History of Bonsai

Bonsai comes from the art of miniaturizing plants called penjing (盆景) of the Tang Dynasty period. At the tomb of the son of Empress Wu Zetian are murals that depict waitress who brought the flowering trees in shallow pots. Small shallow pot is a miniaturization of natural scenery.

The nobility in Japan began to recognize penjing around the end of the Heian period. Kanji script for penjing (盆景) pronounced the Japanese as bonkei. Similarly, in China, bonkei in Japan is also the miniaturization of natural scenery. Art that is only enjoyed by the upper class, especially among the courtiers and samurai, and just called bonsai in the Edo period .

Growing bonsai is a sideline samurai of the Edo period, when the bonsai's popularity peaked. Since the Meiji era, regarded as a hobby bonsai style. However, maintenance and watering bonsai takes a lot of time. In line with the environment they live in Japan are more modern and do not have a page, bonsai enthusiasts finally confined to the elderly.