Customer Reviews

Four Seasons of Bonsai

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While the trees presented are beautiful, the primary benefit is in breaking down preconceptions as to what material can become bonsai. I find myself going to this book whenever I need guidance from the masters with regard to shape, container, color. There is almost no instruction in the book and much of the plant material is hard to find in this country but it's one of my favorite references.

Has the most beautiful pictures of bonsai I have seen published. Many unusual bonsai subjects in addition to the traditional trees. Plants are presented in a beautiful fassion. I wish there were more such books showing other plants treated in this fasion. It would have been nice if there was also more cultural information to go along with the pictures. Plants are grown to perfection.

As you go trough the book you will discover some wonderful pictures, but that's it. Because the information that comes with the photos is very limited and in some cases inexistent, except for the name of the species, of course. Unless you are an "advanced" bonsaist, you better buy another book as this, only gives you lots of visual information, that beginners, as me, won't see at first glance. So, if you are a beginner, you better grab your hands on another book, but if you know enough, I would rate this book as four-five stars.

I was torn over giving 4 or 5 stars. I love the way the book shows the beautifully photographed Bonsias that are hardy for each season. I didn't know flowers could grow or survive in frost until I received this book. There is a brief description of each bonsai shown which is great! I've seen so many bonsais before, but didn't really know where they originated or where they best thrive. This is a good book to have in your collection. Enjoy!

This book is not a "how-to" book about growing bonsai. As other reviewers have stated, the text accompanying the pictures is spare, sometimes hard to follow, and not all of the plants pictured are easy to find or grow well in much of the U.S.

Nevertheless, this is the wisest book about bonsai that I know of. Why? Murata-san approaches the concept of bonsai as applying to almost any plant, including common weeds, grasses, rare orchids, and fruit trees. By taking a plant, matching it to a container, and giving it care, you can see the plant in a whole new perspective; the common becomes uncommon, nature takes on a fresh beauty. The book is divided into seasons because Murata emphasizes how bonsai reflect the changing seasons, and should be viewed in that way, rather than just as show plants to be displayed only when they're at their flowering or foliage peak, and then forgotten the rest of the year. If you want to learn how to grow and train bonsai, buy another book. If you want to deepen your appreciation of bonsai, buy this one.

Full of examples of excellent bonsais, the results of techniques which are almost lost in the present profit-basis world of bonsai. This book is an accumulation of true masterpieces which an amateur can never attain.
Those who criticize this book for the lack of explanation are making the same mistake as saying "no explanation of how to paint!" looking at the book of Leonardo da Vinci; besides, bonsais in this book are grown for tens of, sometimes hundreds of years. So it would be impossible to explain what time does to the plants.
In front of this book, all I have to do is to sigh for my lack of skills. But I believe this is an agony by which all creators are haunted.

Full of examples of excellent bonsais, the results of techniques which are almost lost in the present profit-basis world of bonsai. This book is an accumulation of true masterpieces which an amateur can never attain.
Those who criticize this book for the lack of explanation are making the same mistake as saying "no explanation of how to paint!" looking at the book of Leonardo da Vinci--crying for the moon; besides, bonsais in this book are grown for tens of, sometimes hundreds of years. So it would be impossible to explain what time does to the plants.
In front of this book, all I have to do is to sigh for my lack of skills. But I believe this is an agony by which all creators are haunted.

Full of examples of excellent bonsais, the results of techniques which are almost lost in the present profit-basis world of bonsai. This book is an accumulation of true masterpieces which an amateur can never attain.
Those who criticize this book for the lack of explanation are making the same mistake as saying "no explanation of how to paint!" looking at the book of Leonardo da Vinci--crying for the moon; besides, bonsais in this book are grown for tens of, sometimes hundreds of years. So it would be impossible to explain what time does to the plants.
In front of this book, all I have to do is to sigh for my lack of skills. But I believe this is an agony by which all creators are haunted.

If you think you are going to see pictures of the same bonsai in four different seasons do not buy this book. Except for one plant there is no such a thing. And it is a pity. The book has four different chapters, one for each season. But they do not repeat the same plants. That is to say that they just select good plants to be photographed in each season as most books do. Therefore one cannot see the richness of a bonsai throughout the year. The book is beautiful but if you want good pictures there are many other better books i.e. Classic Bonsai of Japan, also by Kodansha.