Chapter II. First Shimpaku: "Ishizuchi Shimpaku"
It is said that the first Shimpaku to be collected in the wild came from
the Ishizuchi mountain range on Shikoku Island. This is an area in which
collectors had, for a long time, obtained Japanese red pine (Akamatsu) and
Japanese black pine (Kuromatsu) for use in bonsai. These collectors included
experts in mountain collecting who had extensive experience and knowledge
of transplanting and growing new roots on collected specimens. It was one
of these collectors who found in the mountains for the first time a form
of Chinese juniper that would later be called Shimpaku. Chinese junipers
grown in pots had been appreciated for a long time. If the Chinese juniper
he had found was suitable for pot plantings, he felt he could not miss.
Mt. Ishizuchi is the highest peak on Shikoku island.
Wasting no time, this collector dug up the juniper, transplanted it into a pot, and then brought it to a bonsai trader in the town of Takamatsu, which faces the Seto Inland Sea on the northern coast of Shikoku. At that time, Takamatsu was one of the centers for bonsai material from Shikoku, and traders would come to buy not only from Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe, but from as far away as Tokyo. The Chinese juniper variation that became known as Shimpaku first became popular in the Kansai region, and its popularity soon reached Tokyo. This is because a skillful trader from Kunpu-en Garden made good ones available, which impressed those persons having good taste.
Northern Shikoku - showing Takamatsu
The golden age of Ishizuchi Shimpaku existed during the Meiji period from around 1868 to 1878. The aesthetic sense of people of that time toward Shimpaku was greatly different from that of today. In a word, they yearned for a taste of the mountains. The Jin and Shari of the Shimpaku were not greatly appreciated; instead, they were deeply impressed by the natural posture of these junipers fostered by their growing in the mountains. Those with extreme twists and turns were not in fashion, but instead they sought those expressing age in a subtle and tasteful manner (shibui). Indeed, the pictures from the Meiji period show that there was almost no trace of branch shaping. They exercised restraint in pruning the Shimpaku as much as possible, and they did not peel off the soft outer bark of these junipers or polish their trunks.
Shimpaku bonsai of Meiji Period
The way they cherished the Shimpaku was similar to that of antiques. Ishizuchi
Shimpaku, compared to Itoigawa Shimpaku which came later, had an untamed
but sensitive shape and, since they could just be planted in a pot and be
appreciated, they became very popular. Many were of medium size and thus
were perfectly suitable for bonsai.
Shikoku Shimpaku bonsai were appreciate for
aged trunks with not too much movement.