Thank you for visiting!
After years of living in Japan I decided to pursue the traditional art form of bonsai. At first, I worked for Mr. Masumi of KoJuEn in Kyoto. Later, when he saw that I was serious and had some talent, he recommended me to Mr. Urushibata of TaiShoEn, located in Shizuoka. It was there that I entered into and completed a formal apprenticeship in bonsai, concentrating on the development of shohin bonsai.
TaiShoEn was a wonderful environment in which I worked seven days a week, week in and week out, through the seasons and the years for the entire duration of the apprenticeship. TaiShoEn was an unusual shop in that I had a wealth of material to work on, from very small to emperor-sized bonsai which could stand up to two meters in height. At times, Mr. Urushibata would purchase an entire bonsai nursery and have its contents delivered to TaiShoEn. If I saw a technique in a national bonsai magazine that I was interested in, Mr. Urushibata would arrange to have me study at that bonsai nursery. He had me work at regional and national exhibitions. He had me work at auctions on an almost monthly basis. I learned how to fire wood-burning kilns in Japan and how to make bonsai pottery in China. I studied bonsai in Pusan, Korea.
I hope to make this an enjoyable site for you and me! So…”Let’s make Bonsai!”
