• Japanese Culture

    Bonsai 盆栽

    Bonsai refers to a hobby of planting tree and moss in pots in addition to grass and observing the branches, leaves, the bark, roots and pots, or the whole figure. It is characterized by resembling a natural landscape. In Omiya, Saitama Prefecture, there is a bonsai town that developed as a result of the group migration of bonsai companies affected by the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. As many as 30,000 bonsai fans from home and abroad gather in this town every year. 盆栽とは、木のほか草、苔を鉢に植えて、枝ぶり、葉姿、幹の肌、根および鉢、もしくはその姿全体を鑑賞する趣味のことで、自然の風景を模して造形するのが特徴です。埼玉県大宮には、1923年の関東大震災で被災した盆栽業者が集団で移り住んだことがきっかけで発展した盆栽の町があります。この町には年間3万人もの盆栽ファンが国内外から集まります。