In order to fully value the charm and originality of an indoor bonsai tree it is helpful to understand the history of Bonsai. From China, to Japan, to the United States, the pastime of bonsai has actually taken a trip throughout the world over countless years to arrive with us today as a true art type, and enjoyment to individuals all over the world. Bonsai, and Bonsai trees, are general terms for any tree or shrub in miniature form that is kept in a pot.

Bonsai which literally translated from the Japanese character "Bon" implying tray and "Sai" significance plant, really originated not in Japan where it was made well-known by such motion pictures as Karate Kid, but in China. The Chinese term is Penjing from the character "Pen" translated tray and "Jing" which is surroundings. The characters for "Bon" in Japanese and "Pen" in Chinese are actually identical. The very first documented proof of the existence of Penjing, or Bonsai, was discovered in the tomb of Prince Zhang Huai who died in 706 A.D. Among the paintings discovered in the tomb shows a servant bring a mini landscape, and in another a servant is revealed carrying a plant in a pot. It has actually been mentioned that the Chinese were infatuated with miniaturization in general and believed that miniature things had concentrated wonderful and mystical powers. Chinese bonsai trees are identified by sparse foliage and rugged trunks which often looks like animals, birds and dragons.

There is argument about exactly when bonsai were brought to Japan. It is thought to be either the Heian period (794 - 1191A. D.) or the Kamakura duration (1185 - 1333). There is a Japanese scroll credited to the year 1195 that seems to refer to bonsai. In the beginning, bonsai in general, especially indoor bonsai trees, were restricted to Buddhist monks who wanted to bring a little bit of nature into their bleak quarters. Later, the care and keeping of bonsai trees broadened to the upper class and was a sign of eminence and honor. In the 1300's cultivating bonsai infected the basic population. There were excellent strides in the strategies for training bonsai as soon as this happened. This is probably the factor that general understanding states that bonsai was developed in Japan. For the Japanese, bonsai represents consistency between man, the soul, and nature, and usually more closely resembles larger trees that are discovered in nature than the Chinese variation.

At the End of The Second World War, bonsai trees made it throughout the ocean to the United States with the returning soldiers. Even though most of the bonsai brought house by the soldiers died rapidly, interest in indoor bonsai trees was triggered. Americans wanted to discover how to correctly care for bonsai, and Japanese-Americans were essential to help them get the knowledge they needed to keep their bonsai alive. Modern American bonsai represents a combination and blurring of both Chinese and Japanese strategies and practices.

Discovering a little about the history of indoor bonsai trees will make your bonsai experience much more special. Bonsai have actually crossed through centuries, nations, and even earnings levels to become the art kind we now understand. Finding out about and growing your own bonsai tree brings you closer to nature and history and can be an art Mesa Trees type that you can delight in for a lifetime.