This is only to make sure I won't keep commiting the same mistakes again.
First, sorry if anybody got offended by my previous bluntness. It was not my intention.
Second, I will not call a dead tree "dead" anymore.
As I have been there before, keeping a shriveled corpse for months, watering when the soil felt dry, waiting for the miracle of resurrection to occur in Spring and it never came... So I will refrain from posting any advice on dead trees from now on. It is a learning experience after all.
Third, I understand people buying fake kimonos at Walmart and enjoying them. It's OK, even if they are not real kimonos. Then one day maybe some of these persons will be lucky to read about why a kimono is so important for the Japanese culture (many wars were fought to keep the Chinese silk being traded into Japan, and many people including westerners died on those wars). And then these guys will realize why fake is not the real deal.
Yes, studying a subject is boring. Takes time. Takes money. Sometimes it makes one feel stupid.
But this is the only way to learn, besides killing a lot of trees in the process.
After all it is a culture that most of us are not borned with.
I dont do bonsai, I do miniature trees.
I don't keep koi. i keep colorful Carps.
I don't have a japaneese garden. I have a swedish garden with some japaneese inspirations.
I dont use kimono, i use jeans. Heck, no I dont. In order not to offend americans, I use Blue cotton trousers.
But I enjoy every bit of it despite my savage herritage.
Auk wrote:
I have two. One cheap, the other one not so. Purchased from an old Japanese guy that sold it from a road-side stall. He said it was the real deal.
Auk wrote:
I have two. One cheap, the other one not so. Purchased from an old Japanese guy that sold it from a road-side stall. He said it was the real deal.
I can't tell if this is a joke or not lol
Partly. I really have two kimono's. One ordered on line, the other one really from a road-side stall... at a the yearly 'Japan Market' in Leiden.
There is a huge, meaningless question here, better discussed over beer, wine, or coffee than the Internet.
Do I have to convert myself to Japanese culture to do bonsai correctly? Do I have to live in a lot cabin and plow a field with a mule to be an authentic Appalachian fiddler? In both cases, hopefully not. It probably helps to read about culture to understand why Japanese make trees the way they do, but every single Japanese bonsai person does them differently, so I can copy an individual but otherwise have to be myself.
Japan took potted trees from China and built a slightly different way of doing them. Europe can do the same as can North America and South America.
Putting on a kimono might make you put on a frame of mind, just like we didn't think we could play cowboys without a cowboy hat when I was right or so. Jeans are cheaper.
Ivan Mann wrote: Putting on a kimono might make you put on a frame of mind
No, not really. You need to do a tea ceremony first, to get in the right state of mind, before doing bonsai work.
Best to do that right after watching a Sumo wrestling contest. I personally like to recite a few poems and contemplate some fine art before starting.
(before people think i've now really gone bonkers: nah... I wear jeans, preferably old ones, especially when repotting. I do wear that kimono, in the morning, when it's cold, in winter, as a dressing gown. Occasionally).\
Do I have to convert myself to Japanese culture to do bonsai correctly
I think it helps to know a bit about the culture. I think Europe already has its own masters - and bonsai styles.
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