Japanese terms in bonsai

[Chris Johnston]

I know there are those who object to terms like nebari and miki, etc. on principle. They may figure that since they are not Japanese and want to develop a Western bonsai art, they don't want to use Japanese terms or be tied to them. Or it may be that they can't quite be "Japanese" enough to really get the terms, or perhaps they feel it is pretentious to use them.

There may be other reasons or perhaps you feel it is important to use the language if you can. What are your feelings on this topic?

 

[irene_b]

Good Topic Chris!

I have a hard enough time trying to remember English!
But some terms are good to have when you are on the forums with other countries in order to explain what you are talking about. And to me it is still a Sign of Respect to John Naka for teaching me the dance of the wee trees.
Mom

 

[Chris Johnston]

Please remember to vote, Irene!

 

[rlist]

I use terms like nebari or shohin - common and easier to use (check out the surface root structure on my maple or this is my under 8" black pine..). However, I think it is odd when somebody pulls out an obscure term representing some uncommon style...

 

[irene_b]

Please remember to vote, Irene!

I DID!
on the edit...

 

[darrellw]

Like Rich said, using the common terms is just the 'jargon' of bonsai, and makes it easier to communicate. I guess one place I differ is that I learned "bunjin", where "literati" seems to be the more common term now.

-Darrell

 

[rlist]

Like Rich said, using the common terms is just the 'jargon' of bonsai, and makes it easier to communicate. I guess one place I differ is that I learned "bunjin", where "literati" seems to be the more common term now.

-Darrell

But you pronounce it boonjin, right???

 

[Chris Johnston]

As far as I can tell, Boon has never tasted gin.

 

[Bill S]

Even though I see the English language being convoluted daily - I'm guilty too, how often do you find yourself saying huh(worse for me because I am raising a 2 year old, and really try to use full real words and sentances.) - I will use a mix of the the common Japanese terms, and just plain common terms. I like the idea of keeping it common for international purposes, but I don't really see it as a problem from my experiance on the boards for the last few years.

I also plead a little lazy, I will use my time exploring for info that will create better bonsai, if for no other reason that spare time for me is few and far between.

 

[Chris Johnston]

Man, I obviously made the poll choices too obvious...