2 days ago
Osaka bonsai garden draws admirers from near and far
Michael McTeague, middle, an apprentice at Fujikawa Koka-en, the largest bonsai garden in western Japan, speaks about the global fascination with bonsai to visitors from Australia on June 4 in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture. (Kazushige Kobayashi)
IKEDA, Osaka Prefecture—One of the largest bonsai gardens in western Japan here has become a magnet for international bonsai enthusiasts after going viral online.
Hundreds of exquisite tiny trees are crammed into the 500-square-meter Fujikawa Kouka-en, located in a residential area near Osaka Itami Airport.
The collection includes maple trees with lush green leaves, 'shinpaku,' known for their elegantly curving, withered white branches and 'goyomatsu' with branches that hang below the pot as if clinging to a precipice.
'Unbelievable,' murmured Gabriel Tobar, 53, a first-time visitor to Japan from Chile, sighing in admiration.
'No two bonsai are alike and they are 'living art' crafted over many years,' he said. 'It is fun to imagine what these bonsai will be like 30 or 50 years from now.'
Keiichi Fujikawa, 62, the owner of the garden and a bonsai artist, said that the impression that people from other countries have of bonsai differs from those in Japan.
'In Japan, bonsai has a strong image as something unattainable and a hobby enjoyed by some elderly men,' Fujikawa said. 'But people in other countries seem to regard the appearance of nature condensed in a small pot and the technique as an artform.'
The city of Ikeda is in the northern part of Osaka Prefecture and borders Hyogo Prefecture to the west.
According to the city government, garden tree cultivation began to flourish in the area from the late Muromachi Period (1336-1573), and by the early Edo Period (1603-1867), a wide variety of saplings and bonsai trees were being produced.
Ikeda is considered by the industry to be one of the four major garden tree production centers in Japan, along with Kawaguchi in Saitama Prefecture, Inazawa in Aichi Prefecture and Kurume in Fukuoka Prefecture.
Fujikawa's father opened a garden specializing in floriculture and bonsai in 1950.
After graduating from a university, Fujikawa trained at a bonsai garden in another prefecture before taking over the family business from his father.
Fujikawa then dedicated the whole garden to bonsai.
About 15 years ago, Fujikawa welcomed a young American as his first apprentice, who then began explaining Fujikawa's works and techniques on an English website and YouTube channel.
The response was overwhelming, and Fujikawa has received a steady stream of visitors and apprentices from abroad since.
Fujikawa has opened a residential school for foreign apprentices and began offering hands-on classes in 2024.
He currently has two young apprentices, from Canada and Japan, who are honing their skills in the garden.
Fujikawa's Instagram account has about 26,000 followers, mostly foreigners.
He said he will continue to disseminate bonsai culture from Ikeda.
(This article was written by Yukiko Sakamoto and Kazushige Kobayashi.)
