Page 9 - BSAM 2017 Q3

The Exhibition Area:
The World Bonsai Exhibition was held in the Saitama Super Arena, a huge multipurpose indoor stadium. e Exhibition was o cially declared open with a ribbon-cutting ceremony by the regional di- rectors of WBFF. A er the ceremony, the guests and delegates had to walk down a corridor and were rst confronted by a magni cent piece of art, a massive Shimpaku Juniper Bonsai called ‘Hiryu’ translated as the Flying Dragon and designated as the symbol of the 8th World Bonsai Convention. is amazing Juniper, placed in a special tokonoma, was collected in 1983 and eventually landed in the hands of Mr. Saburo Kato who skillfully designed it into its present shape. is juniper, estimated to be about a 1000 years old, is rep- resentative of the history of Japanese Bonsai.
Further along the corridor were photographs on both sides depicting a Bonsai Timeline from its very inception, through its development as an art form and it’s spread to all regions of the world. It seemed like a walk through the “hallowed corridors” of Bonsai Art and impressed upon us that bonsai has reached almost every corner of the earth and has touched so many lives.
Top; The International and Japanese Headliners with Program Director Masahiko Kimura. Bottom; A majestic red pine bonsai from the Imperial collection.
July/August/September 2017 | BCI | 7