Unusual Bonsai Styles – Yose and Korabuki

There are a number of basic styles of bonsai which we covered earlier, but the variations of these styles are beautiful, complex varieties. The aesthetic of an artists lends itself to bring more to the bonsai work that will encourage an infinity number of more styles and appearances.

Group or Forest (Yose)
If you have a group display, it is also called a forest and is multiple bonsai trees that all exist in one container. You can do this with a number of different tree species, but you will want to make sure that all of the trees are the same species. Different species within one pot with require a very complicated and nearly impossible soil and water management system. Each species requires different climate and sunlight amounts that can make this system very tough.

The yose style also has a number of sub-styles that will be denoted by the number of trees within the pot tray. If you have 3 trunks, it is sambon-yose, while 5 trunks denotes gohon-yose. There is also nanahon-yose, which has seven trunks, and kyuon-yose, which has nine trunks. Each variation becomes increasingly difficult with the increased number of trees. Sometimes, the trees will come from a single root underground, which makes these trees more like large above-ground branches. This characteristic is called kabudachi style and in this case, the trees will be in a central cluster, rather than spaced throughout the pot.

Korabuki (Raft) Style
Trees are not blown by the wind and rain, but are typically knocked over. Rain will soften the ground and the roots will get closer to the surface as the earth has small underground holes. These effects conspire to undermine the tree’s ability to stand upright. Trees are amazingly resilient plants and can adapt to survive under a number of conditions. These trees can grow horizontally and still provide plenty of contact with the earth through the roots and let life continue to thrive here.

Most bonsai artists work hard to imitate nature, even in the extreme cases. Many times, the challenging extreme cases produce the more complicated beauties of the group. These full-sizes examples in real life will provide inspiration for bonsai artists with their own species.

You can find sub-styles that will include the ikadabuki style, where the trunk is entirely out of the soil. Frequently, the trunk will be resting on the surface, but sometimes, the tree will grow like a kengai and are just slightly above the ground. Other styles have the trunk at an angle, partially above the ground. The bark under the soil will decay.

In these styles, the trunk can sprout a myriad of branches that look like individual trunks and will appear as though it is a forest in the pot, but in reality, the trees are all coming from a single root system. The blending of apparent opposites and competing influences is an integral part of this system and is ever-present in the design and execution of this style of bonsai tree.

         

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