Bonsai (Japanese: 盆栽, "tray gardening") is the art of growing miniature trees and plants, kept small by being grown in a pot and by the use of skilled pruning, formed to create an aesthetic shape and the illusion of age, although many bonsai trees are quite old and simply show their age in miniature form. The Chinese art of penjing is very similar to and is the precursor of the Japanese art of bonsai.

History

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Sketches of trees grown in pots sometimes with rock or other decoration, apparently used for decorative purposes, occur in Egyptian tombs, dated over 4,000 years old. Subsequently, caravans were known to transport trees in containers of various kinds throughout Asia. The trees were sources of chemicals used medicinally by healers in the caravans and places visited along the way.

The modern-day art of bonsai originates from China over two thousand years ago, where it has been called penzai (盆栽) and written in the same Hanzi that gave rise to the Kanji above. It was brought to Japan by imperial embassies to Tang China (the 7th – 9th century). In the Kamakura period, penjing that recalled customs from the Heian period came to be drawn in some picture scrolls and documents. In the Muromachi period, penjing developed into various directions in Japan. Just like a Japanese garden, it came to assume the artistry of "Wabi-sabi". However, the bonsai was still the enjoyment of people of the chosen hierarchy in the period. In the Edo period, it became possible to enjoy the bonsai for many daimyos, samurais, merchants, townsmen, and others. In addition, the bonsai pot became popular among daimyos, employing the pottery master who belonged exclusively to the bonsai pot. It is said that the name "Bonsai" started being used around this time. Indeed, a lot of bonsais were drawn in many an "Ukiyo-e (浮世絵)".

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