Tanuki second season

october

Masterpiece
Messages
3,444
Reaction score
325
Location
Massachusetts
Hello all,
This is a Tanuki created in a workshop given by John Romano last year. The tree has done remarkably well as far as health. John attached the live tree and I styled and repotted it. The coke can is for size reference. I have an affinity for a good shohin. So, I thought that making a shohin tanuki would be a little different.. It seems that Tanuki are usually medium to large creations...

Rob
 

Attachments

  • pictures2 036.jpg
    pictures2 036.jpg
    190.9 KB · Views: 164
  • 1.jpg
    1.jpg
    182.5 KB · Views: 161
Last edited:

kakejiku

Chumono
Messages
654
Reaction score
484
Location
Salt Lake CIty Utah
Sorry unrelated to bonsai, but a fun song about Tanuki.

Tan, Tan Tanuki
Tanuki no Kin
Kaze mo nai noni,
Bura Bura...
 

bonsaiTOM

Mame
Messages
210
Reaction score
1
Location
Cedarville, NY, USA
USDA Zone
4
Not familiar with this. Is Tanuki any different than the Phoenix graft technique? :confused:

I like what I see here. Your tree type is?
 

october

Masterpiece
Messages
3,444
Reaction score
325
Location
Massachusetts
Hello kakejiku.. Is there a translation for the song?:)

Hello and thank you bonsaiTOM...A Tanuki is the same thing as a phoenix graft. Its kind of like saying you have a a bonsai in the miyogi style which is an informal upright style. Phoenix graft is the american version, which I believe was coined by Dan Robinson many years ago.

The tree is a shimpaku juniper, Kishu shimpaku, I believe. The live tree was a young tree with about 4or 5 trunks and some small branches. Before it was attached, I kind of bent each trunk/branch to coincide with the open areas of tree. This made it more assuring of where all the main branches would be wired to after the tree was attached.

The only thing is, even after leaving the wire on for around 10 months, it really didn't take very well. This new image is the second full wiring..I think since it is probably Kishu, it is going to take an extremely long time to set.

Rob
 

kakejiku

Chumono
Messages
654
Reaction score
484
Location
Salt Lake CIty Utah
Hello kakejiku.. Is there a translation for the song?:)

Tanuki is a native animal to Japan...in Sanseido dictionary it says Racoon Dog. It is the trickster in Japanese folklore, like the coyote to Native Americans...Which made me wonder why Japanese used the name for this technique...

It is a short song about the physical traits of the Tanuki.
 

bonsai barry

Omono
Messages
1,374
Reaction score
58
Location
Cental Coast of California
USDA Zone
9
The tree is progressing nicely. I like the way the deadwood is surrounded by the foliage. I'd like to see a photo of the backside of this phoenix graft.
 

cquinn

Shohin
Messages
336
Reaction score
3
Tanuki is a native animal to Japan...in Sanseido dictionary it says Racoon Dog. It is the trickster in Japanese folklore, like the coyote to Native Americans...Which made me wonder why Japanese used the name for this technique...

It is a short song about the physical traits of the Tanuki.

They used the name, because a tanuki bonsai is pretending to be something it's not. John Naka even had one removed from one of his shows and made the artist get "A Real Bonsai" to put in it's place. They aren't really looked high upon in the traditional bonsai community. It's kind of like getting accolades before you've really earned them through strife and years of living. It takes the soul out of bonsai. Bonsai is not just about making images of larger trees, its a lot deeper than that.
 

Dwight

Chumono
Messages
599
Reaction score
7
Location
El Paso , TX
Just my two cwnts worth but real convincing tanuki take both time skill and artistic vision. I lost two Cal junipers to a hard freeze this winter. Both have beautiful deadwood and both are going to become tanuki ( I hope ). I expect the process to take at least five years to get to the point where the trees are even slightly convincing and another five to produce what could pass as a bonsai. This is a very similar time frame to grafting shimpacu onto Cal juniper , RMJ or anything else so I have to disagree ( politely ) with the idea of tanuki is some sort of shortcut. The problem arises when some fool tries to say a tanuki with ( for example ) shimpacu foilage is a REAL shimpacu. Thats an out right lie. So well done tanuki have a place in bonsai as long as the creator is honest about the process and the result. In my humble and inexperienved opinion tanuki are almost as much bonsai as grafted RMJ or any other tree that is a " constructed " bonsai
 

