Kokufu books

[BoneSci]

Hey all,

I see a lot of comments and sometimes pictures from Kokufu books. Obviously, the pictures they contain are incredible and they seem very useful to study the trees, stands, composition, etc.

My question is for those that own them, where did you get them? I have never seen one for sale, and on ebay 99% of them are from Japan with like $30-40 shipping. Before I pull the trigger on one, I just want to make sure there is not a better option.

Thanks,

Chris

 

[KennedyMarx]

There are several for sale on the Stone Lantern website. I believe Brian Van Fleet linked to one on there in a recent thread. Price was around $160 if I recall correctly.

 

[Poink88]

Bonsai clubs sometimes have them for sale. It is by chance but last year one club near me have lots of them for $50.00 a piece.

Otherwise, I am afraid eBay is your best bet. Maybe put a want ad here?

Good luck!

 

[Stan Kengai]

Bill V at International Bonsai has some for sale, as well as some of the US National show books.

 

[GO-OK]

Jim Barret has many many editions available and always has the most recent at a decent price. He also has nice pots.

 

[yenling83]

Unfortunately they are not cheap, but great books for reference and study. eBay or J-bonsai are the best ways to get them I've found

https://jbons252.securesites.com/ssl_index.html

 

[BoneSci]

Thank you all. It's a tough decision with the price - $150 would get some pretty nice starter material....

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

You don't necessarily have to start with the newest ones. Find one from 10-15 years ago, they are cheaper and still excellent. The most recent show was #87 I believe, so find #75 +/- and you'll be fine.

 

[pwk5017]

When I was still in college 2 years ago, I used the library's "Interlibrary exchange", which is basically a system for all the university/public libraries in America to lend and borrow books with each other. Over the course of a year or so, I found and borrowed many, many kokufu books. The more recent ones were far easier to obtain, but i still was able to track down a few from the 30s-40s. Kinda fun to see a black and white photo of a tree from the 40s and what it looked like in the 90s. Anyways, what I did was scan and make a pdf of each book. I essentially have a digital library of 30+ books. Before the copyright police jump on my back, I dont distribute or sell the books, and I only brought this up to provide the OP with an alternative. If you have access to a university library, I would strongly suggest scouring for these books over buying them. One, they are expensive. Two, they are rare. Three, they are out there to be borrowed, so USE them! How many people do you think use the 1935 Kokufu-ten exhibition book housed in a Haiwaiin library? They deserve to be used and treasured, not sit in on a forgotten shelf.

 

[yenling83]

Thank you all. It's a tough decision with the price - $150 would get some pretty nice starter material....

$150 is too high.

It's only approx $76 shipped for number 84 from 2010. It's a good one! They have older one's in the 60's and 70's for like $45 or so. I'd recommend getting that Takeo Kawabe book as well. Very cool book, with Innovative technique.

http://j-bonsai.com/

Under the books section.