Yeah.. got a little too eager. Did I screw anything up too bad? I think I may just leave it alone and study more.
Not really. However, some might say you went about it the wrong way around. I know many websites claiming you need to remove the inner foliage. And to some extend this is true. However, you want to keep as many viable branches that do not interfere with eachother as possible. So in the first cleanup you typically only remove dead and very weak branches. You have done much more, resulting in very little green close to the trunk.
It being an ittoigawa that will sort itself out. It will create new growth inside once more light enters to the main branches and trunk.
What you can do next time to get a better overview is thin out the canopy, removing all brnaches haning down and thinning the rest to have regular left-right side branch pattern.
Most important however it to have a plant. To really look into the structure of the tree, decide what you wnt to make from the tree and work towards that.
Bonsai are not created in one sitting, so take your time.
