Kunio Kobayashi (Japanese: 小林國雄, [kobajaɕi̥ kɯɲio]; born 1948) is a Japanese bonsai artist, and the owner of the Shunkaen Bonsai Museum in Tokyo.
His family was involved in floriculture,[1] and he grew up working in a nursery.
[2] In 1976, at age 28, he saw a Japanese white pine bonsai in an exhibition and was inspired to study the art form.
[1][4] The garden houses over 1,000 trees[2] and attracts abouts 10,000 foreign visitors each year.
[4] This tree, which Kobayashi acquired in an auction,[5] is considered by many to be the finest in his collection.