Shohin Book a different opinion...

Dkozi

I've been doing bonsai for a little over 6 years now. I consider myself just past beginner and treading lightly around novice/intermediate. I collect my own trees and only ever have. I've killed a few along the way will definetley kill more along the way.

I'm not going to be popular for saying it but the new shohin book wasn't worth the hype or the 4 month wait. The thirty bucks would have served me better getting a nice shohin pot and reading any of my other books.

I thinks it's wonderful that Morten Albek got a book deal. And the pictures were really well done. But as far as inspiration goes I could have pulled 5 books off the shelf to find the same stuff rehashed once again.

Perhaps it's just since the Robert Stevens book I expected something fresh and new.

Anyone want to trade a good book for beginners for a nice shohin pot?

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Joanie

Okay, fair enough. The book had great photos, and a lot of good information, but maybe nothing really new. The question is, what IS there that is new and different, in bonsai?

What would you have liked to see that you didn't see? What aspect of shohin was not covered?

Considering the wide spectrum of climates, species, and soils... considering also that many of the practices for refinement are dependent upon local conditions or species... what could Morten have added?

Personally, I love the book, and got a lot out of it. But it would be interesting to know what others would most like to see.

Joanie

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bonsaial1

My take on books.....

There are a lot of books out there. Most of them have said no more than each of the others that came before it. Most cover the basics. Nothing wrong with that if thats what you feel your audiance is. An author can't be everything to everybody. I full well understand that point, but heck bonsai basics books have been around in the western world for 50+ years. We did not need another glossy well laid out facsimile of another book from 50 years ago.

Bonsai has jumped light years since the internet and in fact the internet may be doing more harm to the book business than we fathom. I bought the book, and didn't take away anything new from this book with the exception that shohin branches look cool encased in ice!

There is a shohin master out there. He goes by the name of Kyosuki Gun pronounced Kee-os-kee Goon. I have many of his books. For a decade or more Kyosuki drew all the hand drawn step by steps on shohin in the pages of Bonsai Today when it was "Thee" magazine of the bonsai world. Anyone wishing to move forward in shohin bonsai would jump light years having this set of books.

The books are in Japanese but the drawings are like spending a day with a Japanese master. You would really have to be a dunder head to not fully understand what is going on with the photos on how to make a shohin bonsai step by step with drawings showing the process over a period of years. While these are drawings, let me tell you that in some cases black and white photos accompany the drawings and even the individual cracks in the crackle glaze are drawn in. There are no short cuts in the drawings, if there is a root on the trunk its cause there was a root on the real tree right there and you are shown how to deal with it.

The books read right to left like all Japanese books and the books start with seed and how to go from there right down to ending with masterpiece bonsai from one of the best in Japan. Each book contains step by step drawings on about 15 to 20 projects with color plates in the book as well as photos in each project. All this in a 6 x 8 inch formatt a 1/2 thick soft cover for 20.00 per title. I have 5 of the eight in the series. The titles I own are shimpaku juniper, pine, maple, needle juniper and zelcova.

Those five titles for me cover most anything I wish to do in bonai. The zelcova book is interchangeble for elm and hornbeam, while the maple will work on most all maples and other diciduous trees of that nature.

These books cover making bonsai. No recipes for soil, no hyperbole about "what feeling bonsai is supposed to give me". Lets get everyone making great bonsai first and then we can all venture into feelings, wabi sabi, echo's, art, asthetics and 360 degree bonsai.

Bottom line....
Your not going to make better bonsai with Mortens book, but you can with these. They focus on nuts and bolts bonsai, not feelings.

A sample of one project on junipers, 8 pages long. The tree goes thru numerous pots, with instructions on how to prepare the layering pot and how to prepare the final show pot.

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bonsaial1

This project from the maple book, 5 pages. Notice the detail on which branches to prune to improve the tree along with roots growing high on the trunk. No english needed here. Also notice how far back we are instructed to cut back the roots on that maple in preperation for the final pot. Just follow the pictures. What man needs written instructions anyway. We all can admitt we just look at the pictures right?

Cheers, Al

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meushi

Indeed, Kyosuke Gun does very nice trees... I will try to get his books, they look really interesting.

irene_b

Where can they be purchased Al?
Irene

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bunjingi

I'm not sure where to get them individually in the US but I know where you can get the whole set of 10 books (each dedicated to an individual tree species). They can be purchased from David at www.miniature-bonsai.com. He is updating his site and you will only get a message page. However, if you email him at the email listed, I'm sure he can give you details. I second Al's endorsement as this is a wonderful set. I have many shohin bonsai books from Japan - other than these, the photo books are the most inspirational.
John Romano
RI, USA - the 'shohin' state
PS. If you go to Gun's site, click on the Japanese version and you can explore some of the links - there are many more images of tree development than on the English version.

waltr

Gun's illustrationed instructions are my favorite articles in the older Bonsai Today magazines. So much detailed information in a few pages. This is a series I would like to obtain.
Thanks for bring them to my attention.
walt

anttal63

joanie im with you on this, but you know this is life horses 4 courses whatever rings ya bell. someone one will always be unhappy or dissapointed. maybe they should stop buying books.

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