Page 13 - 2019 01 BSF Magazine_v3

have the best possible grand opening weekend on Sept 2-3, 2018 of Eisei-En, his new
nursery located outside of Nashville, TN. It was then that I realized that over the past
(roughly) 10 years Bjorn has crossed boundaries in multiple areas. Bjorn spent six
years as a full-time apprentice of Mr. Keichi Fujikawa, proprietor of Kouka-En Bonsai
Nursery in Osaka, Japan, followed by 3 years as the first foreign-born, bonsai
professional working in Japan. A talented musician, photographer, videographer,
blogger, audio editor and video
editor, all the while working on
acquiring his PhD and studying
what makes a proper fondue. OK
I’m not sure about the fondue
but the rest is all true. And luckily
for us he adds to our bonsai in
America discussion: Bjorn
comments: “First, I’d like to say,
as I travel around the world
regularly, working with bonsai
clients and groups in dozens of
countries, the only place in which
I’ve encountered this
phenomenon of labeling bonsai

by country is the United States. No
An ancient looking shimpaku juniper, Juniperus
one has ever said to me ‘I want to
chinesas. Tree and photo by Bjorn Bjorholm.
create Spanish Bonsai’ or ‘We are
trying to develop Polish Bonsai.’ Rather, the goal in nearly every instance is to create
simply ‘bonsai’ and whatever emerges from the back-end may very well take on a
different appearance than what one typically considers Japanese bonsai, but it’s not
an active goal on the front end. In other words, there isn’t a forced narrative upfront
in creating bonsai in these countries, but rather a pursuit of art, beauty and design
(all of which are influenced by culture) utilizing living plant material (whether native
or imported) to create bonsai. That said, one can certainly see differences in stylistic
approach from country to country, whether subtle or braggadocios. The point is,
though, that these differences emerge from those cultures rather than being actively
forced from the get-go. Being inventive is a good thing - but only if it’s based in an
understanding of the technical
…the only place in which I’ve encountered (not subjective) aspects of design.
In other words, a painter must
this phenomenon of labeling bonsai by first learn that mixing blue and
yellow paint creates green paint
country is the United States. — Bjorn before he can then paint like

Bjorholm Rembrandt. It’s the same in bonsai
culture - subjective design
outcomes only arise from an
understanding of objective technical application (whether that be mechanical, as in
wire application, or horticultural). Beyond that, creativity is what makes art art, and
what makes it exciting to be a part of the development of bonsai in the US. All art is
invariably influenced and affected by the cultural context in which it arises. There are
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