Bonsai Master Class - by Kunio Kobayashi (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Named one of Washington Gardener Magazine's Top Ten Garden Books of 2024!

Take a master class by one of the world's greatest living bonsai masters!

Kunio Kobayashi is one the world's most recognized bonsai artists. In this comprehensive book, he presents all the essential techniques needed to plant and maintain the most popular types of bonsai--from pines, cypress and cedar to flowering trees and other beloved varieties, including grasses.

Bonsai Master Class is a book for new fans and longtime aficionados alike, showing you how, with the help of human hands, a bonsai tree can evolve and thrive over centuries. This book provides you with all the vital information you need, including:

• A thorough explanation of the basic bonsai types and styles, and their characteristics
• Guidance in the art of selecting the right plants, pots and spaces to display your bonsai
• Tips on getting started including purchasing the plants, assembling the necessary tools and choosing the soils
• Advice and techniques for planting, repotting, watering, pruning, shaping, wiring and protecting your plants, including a seasonal schedule of tasks for each type of bonsai
• Detailed lessons for specific bonsai varieties like Japanese cypress, red pine, maple, zelkova, sakura and more!

You'll be inspired by Kobayashi's award-winning bonsai ranging from classic types to out-of-the-box originals, showing how this art form is as individual as it is traditional. His book will become your bible as you nurture and cultivate your skills and knowledge of these venerable plants.

Review Quotes

"Across 600 photographs and diagrams [Kobayashi] makes the precise art -- and it is artistry -- of bonsai maintenance feel manageable. What with our modern fascination with all things small, cute and perfect for any tiny studio flat, who wouldn't want a miniature hanamono, or baby pine (pictured), in their living room?" -- DailyMail: "The best new books to read this weekend"

"I am always caring for my bonsai trees -- it's as necessary for me as eating every day," says award-winning bonsai sensei, Kunio Kobayashi. A cross between horticulture and art, bonsai trees may be tiny, but they have an immense impact on the masters who care for them." --Kunio Kobayashi, interviewed for CNN Style: "Bonsai masters: The ancient secrets behind their centuries-old trees"

Named one of Washington Gardener Magazine's Top Ten Garden Books of 2024

"This book would make a great gift for anyone looking to get into bonsai or for longtime fans. Kobayashi's love for bonsai is evident on every page and will inspire all audiences." -- Washington Gardener Magazine

"There probably isn't anyone better to teach you how than Kunio Kobayashi, a decades-long bonsai artist and multiple-award-winning exhibitor who owns the Shunkaen Bonsai Museum in Tokyo. He provides advice for plant and tool selection, planting and shaping techniques, task schedules and instructions for cultivating different varieties, including red pine, maple, and Japanese cypress." --Newsday

"American gardeners and bonsai enthusiasts will be inspired by Kobayashi's award-winning bonsai ranging from classic types to out-of-the-box originals, showing how this art form is as individual as it is traditional. [...] the premier instructional reference for nurturing and cultivating the skills and knowledge necessary of creating and maintaining these venerable plants." —Midwest Book Review

About the Author

Kunio Kobayashi embarked on the path of becoming a bonsai artist in 1976 while preparing to run his family's horticulture business. He is a four-time winner of the Prime Minister's Award at the Japan Bonsai Styling Exhibition and a seven-time winner of the Grand Prize at the Sakujuten Bonsai Exhibition in Japan. An avid promoter of bonsai worldwide, he has made more than 200 visits to over 30 countries, conducting lectures and seminars to spread the art form, while mentoring over a hundred young bonsai artists. He owns and operates the Shunkaen Bonsai Museum in Tokyo.