Bonsai Styles

Japanese growers describe a tree by its style (樹形, jukei), the overall shape of trunk and canopy. The styles are not rules so much as a shared vocabulary drawn from trees in nature: the solitary pine on a plain, the tree bent by wind on a ridge, the one hanging from a cliff over the sea.

Single-trunk styles

Style Japanese What to look for
Formal upright Chokkan 直幹 A straight, tapering trunk with balanced branches
Informal upright Moyōgi 模様木 A trunk curving from side to side, apex above the base
Slanting Shakan 斜幹 A trunk leaning at an angle, as if to the light
Cascade Kengai 懸崖 A trunk falling below the rim of the pot, like a tree on a cliff
Semi-cascade Han-kengai 半懸崖 A trunk dropping to about the level of the pot
Literati Bunjingi 文人木 A slender, sparse trunk with few branches high up
Broom Hōkidachi 箒立ち Branches fanning from one point, like an upturned broom
Windswept Fukinagashi 吹き流し All branches swept to one side by wind

Multiple trunks and plantings

  • Twin trunk, sōkan 双幹: two trunks from one base, one larger.
  • Clump, kabudachi 株立ち: several trunks from one root.
  • Raft, ikadabuki 筏吹き: a fallen trunk sending up a row of trees.
  • Forest, yose-ue 寄せ植え: many trees planted together as a grove.
  • Root over rock, sekijōju 石上樹, and planted on stone, ishitsuki 石付.

Deadwood

Old conifers often carry bleached deadwood: jin 神, a dead branch, and shari 舎利, a stripped section of trunk. Used with restraint, they suggest centuries of weather.

Collecting notes

  • Style guides the choice of pot: cascades need tall pots, literati trees small round or soft pots, forests long shallow trays. See Bonsai Pots.
  • Old Japanese prints and paintings of potted trees are a delightful way to collect the history of the styles.

In the collection

Browse bonsai and suiseki. Our curator desk can search Japan for a particular pot, stone or stand; replies follow within 1–3 business days.

See also

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