Bonsai styles

The Japanese art of bonsai dates back over a thousand years, and has evolved its own unique aesthetics and terminology.

When a bonsai specimen falls into multiple style categories, the common practice is to describe it by the dominant or most striking characteristic.

For example, an informal upright tree with prominent areas of missing bark and trunk scarring will be described as a sharimiki rather than a moyogi.

A review of actual bonsai from competition catalogs will reveal that even highly regarded specimens rarely meet every rule laid out for their style.

These competing influences ensure that the style system acts mostly as a creative aid, not a dominating constraint, in producing a finished bonsai.