Bonsai is one form of the “present progressive beauty”. It is also called the “living antique” in Japan in fact.

Most of the Japanese representative and traditional bonsais are cultivated, cared, managed, and stored in private collections. Therefore, it is indeed very rare to see and appreciate them, even in Japan, even in their portraits. However this time, it becomes possible to introduce such Japanese representative brilliant bonsais by a series of portraits, truly by favour of Mr. Masahiko Kimura, a bonsai artisan.

Bonsai has its front face. It is a reflection of a Japanese unique aesthetic with which we appreciate three-dimensional objects by their two-dimensional faces. One of the reasons why we have such an aesthetic on faces, seems to be because it has been developed as we set the front faces of our artworks for their display in “tokonoma”, an alcove in a traditional Japanese room which plays a role of a small gallery.

Basically, people in Europe appreciate three-dimensional objects from any angle from 0 to 360 degrees, while people in Japan do them with their faces rather than from the angles. This difference between three- and two-dimensional aesthetics can be also seen in between European flower arrangement and Japanese ikebana.

“Bonsai” has now become a worldwide language. In this language, we would like to see unseen and untouched, racial and cultural differences between various people all over the world, and to make fruitful communications with them.