FINALLY.... my new bonsai pot has arrived from Japan. I was fortunate enough to have own the bid on this... Yamaaki pot by Mr.KATAOKA Sadamitsu.

I have been looking for the 'perfect' pot for a very old Trident Maple in the collection...... now this is it.!!

Does anyone recognise this 'chop' stamp ?  I have a number of old bonsai pots with this mark.  After going over hundredsof known stamps I am at a loss as to the identity of these pots.

Many thanks to Konatsu Honda who so kindly offered this translation "I see 常滑焼(Tokoname-yaki) is the maker and 山晃釜(Yamakou-gama)is the kiln."

The Australian Bonsai Gallery is selling a number of old, well developed focus bonsai.  Most are old 'yamadori' collected over 30 years ago and developed as bonsai.

For more detail Go to the Bonsai Catalogue

More bonsai sold and going to a great home.  The genesis of a collection in the hands of some very capable young people.

Some refinement improvements on these Chinese Elms in our For Sale Catalogue.  

With the unusually hot weather I have started work on my Ficus Bonsai.  These, and many others, will be up for sale soon.

A friend has identified this pot as, possibly, being made in Seto, Japan.  The 'chop' has also been identified - 祖洞園池勝製 .  I have seen similar pots on Japanese auction sites, but the bamboo design is not the same, and the pots were not signed.

It has been a real curiosity ever since I purchased it from a second-hand store many years ago for the sum of $24.00.

Can anyone can 'shed some light' on the history of this pot ??.

Evrything I read about the Japanese Red Pine - Akamatsu - tells me that they are not as vigerous as the Black pine, and should not be needle thinned as much as JBP's.

Well, no one has told this old Akamatsu.... I call it  Gakushū (学習); it means 'learning' as this bonsai still bears the 'scars' of 43 years of 'trial & error'.

Gakushū (学習)

This old Kuromatsu has been in the Australian Bonsai Gallery collection for almost 40 years.  It was developed as an 'informal upright' from an very early age.

The styling was very 'naive' and reflected my inexperience at the time.  It was high time for a change!  It is, now, on it's way to a better form.

Old Japanese Black Pine will be On Sale Soon.  It has a good nebari, has been needle thinned, bud selected, and wired last Autumn.  Proactive fertilising throughout Autumn and Winter has seen very active and even 'first-flush' candle growth this Spring.
This is a bonsai worthy of further refinement.  Please Contact Us if you are interested in this tree.