Fujikawa Hoseien

Speaking of Masayuki Fujikawa, the representative of the bonsai garden “Fujikawa Hoseien” in Nasushiobara, he has won numerous awards and is the core of the next generation of bonsai in both name and reality. It has been 30 years since I entered this road. What do you think of Fujikawa and facing bonsai?

Masayuki Fujikawa, the master of wire hanging

What I learned from my master and what I should do

Mr. Fujikawa, born as a son of a bonsai garden, said he was not interested in bonsai at all as a child. Trees, weeds, bonsai, and mountain trees in the garden are all the same. It was just a “green thing”. However, when he later went to the bonsai orchard, his perception of bonsai changed.

I thought, “Wow! What a cool guy!” Not wabi or loneliness. Until then, I didn’t feel any passion from the bonsai in my house. Bonsai and Shinbashi seen at Kimura’s place are exceptional. Anyway it was cool.

At the age of 20, Fujikawa became a disciple. The master is Masahiko Kimura, a master of the bonsai world. Yes, for the first time, they made bonsai look cool.

When I joined the disciple, my father told me, “Go for three years anyway,” but after about a year, I thought, “It’s not that sweet world …” That’s why I said, “I’ll do it for 5 years.” But 6 years after 5 years, 7 years after 6 years … I don’t know if it’s better to raise a master or to teach me a lot, but the more I do, the more new discoveries I have. If you drop this branch one centimeter, the flow will change … it’s spicy, but it’s getting more and more interesting …

After all, Fujikawa continued his training for 10 years. It ended unexpectedly.

My father got cancer … When I told my boss to come back, I could no longer return to training. And his father died. Normally, I do a little with parents and children, see my customers, and it is not a takeover, but it is such a flow. But it was so steep that I couldn’t do that … When my master came over tonight, I wanted to say, “Can’t you work alone as a craftsman at the master because you can’t do it alone?” But if the master says, “Mr. Fujikawa, I can do it alone, I’m OK, I can do my best”, I must say “Yes”.

It has been 17 years since we succeeded Fujikawa Hoseien in an unexpected development. Mr. Fujikawa is now in a position to take disciples, but what do you think about his master-discipline relationship?

I think training is an important experience. If you do not practice, you will not have a bond. Not only the master and the disciples, but also the bonsai family and the customer, are not established without a bond. A feeling like “If you can entrust this bonsai” is a bond. In other words, each other’s determination. Not money. But in the present age, it is not easy to develop such a relationship. Relationships tend to be ambiguous as disciples or part-timers.

Mr. Fujikawa trained under Mr. Kimura and refined his skills even after taking over the garden, and now he is said to be a master of wire. I’m good at fixing it anyway.

There are two ways to care. It is maintenance to maintain, care to improve shape. I am good at the latter, a pattern that makes the base of the bonsai received from the customer over 2 weeks, and then returns it to the customer and repairs it for a long time, such as 3 years, 5 years There are various patterns, such as a pattern to be healed. In any case, the main job is to maintain and improve the bonsai that customers love. In the future, I think that it may be my job to increase not only myself but also those who can care for me. In addition to teaching visitors, for example, selling images abroad and selling technology overseas … In the future. While thinking about such things, I face bonsai every day.