NEW SHOHIN BONSAI BOOK!

[Smoke]

I got mine last June at Barns and Noble, Just a fluke I found it there. Good book. The book came out in 2017 and was translated to English in 2020.

 

[keri-wms]

I got mine yesterday! Seems good but I’m going to have to go through it and add “translated” post-it notes!

Maybe we could put up a common term translated list? Isn’t “River Sand“ a classic one?

“Red Loam and River Sand” terms in books must have left so many bonsai in “Topsoil and SAND” over the years!

It has Sekka Hinoki info which I liked.

 

[HamburgerTrain]

I got mine yesterday! Seems good but I’m going to have to go through it and add “translated” post-it notes!

Maybe we could put up a common term translated list? Isn’t “River Sand“ a classic one?

“Red Loam and River Sand” terms in books must have left so many bonsai in “Topsoil and SAND” over the years!

It has Sekka Hinoki info which I liked.

How's that spreadsheet coming along?

 

[HamburgerTrain]

I guess by beginner it implies you are beginning with really nice material that has well developed nebari and trunk. Well worth the money I spent.
I would like to find a book that covers growing methods for developing shohin prior to the stage of development where this text seems to begin. From what info I have seen online there seem to be more specific or different techniques to achieve end shohin size.
Specifically this article: https://www.bonsaiempire.com/inspiration/progressions/shimpaku-juniper
and https://bonsaitonight.com/2020/03/03/onumas-mini-bonsai-growing-techniques/
It's nice having a book to reference instead of having to get on the computer or fiddle with my phone. Thanks op WNV for the recommendation and everyone else that has chimed in so far.

 

[keri-wms]

How's that spreadsheet coming along?

Just post it notes with the common names of the species I’m interested in so far! At least it has Romaji, Meriggioli’s book which I’m also working my way through often uses the actual japanese characters which take ages to figure out....

 

[Enfield Snapper]

Just post it notes with the common names of the species I’m interested in so far! At least it has Romaji, Meriggioli’s book which I’m also working my way through often uses the actual japanese characters which take ages to figure out....

You should try out the Google Translate app, if you have a smart phone. There are other apps, if you're trying to avoid Google. You can translate text from images using your camera. Even if it doesn't translate perfectly, you should at least get the characters in a digital format, and then you can do some digging without trying to figure out how to find the characters yourself.

 

[keri-wms]

You should try out the Google Translate app, if you have a smart phone. There are other apps, if you're trying to avoid Google. You can translate text from images using your camera. Even if it doesn't translate perfectly, you should at least get the characters in a digital format, and then you can do some digging without trying to figure out how to find the characters yourself.

Ahhhhhh, great idea thanks - iPhone but I’ll look for an app! I can use it on my satsuki book too...

 

[Enfield Snapper]

Ahhhhhh, great idea thanks - iPhone but I’ll look for an app! I can use it on my satsuki book too...

It's available on on iOS as well. I also like jisho.org if I need look up things that Translate doesn't manage well.

 

[HamburgerTrain]

That is a great idea, I just tried it on page 243.

Rouyagaki-Old Persimmon
Other names Tsukubanegaki-Tsukuba Spring is coming

The style translations really gave me a chuckle. Shakan translated to 'between cars' and fukinagashi as 'windsock'.

I'm going to start looking for material well suited for between cars style.

 

[Gustavo Martins]

Just received a new book!

The Ultimate Bonsai Handbook– The Complete Guide for Beginners
By Yukio Hirose
Softcover 7.5” x 10”
256 pages, HEAVY!
Over 1,000 photos and 70 types of bonsai
$25, US Shipping $7, ask about foreign shipping

This is the newest bonsai book published to date. Mr. Hirose is one of the top leaders in the Japanese shohin bonsai community and has a garden where he teaches, grows, sells and also organizes exhibitions.
This book is great! Loads of high quality photos with step by step illustrated instructions the basics of bonsai and how to, create, care, train and display bonsai. Over 70 different species are described with information on training and maintenance.
This entire book is devoted to shohin bonsai and should have been promoted as such. For those who love and train shohin bonsai it can be quite valuable for authoritative information. However, the main disappointment with this book is that all the plants are listed with their Japanese names which makes it difficult for hobbyists to determine what species is discussed. Yes, there is an “Alphabetical List of Plants” at the end, but it too, is in Japanese. The “Terms Used in Bonsai” is in English.
Although a bit frustrating to determine what species of tree is illustrated, most can figured out with the “Other Names” sentence in the beginning of each section. Generally the translation is good, but there are a few awkward sections. Taking everything into consideration this book is recommended if you enjoy the beauty, training and care of shohin bonsai.

You can easily order it here:

Beautiful bonsai accessories, pots, scrools, suiseki and Japanese art objects.

Looking

As with most books, calendar activities and management tips are biased to cold temperate areas. If this were a general book, designed to all people, it would need to have a very different approach.

 

[meushi]

fukinagashi as 'windsock'.

That's actually the closest to correct translation for fukinagashi... it's a windsock or a flag floating in the wind. Moyogi is just "patterned tree".

 

[dacoontz]

Got mine and some others ordered. Thanks for the link. Looking forward to getting some additional bonsai reading and reference material. Thank you.

 

[lieuz]

I bought the Japanese version of this book 2 years back at a barns and nobles equivalent when the wife and I went to Japan. Needless to say, I am quite glad to have picked up the English version.

 

[Agianinio]

I got this book as well. I really like the visuals for timing calendar for transplanting, feeding, etc. Even if the month wasn’t exact for my climate it really helped solidify the different needs for different species for easy reference.

 

[badatusernames]

I'm finding this is a pretty helpful first go-to especially when I'm new to a species

Looking as it's published in Hong Kong, I'm assuming the weather and schedules it provides relates to Hong Kong weather. I just checked the local weather in Hong Kong, compared it to what it was telling me to do and when in the book, found a tree I was familiar with, and compared when I would do those tasks for that tree.

I've found I'm likely around a month and a half to two months behind. Now that I have that frame of reference, I can apply it to some of the other species as I cross-check other sources and chat people up. Won't matter as much for people with temp controlled greenhouses.

 

[Sputnik 184]

Enjoying my copy immensely. I noticed the reference to river sand and must admit thought it meant just that. Please enlighten me?

 

[sorce]

river sand

Sorce

 

[Sputnik 184]

Thanks for that. Much happier now.

 

[arjun]

Looks like a good book in an underserved topic! And great price too! On my way to the site...

I just placed my order. Very excited

 

[Lutonian]

I just placed my order. Very excited

it is a good book only downside is if you do not know the Japanese name of trees you will have to google them to find out. It also has information on trees we rarely see in the west, definitely deserves a place on the book shelf