The gardening technique and art form that individuals recognize nowadays as "bonsai" is thought to have originated in China in the 3rd century in the Chin Dynasty. The style spread to Japan during the T'ang Dynasty in the seventh century. The Chinese used a term not familiar to the majority of us, pen-t'sai, to describe their art of creating extraordinary miniature landscapes using small trees, water, and rocks. The Japanese transliterated the word pen-t'sai into "bonsai", that may be translated to mean "planted in a small basin". Even though the Chinese first created miniature landscapes, the Japanese get credit for refining and perfecting this unique art form.

Japanese bonsai is really a mixture of artistic expression and gardening expertise. It is the process of revealing the true essence of trees, rocks, and soil, and reproducing them in miniature, giving them the appearance of a mature landscape that is accurately and artistically reproduced, and fitting all of it into a small pot.

For almost all bonsai enthusiasts, the creation of superb bonsai is more than just being a skilled garden enthusiast. It may well turn out to be a contemplative leisure activity where a person can live completely in the present, knowing and becoming a participant in the wholeness of all things that can't be separated, man and nature. Man comes from nature and man eventually returns to nature.

On the one hand, then, the practice of bonsai could be an expression of this philosophy of universal oneness. It's also a chance to express your personal interpretation of your relationship with nature.

On the other hand bonsai is about learning horticulture methods which have been used for more than a thousand years, and it is practiced these days in places all over the world. These are gardening disciplines which can be mastered by anyone, and the procedures and skills are going to be refined and honed by you over your lifetime. If you take enough time to educate yourself about the gardening skills, and understand how plants grow and exactly how to look after them, then one day it will be possible to look upon your work and realize that you have created a real bonsai. It's a great emotion.

People from all over the world are becoming passionately involved in the hobby of Japanese bonsai. You'll find an incredible number of different kinds of trees and plants which can be trained as bonsai. There's great pleasure in creating a beautiful and distinctive bonsai and then to have other people enjoy it. The hobby of bonsai should be experienced by all people. It might just end up changing your life.