Saikei Masters In The US?

Arcto

Chumono
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Title says it all. Just curious.
 

just.wing.it

Deadwood Head
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I'm sure we've all seen this video before....at least once.
I've never met the guy, but there are some impressive landscapes here.
Edit...
Sorry.
I thought this video contained more than one landscape.
My bad.
Must be thinking of another......
 
Last edited:

macnut

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Saikei is a passion of mine (even moreso than bonsai). I will admit that my perspective is sorta limited though, as I'm in California, and all of my experience has been with artists from California.

Michael Hagadorn is an amazing artist and his pieces are absolutely stunning, but I would not consider that saikei. At least not as specified by Toshio Kawamoto, founder of the Nippon Bonsai-Saikei Institute and the Nippon Saikei Association. According to Kawamoto, saikei must contain hardscape to mimic mountains, and often contain water features as well as accent plants to mimic a naturalistic scene from nature. I think of Michael's planting as more a forest landscape, not saikei. A beautiful piece nonetheless.

In the U.S., while many people enjoy and appreciate saikei, very few bonsai artists create them, at least not to the level one would consider coming from a "master." The late Tom Yamamoto, who was trained by Kawamoto, practiced in Oregon, and Kawamoto would refer any U.S. interest towards him. I believe there are a few more students of Kawamoto in the U.S. as well. There's a handful of artists here in Southern California that create saikei. Many do demonstrations locally at clubs and conventions. If there are any other saikei artists around the United States, I would really love to learn more about them. Please respond in the comments.

But if there's anyone that would come close to being considered a U.S. saikei master, IMO, is Frank Goya. He is one of the original "iron men" of bonsai who trained under John Naka. he has been creating saikei longer than I've been alive. He's currently in his nineties, and still teaches bonsai workshop classes twice a month, as well as leading a private saikei study group. While his style leans towards simplicity, his compositions convey a naturalistic quality that really define the scene.

You can learn more about Frank, and the art of saikei here:
http://artofsaikei.com/misc/Saikei-091017-web.pdf

Blatant Plug - NOTE TO MODS - If not allowed, please feel free to delete:

I run an online saikei study group on Facebook called Art of Saikei. The topic is landscape plantings, and it includes not only saikei, but forest style, rock plantings (ishitsuki), landscape penjing, and hon non bo. It currently has over 2,000 members and is meant to be a resource where we can share our plantings, techniques, and inspirational pictures. If you're interested, please feel free to join us.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ArtofSaikei/
 

Bolero

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I joined and look forward to your teachings...I do mostly Penjing/Saikei and Landscape...
 

macnut

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I joined and look forward to your teachings...I do mostly Penjing/Saikei and Landscape...

It's a collaborative effort. We all learn from each other's experience and efforts. Please feel free to share yours.
 

Arcto

Chumono
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Saikei is a passion of mine (even moreso than bonsai). I will admit that my perspective is sorta limited though, as I'm in California, and all of my experience has been with artists from California.

Michael Hagadorn is an amazing artist and his pieces are absolutely stunning, but I would not consider that saikei. At least not as specified by Toshio Kawamoto, founder of the Nippon Bonsai-Saikei Institute and the Nippon Saikei Association. According to Kawamoto, saikei must contain hardscape to mimic mountains, and often contain water features as well as accent plants to mimic a naturalistic scene from nature. I think of Michael's planting as more a forest landscape, not saikei. A beautiful piece nonetheless.

In the U.S., while many people enjoy and appreciate saikei, very few bonsai artists create them, at least not to the level one would consider coming from a "master." The late Tom Yamamoto, who was trained by Kawamoto, practiced in Oregon, and Kawamoto would refer any U.S. interest towards him. I believe there are a few more students of Kawamoto in the U.S. as well. There's a handful of artists here in Southern California that create saikei. Many do demonstrations locally at clubs and conventions. If there are any other saikei artists around the United States, I would really love to learn more about them. Please respond in the comments.

But if there's anyone that would come close to being considered a U.S. saikei master, IMO, is Frank Goya. He is one of the original "iron men" of bonsai who trained under John Naka. he has been creating saikei longer than I've been alive. He's currently in his nineties, and still teaches bonsai workshop classes twice a month, as well as leading a private saikei study group. While his style leans towards simplicity, his compositions convey a naturalistic quality that really define the scene.

You can learn more about Frank, and the art of saikei here:
http://artofsaikei.com/misc/Saikei-091017-web.pdf

Blatant Plug - NOTE TO MODS - If not allowed, please feel free to delete:

I run an online saikei study group on Facebook called Art of Saikei. The topic is landscape plantings, and it includes not only saikei, but forest style, rock plantings (ishitsuki), landscape penjing, and hon non bo. It currently has over 2,000 members and is meant to be a resource where we can share our plantings, techniques, and inspirational pictures. If you're interested, please feel free to join us.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ArtofSaikei/


Great info! Thanks for sharing.
 
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