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is at any given time). This was difficult to adjust to at first, but now if I have a day off from working, I don’t really know what to do with myself.
The nursery switched to bonsai when they became popular in the seventies. Do you know what caused bonsai’s popularity at that time?
Following World War II, Japan’s economy was in shambles, having been decimated by years of war and a limited focus on domestic economic growth. In the years following WWII, however, the Japanese economy began to rebound, and by the 1980s Japan had shot to number two on the global economic scale, just behind the US. It was this period of rapid expansion and wide open markets in the years between WWII and the late 1980s that produced an environment conducive to the boom and success of bonsai art. In the 1960s, there was huge growth in the use of Satsuki Azaleas for bonsai-like culture across Japan. This was due, in large part, to the availability of new roads and infrastructure that made it possible to move old, large Satsuki material from southern Kyushu to the Kansai (Osaka) and Kanto (Tokyo) areas with relative ease. As the azalea market became saturated in 1970s, many nurseries shifted focus to developing bonsai. This move to bonsai was really, very simply, economically motivated. Not only were prices of azaleas declining rapidly in the ’70s, but the average disposable income in Japan was also increasing at the time, and nurserymen saw an opportunity to become successful in the niche bonsai market. This economic motivation is also why we see a rapid increase in the quality of bonsai (i.e. product differentiation) during the ’70s and ’80s.
The majority of the apprentices in the film are not Japanese nationals. Is this typical or unique to this nursery?
Continuum was filmed at Kouka-en nursery, which has a rather large number of foreign apprentices and students. When I first arrived as an apprentice at Kouka-en in 2008, I was in fact the only student at the nursery. It wasn’t until 2010 that a second ap- prentice arrived (Naoki Maeoka from Japan). In the years since, we have had apprentices from the US (Owen Reich), Mexico (David Martinez), Switzerland (Dario Mader), and Japan (Yuri Hayama). Addition- ally, Fujikawa-san and I cofounded the Fujikawa In- ternational School of Bonsai in 2011, which provides short-term programs to foreign students. In the past three years, we’ve had students from all over the world attend programs of various lengths and focus. I would say, though, that the model of Kouka-en is rapidly be- coming the “norm” in Japan, as most nurseries seem to have at least a few foreign apprentices. This is not only great for international publicity for those nurser- ies that host foreign students, but it’s also great for the apprentices, as we have an international ready-made network of friends to bounce ideas off of and get sup- port from in adjusting to life in Japan.
What created the need for additional apprentices?
When Fujikawa-san took over Kouka-en from his fa- ther in the early ’90s, he ran the nursery completely on his own (which absolutely amazes me, as it seems like there’s never a shortage of work, even with our current line-up of 4 apprentices to manage all of the tasks!). In the ’90s, Fujikawa-san focused mainly on boarding and developing high-end client-owned material. This was a lucrative model at the time, because clients were regularly spending five and six figures on material that required professional maintenance. Today, however, with the poor state of the economy, folks are buying cheaper bonsai that they feel comfortable caring for
Top; Nursery stock is evaluated and prepared for sale at Kokufu-ten, Japan’s National Bonsai Exhibition.
Middle; Trees in the cascade style are secured for transport to Kokufu-ten.
Bottom; The Ueno Green Club Vendor area at Kokufu-ten.
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