INTERNATIONAL bonsai master Yusuke Uchida from Nagoya, Japan will visit The National Arboretum next week to share some of his wisdom with the National Bonsai and Penjing Collection.

Curator of the National Bonsai and Penjing Collection Leigh Taafe says Australia’s leading bonsai and penjing artists have produced some of the finest miniature trees and forests in the world, which Mr Uchida is coming to look at and give some advice on.

“Mr Uchida will help refine some of the bonsai owned by the the collection and in doing so the staff and volunteers will learn the valuable techniques used to create some of the world’s finest bonsai, as seen in Japan,” says Mr Taafe.

Mr Uchida was an apprentice for four years with renowned bonsai master Junichrio Tanaka.

He says that hopefully Mr Uchida’s plans to travel to Europe and America will raise the profile of the Arboretum’s collection as he gives his knowledge to other countries, and that his visit will encourage more recognised bonsai artists to come and gain an insight into bonsai from an Australian perspective.

“The unique collection at the Arboretum includes a variety of traditional and modern styles, with world-class examples of both native and exotic species,” Mr Taafe says.

“As an art form, bonsai and penjing combine horticultural skills, artistic skills and a great deal of patience. They can be likened to living sculptures, requiring planning, constant attention and creative vision.”

Words: Natasha Quinlan