NATIONAL CONGRESS 2007

On 16/17/18 March 2007 the second National congress of Nippon Bonsai Sakka Kyookai Europe was hosted, as in the previous edition, by Higan event, in Abano.

The activities developed during the event were numerous and of a high level. The exhibition was set inside a structure designed by the organizers. The inside was completely coated with a black fabric which gave you a feeling of a non-definite space, letting each object hang in emptiness. On the other hand, The Japanese house with a little garden next to it, evoked the feeling of being in Japan during some ancient period, creating a very fascinating atmosphere.
The members introduced their bonsais in the traditional way, which were chosen, as usual, in agreement with the Exhibition director, Othmar Auer. It was done this way, in order to present an exhibition with a unique self-equilibrium, which would be developed from the utilization of each setting’s individual beauty.


             

The honoured guest of this Edition was Master Abe Kenichi, one of the most important experts of the world of pentaphylla pine. He was invited by The Mother House of which he is member.

 

Son of a pine horticulturist (author of the book “How to create a bonsai pine”), inherited from his father a love for this essence that most represents the Japanese bonsai.
From his manners and words you can see his life-long dedication to the cultivation of pine bonsai.
Master Abe has surprised and captured audiences with his skills. Even though he is a famous professional and heir of a great tradition, he has also surprised audiences with his simplicity and helpfulness.
The seminary. The Master held a one-day seminary about the Japanese five needles’ pine, 

      

supported by Paolo Giai and Edoardo Rossi, presenting all of his experience to the audience and answering questions about this essence. Unexpected as much as appreciated was the visit of The Japan Consul general in Milan Mr Azuma Hiroshi who wanted to spend some time listening to Master’s lesson.



We will present a more detailed summary of the seminary in a short time.
Master demonstration was held on Sunday with the support of Aurelio De Capitani, Marina Pavanello, Othmar Auer and Diego Rigotti.

     

It was particularly interesting, first because of the Master skills and his helpers’ ability, but most significantly because the two trees he had worked on were his old ‘acquaintances’. In fact, the two pentaphylla pines, property of Auer, were bought in Master’s garden where he had grown them for forty years and eventually achieved a natural appearance.

     

As you can imagine, they were laboured upon with great care and attention and the audience had the chance to see the result of an evolutionary process that really represented the idea of creating a bonsai.
Instructors demonstrators. Members Lorenzo Agnoletti, Giovanni Bonsignori, Nicola Crivelli, Paolo Giai and Mario Sandri put together some impressive technical demonstrations which fostered great interest in the audience.

Conferences. Another important cultural moment had been represented by the two conferences held by Professor Aldo Tollini who teaches Japanese literature at Cà Foscari University of Venice, Doctor Fabio Smolari, sinologist and expert on Chinese writing and finally Edoardo Rossi, one of our members.
The first conference has continued and lengthened the discussion about the relation between calligraphy (sho-doo) and bonsai in the Japanese tradition, carrying on the research done in 2005 and creating a report on styles in the two disciplines.
This work was prepared with the help of Norio Nagayama, Master in calligraphy, who was previously willing to help and prepare some samples of sho-doo for each exhibition used in this experiment.

Such a particular work gave extremely interesting results and opened new opportunities for exploration.
The consul general Mr Azuma Hiroshi, with great enthusiasm, attended this conference as a spectator. At the end of the exhibition he praised the Association for having developed such a difficult and particular subject. As far as he knew, this subject had never been discussed in such a scientific way before, not even in his country.



The second conference, which theoretically closed the 2007 Congress, was entitled ”Evolution on Arts in China and Japan”
Professor Giangiorgio Pasqualotto spoke in addition to the previously mentioned speakers. He is a Professor of Aestethics in the department of Arts and Philosophy, at the University of Padua. The subject, “Evolution on Arts in China and Japan” was chosen in order to understand how art and its evolution are interpreted in these countries and to determine if they are compatible with the actual “artistic” movement of bonsai. The subject, evidently quite complex, promoted interesting ideas for the comprehension of the original meaning of making a bonsai. Our association totally agrees with this idea of evolution, which is not about developing and producing art innovation, but rather, about a formative discipline for the bonsaist.