the west, so they settled on the 15th.
Read 9 tweets
11 Jan
🍵HANGING THE MOSS🌱
Just as people are beginning to take down their New Year decorations, a bundle of green appears in the tea room.
Known in English as ground pine, wolf’s-foot clubmoss and stag’s-horn clubmoss, 'hikage-no-kazura' (日陰蔓) will adorn the alcove for a few weeks. ImageImageImageImage
With the spread of Omicron, we've put our official Hatsugama (初釜 first tea ceremony of the year) on hold😑...but rather than feeling glum, we've been toasting the fresh year here in the office with Nijō Wakasaya's (二條若狭屋) 'New Year Amabie' (アマビエ~ニューイヤー~) 🥳🎉 ImageImageImageImage
Nijō Wakasaya's seasonal Amabie-themed sweets have been a constant delight throughout the pandemic.
➡️@616wakasaya
'New Year Amabie' mimics a kagami mochi (鏡餅)🍊🤣

A previous thread about the disease-deflecting 'deity' Amabie⬇️

#Japan #Amabie #和菓子 ImageImageImageImage
Read 14 tweets
8 Oct 21
🐈FRIDAY FELINES AND REFRESHMENTS🍬

Golden hour at Ginkaku-ji's (銀閣寺) Kōgetsudai (向月台) and Ginshadan (銀沙灘), representations in white sand of (possibly) Mt. Fuji (富士山) and China's Lake Xi (西湖 'West Lake').

#Ginkakuji #銀閣寺 #Jishōji #慈照寺 #Kyoto #京都 #Japan
And what better sweets to enjoy with a trip to the 'Silver Pavilion' than Tawaraya Yoshitomi's (俵屋吉富) 'ginshadan' (銀沙灘).
Flavoured with hama-natto (浜納豆), the higashi (干菓子) have a sweet and salty taste that pairs perfectly with matcha🍵🙌

➡️@tawaraya_unryu
#matcha
The sand mound has a small depression at its summit to give it an even more Mt. Fuji-like appearance, and indicating that the garden was best viewed from the upper floor of the pavilion. White Shirakawa sand (白川砂) was chosen to best reflect the light of the full moon.
#Japan
Read 10 tweets
7 Oct 21
⛩️SEIMEI'S SHRINE⭐️
It may be small, and is perhaps not as attractive as other nearby shrines, but Seimei-jinja's (晴明神社) grounds are filled with interesting monuments and memorials to Abe-no-Seimei (安倍晴明 921-1005) and his mysterious life.
#Japan #Kyoto #晴明神社 #京都
1) SHIKIGAMI (式神)

Shikigami are somewhat unruly spirits summoned by onmyōji (陰陽師) to serve them. Invisible to almost everyone but the summoner, they would -for the most part- act like normal servants, performing household chores or secretarial duties.
#Japan #式神 #folklore
Fearsome in appearance, the shikigami's powers were connected to the strength of their master. Thus it is of no surprise that Seimei (安倍晴明) was said to have had 12 'shikijin' (式神), mostly performing simple tasks such as guarding his residence or opening gates.
#安倍晴明
Read 21 tweets
6 Oct 21
🪄ABE-NO-SEIMEI🦊
Abe-no-Seimei (安倍晴明 921-1005) is often thought of as the 'Merlin of Japan'.
Celebrated as Japan’s most successful onmyōji (陰陽師), Seimei served 6 emperors, & thanks to a prominent career and long (sickness free) life came to be viewed as a magical figure. ImageImageImageImage
Long after he had died, Seimei was the subject of countless stories and miraculous legends.

As an onmyōji (陰陽師) Seimei worked in the palace's onmyō-ryō (陰陽寮 'Bureau of Yin-Yang Divination'), responsible for geomantic and spiritual matters.
#folklorethursday #Japan #Kyoto ImageImageImageImage
Amongst his many tasks was onmyō (Yin-Yang divination), tenmon (天文-astronomy), koyomi (暦-calendar making), & rōkoku (漏刻-time keeping).

Seimei was charged with protecting the court by predicting future events, something he became so adept at that he was in constant demand. ImageImageImageImage
Read 16 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(