Takaaki Kagawa - Kokedama: A step-by-step guide

Takaaki Kagawa

Bonsai used to be considered as expensive and time-consuming arts. However, growing bonsai is no longer a luxurious hobby only for rich people who have plenty of time. Today, new forms of bonsai suited for busy modern lifestyles on a budget are popular in Japan. This ebook introduces a modern style of bonsai called kokedama and demonstrates how to make them step by step with photos.

2015 Takaaki Kagawa

Bonsai Design : Takaaki Kagawa

Cover Design : WriteHit.com

Photos : Alex Bunjes and Takaaki Kagawa

Published by WriteHit.com

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This ebook is an outcome of my experiment in three countries: Japan, India, and the Netherlands. As a Japanese horticulturist, I had been familiar with some styles of bonsai. There is one particular style which has been popular in Japan, but I only came to know later that some people in other countries are interested in it.

This project started when I tried making a few bonsai in that style in the north of India. At that time, most of the local people I showed them to were not particularly convinced of what I made. They either had their own idea of bonsai or were somehow afraid of them. My bonsai were not the most popular things in North India, but I learnt that it is possible to make them with limited material and even maintain them in an extreme climate with the heat, cold, and rain.

In the meanwhile, I had a chance to make a couple in the Netherlands and Japan as well. I could say these attempts were a success, and I got some positive comments from people. I also found out that there are people outside Japan who are curious to make bonsai in that style, and I decided to write a guidebook for it.

In this ebook, I tried to figure out tips which are applicable in multiple countries, instead of something only people in Japan will find useful. What is fantastic about bonsai is that people can make them with local material, and those can be their own original styles which are not found anywhere else. I hope the readers enjoy this ebook and also enjoy making these bonsai.

Takaaki Kagawa

Author

A bonsai is a miniature landscape with a planting, which is believed to have originated during the Tang dynasty of China or even earlier. Many people who know a bit about bonsai think they include little trees which take a lot of time and effort to maintain. It is true in some cases, but not entirely so. There are other kinds of bonsai which are easier to maintain and quicker to make as well. Bonsai are moving on as peoples lifestyles change.

In Japan, a style of casual bonsai called kokedama (pronounced co-keh-dah-mah) have been popular these days. These bonsai stand without pots and have herbs, grasses, or small shrubs, including common house plants. In the past, only people who had plenty of time and money like rich old people owned bonsai. But it has become a popular fashion in the country since a couple of modern and lower-maintenance styles were invented.

The prototype of kokedama is believed to be a form of bonsai called ne-arai (pronounced neh-ah-rye), which can be translated into root washer or washed roots. During the political period called the Edo Period (1603-1867), someone came up with an innovative idea of creating a potless bonsai. There is nothing to contain the soil, and the soil and the plant roots are exposed. You might wonder how that can even work, but the trick is that the well-developed roots of the plants hold the soil together. The surface of the soil is sometimes covered with moss. The lack of pots gives the unbelievable presentation as well as the advantage that you don't need expensive pots, because some pots for bonsai can cost a fortune and be much more expensive than the plants.

There are a few different methods to make ne-arai. One way of making them is to pull out a potted plant with circulated roots from the pot, re-shape the bottom part if needed, and mature them with the roots exposed. Another way is to make them without a pot from the beginning and let the plants grow roots. The second method takes less time and gives more options for shapes and sizes, but it needs more care until the plants develop enough roots to hold the soil together.

This style of bonsai must have surprised people when they first appeared. They became popular in Japan and are still made and appreciated today. There are various kinds of ne-arai, and it is very common these days to make them with herbs, grasses, or small shrubs, because they tend to grow much faster than trees, and also the Japanese have the culture of appreciating wildflowers.

A ne-arai with grasses

Kokedama (pronounced co-keh-dah-mah) can be translated into moss ball, and these are often classified as easier and quicker versions of ne-arai. A kokedama is basically a planted ball of soil covered with live moss, and this style of bonsai have gained popularity since the early 2000s. But it is not clearly known who originally came up with the idea, and there are a couple of individuals who claim to be the first one to have created them. According to some sources, Isao Umiji, a horticulturist, invented kokedama in the late 1990s.

Today, kokedama are so popular in Japan that they are even appreciated among those who had never been expected to show interest in bonsai. Every year, many kokedama classes are held in Japan. They look nice just as they are, but you can also display them on a nice glass/ceramic plate or with other accessories.

Grass kokedama in different sizes

Before assembling a kokedama, there are a couple of things to do. First, choose the soil media. You can use various types of media according to what kinds of plants you are using. Choices would be garden soil, dry sphagnum, peat, or a mixture of multiple media, but they have to be something that stays together when you make a ball. Make sure that your soil media are pest-free. Earthworms are a pest in kokedama because they make tunnels inside the structure and damage it.

Next, prepare the moss. Wash it carefully and clean it. When you are using a long, fluffy moss, it will make the work easier later if you break up the clumps, make a moss sheet, and dry it for a day, which you can make wet later when you use it. But if you are using a very short moss, it is probably better to keep the clumps as they are.

A moss sheet drying on a mesh

The plants you are planning to use should also be washed and cleaned (mosses are also plants, but here we distinguish them for clarity). Wash off the old soil and remove the old roots. Cut off some of the roots if they are too long.