Chapter IX. Last Best Shimpaku from Mt. Myouji
The Masterpiece "Hiryu"
It was called "God’s Tree" among the mountain collectors of Shimpaku even when it still lived on the rock walls of Mt. Myouji. Named "Hiryu" (Flying Dragon), the base of its trunk measures as wide as 60 cm (about 2 feet). The trunk of Hiryu is carved out by the harshness of nature, giving it a very mysterious shape which is beyond human artistry. Compared to the many outstanding Itoigawa Shimpaku found on Mt. Myouji, the imposing majesty of Hiryu demonstrates that it is truly a masterpiece.
It was 1983 when Hiryu was brought down from the mountain. Tetsuya Nakamura, a leader in the bonsai collectors' union, took a central role in collecting this Shimpaku. With several people, he tried to get the tree off of the cliff, but because of its large size and heavy weight, they were initially unsuccessful even after a concentrated effort. Although it seemed too difficult to do, they finally developed a detailed plan and, with a strong will, they succeeded in the end.
Itoigawa Shimpaku named "Hiryu."
Considering the fact that by the 1980s, all the naturally grown Shimpaku
had largely disappeared from the wild, it was a miracle that such an outstanding
specimen as Hiryu was still left in the mountains. This might have been
because it was thought to be too big to be a bonsai. There were certainly
pros and cons about taking Hiryu off the mountain. The name Hiryu, or Flying
Dragon, seems to come from its rough trunk and winding Shari, and they are
strangely vivid.
Following its successful transplanting by Naoji Itoh of
Kotaki, still today it is being cultivated and pruned by Shoshin
Nakagame of Shinzuoka prefecture. Let’s look forward to the
day when it will appear on the center stage of the world of bonsai.
Hiryu's Sibling
Air-layered from the top of the original tree, Hiryu's sibling is being grown in a wooden box. Himekawa-en Garden of Oumi focuses on the mountain-collected Shimpaku of Itoigawa, and keeps quite a lot of these junipers which were some of the last ones to be collected in the mountains. Hiryu's sibling is shown in the photographs below.
Hiryu's sibling.
Although the above Shimpaku is not as good as Hiryu regarding its artistic level and Shari, the imposing majesty of its trunk is quite something. Since both the front and back have uncommon potential, it is a little hard to choose, but I am told that its owners want to show the side as its front where the root is forwardly rising powerfully. I am told that they are planning to place this Shimpaku in the pot by keeping the front as it is but inclining the trunk a little bit to the left and forward. I am also told that they will cut away the upper part which will be sharpened into three or so stalks of Shari to make them look like blazing flames. This tree has the real potential to become an important work as the last Itoigawa Shimpaku.
We may say that Hiryu and its sibling are the two distinctive trees which bring down the curtain on the 100-year history of mountain collecting the Shimpaku of Itoigawa, which started during the first decade of the 1900s. To be called bonsai, both of them need further training, but they nevertheless have very important significance.