The History of Bonsai

By: Chad Burrer

What is bonsai? With 'bon' meaning tray or dish and 'sai' meaning tree, bonsai means tree planted in a dish. Some may call bonsai the art of deformity.

The Chinese were the first to plant miniature trees in dishes. One of the earliest chinese legends proclaims that an emperor from the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. - 220 A.D.) created a landscape in his courtyard complete with hills, valleys, rivers, lakes, and trees that represented his entire empire. He created the landscape to gaze upon. At this time the art was considered pun-sai. The differences between pun-sai and bonsai are trivial.

During the Heian period (794 - 1191 A.D.), the Japanese caught wave of the art. At first, the art was only practed by the wealthy. The art was not practiced by common people until the Chinese invasion of Japan. After the establishment of bonsai in Japan, many refinements developed.

Bonsai did not reach the North America until the end of World War II. The soldiers returning from Japan with bonsai created interest for bonsai. Even though most of the tees brought to America died in short time after their arrival, the trees survived long enough to create a desire for bonsai.

Today, bonsai is a commercial industry. Bonsai are sold in department stores, garden centers, and nurseries. With evolving uses of growing techniques, bonsai can reflect personal tastes and times. Although the Japanese tend to focus on using native species for their bonsai, many species have been adapted to the art. Bonsai is a representative of how small the world is through it's many cultures.

Interesting Related Sites

The Bonsai Site

Bonsai Web