This tree began its life in training as a bonsai in 1981 when artist Umenori Hatanaka grafted the compact form of Shimpaku juniper (“Kishu”) onto a then 32-year-old San Jose juniper trunk. After the grafted branches fused with the trunk, the original thick branches were removed, which caused those branches’ supporting roots and connecting tissue to die. Later, the dead bark was peeled away, revealing a single, thin strip of live tissue supporting the entire crown. Then, the dead wood was carved

The future of Bonsai