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In the 1960's the late Haruo "Papa" Kaneshiro created a beautiful new bonsai style in which a tree was planted on an upright or slanting rock. The branches cascaded in all directions and when viewed from a distance, it appeared to be a large bonsai with the rock as a trunk. His tree was a Japanese Garden Juniper (Juniperus procumbens) and that style was formally named in his honor. In Japanese bonsai terminology, "kengai" describes a cascade style. |
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This bonsai is a Taiwan Banyan (also as known a Wax Banyan in
Hawaii) that was introduced into Hawaii about 1963 from Taiwan. It
followed an earlier introduction of a similar heavy-leaf ficus with
dark green glossy leaves that were rounder. Several successful
crossings with the common Chinese Banyan (then called Ficus
retusa) have occurred and botanists used this to modify the
taxonomy of this group of plants under Ficus microcarpa with
the Chinese Banyan becoming Ficus microcarpa 'retusa'.
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This variety is Ficus microcarpa 'Taiwaniana retusa'. In being trained into the Kaneshiro Kengai Style, ficus adds the attractiveness of its vigorous root system and brings a strong tropical appearance. |
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The leaves are one of the most attractive of all ficus, being heavy, dark green, and with a beautiful shape. It reduces very well in training and most of the leaves on this bonsai are about 1/2" long. The stem that connects the leaf to the branch is heavy and this is seen as an indicator that it would be a very suitable bonsai for growing indoors if you had very bright light growing conditions including supplimental light units. It needs more light than normally available in most indoors. |
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The bonsai just had its first public exhibit at the Big Island
Bonsai Association Spring Bonsai Show in Hilo's Wailoa Center in
January 2005 and exhibited by the
non-profit Mid-Pacific Bonsai Foundation and
Fuku-Bonsai Cultural Center on a heavy redwood burl display slab.
Fuku-Bonsai founder David Fukumoto is a co-founder of the Big Island Bonsai Association and is one of three of the original members still active in the organization. It celebrates its 25th anniversary next year. |