Chapter XI. Bonsai Nursuries To Visi
Seeing, learning, and hearing about the authentic ones. Those whom I met
while gathering the information for this article: The local bonsai gardens
where Itoigawa Shimpaku collected from the mountains are preserved.
HIMEKAWA EN GARDEN
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| Mr. Umesawa |
3036 Ohaza Suzawa Oumi-cho,
Nishikubiki-gun (along the Himekawa riverbank)
Tel: 0255-62-5558
Owner: Mr. Hajime Umesawa. A modest and honest person. Totally committed to the mountain collected Shimpaku, and you will see the air-layer of “Hiryu” here.
Located on the coast side of Oumi-cho near Mt. Kurochime. To find the garden, look for a large billboard on the bridge crossing the Himekawa River along Highway No. 8. Here, there are many Shimpaku from Mt. Myouji -- ranging from large to medium to small sizes. Because he believes that the Shimpaku bonsai today “are crafted too much,” he is working hard not to spoil the natural atmosphere of these trees from the mountains. The garden also has many suiseki found in the Himekawa River.
KATOAKA GARDEN
421-Ohaza Ohno
Itoigawa City
Tel:/Fax: 0255-52-7814
Residence: 0255-52-3247
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Mr. Kataoka. |
Owner: Mr. Michio Katoaka. Active and very kind. He introduced me to an amateur lover of bonsai, Mr. Ikhara. Mr. Kataoka also let me use many of his old photographs and documents for this article.
Located along Highway No. 148 from the Itoigawa River in the direction of Ohmachi. In addition to the materials collected from the mountains, there are varied works from cuttings to bud graftings. You can learn how to achieve the best condition for the leaves here. He has been working with Shimpaku for a long time, and you can gain much from his vast knowledge and experience.
SHOUFUU EN GARDEN
343 Ozaz Nekoya, Itoigawa City
Tel: 0255-58-2201
Fax: 0255-58-2214
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Mr. Ohta. |
Owner: Mr. Shigeki Ohta. A warm-hearted sincere man who knows much about the history of Shimpaku. He works to foster the dissemination of Jyouetsu Goyo (Himekomatsu: Japanese white pine) as well as Shimpaku. From his nursery, Mt. Kaitani and other mountains can be seen rising in the distance.
The garden is located a little bit east from "Nechi" along Highway
No. 148. This is a third-generation bonsai garden, and the family had a
shop at Ogikubo in Tokyo before World War II. This garden has a deep relationship
with the history of Itoigawa Shimpaku. Hanging on the wall is a picture
of "Tsuro no mai" (dancing crane) painted by Gyofuu Souma. The
garden cherishes the natural characteristics of mountain-collected Shimpaku
and resists changes to that style. They own the well-known stones from the
Himekawa River. The garden’s location is near Kaitani and here you
may hear generally unknown anecdotes.