cquinn

Shohin
Messages
336
Reaction score
3
Just my two cwnts worth but real convincing tanuki take both time skill and artistic vision. I lost two Cal junipers to a hard freeze this winter. Both have beautiful deadwood and both are going to become tanuki ( I hope ). I expect the process to take at least five years to get to the point where the trees are even slightly convincing and another five to produce what could pass as a bonsai. This is a very similar time frame to grafting shimpacu onto Cal juniper , RMJ or anything else so I have to disagree ( politely ) with the idea of tanuki is some sort of shortcut. The problem arises when some fool tries to say a tanuki with ( for example ) shimpacu foilage is a REAL shimpacu. Thats an out right lie. So well done tanuki have a place in bonsai as long as the creator is honest about the process and the result. In my humble and inexperienved opinion tanuki are almost as much bonsai as grafted RMJ or any other tree that is a " constructed " bonsai


I agree with that, and I'll also say I don't like "constructed trees". It's more of a Japanese mindset in what's beautiful. My teacher uses the term "Time Honored" and I believe that's appropriate. I bet Al can tell you from his extensive study of display, that bonsai at the higher levels gets more and more away from the trees and more into feelings (Wabi and Sabi maybe). Time honored trees aid in this.
 

Dwight

Chumono
Messages
599
Reaction score
7
Location
El Paso , TX
Of course as Americans we have to do it our way. I personally like tanuki just fine if it saves a nice piece of dead wood.The wood itself is beautiful but it'as more beautiful with some nice living growth on it.
 

cquinn

Shohin
Messages
336
Reaction score
3
Of course as Americans we have to do it our way. I personally like tanuki just fine if it saves a nice piece of dead wood.The wood itself is beautiful but it'as more beautiful with some nice living growth on it.


Right, the american way lately seems to be do it quickly, no time for genuiness, just make it at least look right. That's not just bonsai either.
 

october

Masterpiece
Messages
3,444
Reaction score
325
Location
Massachusetts
Tanuki is a native animal to Japan...in Sanseido dictionary it says Racoon Dog.

Hello kakejiku... Yes, it is a badger like animal known for trickery.

Hello cquinn.. I also believe that tanuki should not be entered in shows..As far as real bonsai, even though I like mine very much. I do not really consider it a real bonsai. I do however, consider it a young live tree and a beautiful piece of driftwood working together to form a beautiful composition. When I saw that there was a workshop being given, I was curious and wanted to try it.

Also, I know that Kimura created one of the best tanuki I have ever seen. In fact, he has his own way of doing it. He pre grows small junipers with triangle, sphere like root systems and plants them in the tree. So although I do agree that they should not be in shows, they have some merit on another level since Kimura has spent time creating them..

Hello Dwight.. I have never introduced this tree to anyone as anything but what it is.. Whenever I show it in pictures or to someone in person. I always describe the process on how it was created and what is is. It is true that many things in bonsai take a great amount of time to achieve good results.. However, sometimes, beaaty can be created in a relatively short time. I have noticed lately that it seems that many masters are creating beautiful trees (real bonsai) in a very short time.

For my tunuki, it is a very small creation and the tree had all the necessary branches to get a pretty good form from the start...:)

Rob
 

Dwight

Chumono
Messages
599
Reaction score
7
Location
El Paso , TX
Well I for one sure like it and in many ways thats all that matters.
 

october

Masterpiece
Messages
3,444
Reaction score
325
Location
Massachusetts
Thank you Dwight

Hello Bonsai Barry..Here are the other views.. The back, left and right...

Rob
 

Attachments

  • pictures2 083.jpg
    pictures2 083.jpg
    195.3 KB · Views: 38
  • pictures2 086.jpg
    pictures2 086.jpg
    187.5 KB · Views: 32
  • pictures2 085.jpg
    pictures2 085.jpg
    188.8 KB · Views: 40
Top Bottom