In Praise of Shadows - How Darkness Impacts Bonsai Aesthetics 

Bjorn, this is incredible. You are an excellent bonsai artist, but your cinematography, editing, and visual essay skills are truly second to none. Thank you so much for lending your eye, ear and heart to us through this beautiful piece.

I love this mate. Without shadows light looses its importance. The two exist in the same space in imperfect harmony, to see both together is to understand the beauty of unity in individuality.

Your videos are only getting better and better. Not only in the content, but also on the narration and the video editing. There are few bonsai channels on RU-vid that talk about bonsai the way you do. Without blabbering on for an hour. Not naming names.. ;) I enjoyed this immensely. Thanks Bjorn!

Great cinematography! It's also worth considering how gloomy Japanese houses were before the advent of electricity. Alex Kerr goes on about this in his books, but essentially whether you lived on the arable plains or in mountainous areas in Japan, you were likely in shadow or darkness for a lot of the day, your living area lit only by beeswax candles. Tanizaki appeared to have had little choice, but to praise shadows. What this means for bonsai display is that for example, especially in winter, the bare form of a deciduous tree would probably have been appreciated by the home dwellers in shadows from candles.

Amazing Bjorn! This is the type of content that separates you from others and that can honestly elevate the artform. Keep making videos about what you care about - don't be afraid to make it personal.

Wow! I can’t say I’ve ever given much thought to a toilet, but I have a new appreciation for them now. We have a Japanese friend that worked with my wife, and my wife would often comment on the neatness and perfection of packing just her simple lunch basket everyday. They are raised with such an appreciation of neatness and care that we certainly don’t share on a large scale in this country. I’ve read that the children Japan are not graded in school until the fourth grade. But rather the first three years are to develop character and good manners…..we could learn a lot from that template…thanks Bjorn for another well done video.

Your skillful editing and narration of this wonderful cinematography regarding this living art is truly a testament to its beauty and enjoyment. All aspects of it. Thank you.

I love this content! Beautiful, thought provoking and intelligent. I really enjoyed watching this today.

I was introduced to the book "In Praise of Shadows" by my suiseki mentor. It is a fascinating book and has influenced not only my understanding of suiseki but also Ikenobo ikebana and of course bonsai. Thanks Bjorn for sharing your thoughts on the topic.

Tres bien editing, voice over and filmography. Came together perfectltly.

Deep thanks for making today’s dawn memorable with the mystical message of your reflective journey in Japan, Bjorn. Shadows, and darkness are essential companions of beauty in Bonsai and all artistic expression. Life feels a step more complete in these harmonies of contrast dancing as ONE. Shantih. Shantih. Shantih

I ate up every bit of this video. Bjorn you’re doing really well with your execution on these - the video and the narration. I rarely like hearing other people say much of anything but I could listen to you talk about dryer lint and I’d hear every word you say. 😅

What a beautiful video! Thank you, Bjorn!

L'ombre est fille de la lumière... Merci à vous pour cette magnifique promenade!

Always waiting patiently and looking forward to Bjorns videos. Video quality and topics never disappoint!!

Beautiful! Amazing place

Awesome video & great philosophy explained against impressive Bonsai background

Very, very pleasant!

Great title for the video, one of my favorite essays

Bjorn, même vos vidéos sont inspirantes 👏👏👏👏

Beautifully done video Bjorn!

Beautiful video…thanks a ton For a completely different view point and philosophy. Great voice over.

A superb video essay on Japanese aesthetics and Tanizaki’s “In Praise of Shadows”. Great exposition married with beautiful and sympathetic cinematography.

Stunning and insightful. Your videos just keep getting better.

Thank you so much Bjorn ... I am a bonsai apprentice but also a Japanese culture lover ... Domo arigato gozamashita ...

Read this a month ago. Should be called "In praise of the Japanese toilet". Amazing to see such videos. I really miss the vlog / road trip format

Bjorn thank you very much for sharing this fantastic and very interesting video! 👍👍👍🔥

I bought Mr. Jun'ichirō Tanizaki's book, it's incredible, as he demonstrates a universe of concepts that make us want to navigate and learn. Björn for me who I adore and studied studying Japanese culture and its artistic trends and how they collaborate in central concepts, your videos help me to inspire me more and more, I don't see Bonsai videos of people who move away from the Japanese trend, but yours for me is the one that most influences me in the west.

Awesome! I love when you do these!!! I'm slightly disappointed that I didn't get to see a Japanese toilet though. Lol

Woohoo. Nice to see an upload. Hope you’re doing well bjorn. Best wishes

inspirational

Thank you for this beautiful video Great skills in cinematography Great work 😍👏👏👏😍

Nice 😍😍

nice video

Unreal❤

6:05 how they arrange the stand? Lower at the front, higher at the back

hình ảnh rất đẹp

Hello! I see it’s cold in Japan. I live in Nampa, Idaho, north west USA. And I have a couple questions. In the winter time it can get to 3-5 degrees Fahrenheit. And in the summers as high as 100, last summer we had a heat wave and it got up to 115°. I’m only 15 years old, very new to bonsai as I got my first 3 bonsai from a family owned nursery about 45 second drive away. I thought local would be better. I grabbed a nursery stock thoweil hinoki cypress, a mugo pine, and a japanese juniper. I didn’t shape the mugo pine and the juniper as I thought they needed more development, and I also thought the branches would snap because of how tiny and new they are. But the hinoki I did style, prune and wire it, and I also made a mistake. I repotted it the same day. The bottom branches on the foliage is turning brown, I think it’s dying, but I’m watering it a lot less than the other two. I’d assume because it gets so hot here I should water them twice a day when it gets extremely hot. But when it gets very cold, I do not know how much I should be watering. Maybe once a week? Twice a week? And also I do not have a greenhouse, or shade cloth. I do have my bonsai on a wooden outdoor table. Just enough to fit them all on. Not too close though. And they are under the front porch shade shandles thing. And there facing East so that they get the morning sun, I figured I should put them in the morning sun so that they get less harsh of a sun hit and sear the foliage. Any tips for not killing them in the summer or winter when I dont have a greenhouse or shade cloth?

Way better than a 30 min video on chopsticks. Great video Bjorn!

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Palease!

Impecable el vídeo!!!!