The Secret Techniques of Bonsai A Guide to Starting, Raising, and Shaping Bonsai

In The Secret Techniques of Bonsai, the author of the groundbreaking Bonsai With American Trees teams up with his son to offer not only the basics for creating perfect bonsai, but also secret techniques they’ve developed over years of careful work and observation.


The Kawasumis provide detailed, easy-to-follow information about growing bonsai from seedlings or beginner plants; expert advice on shaping, pruning, training, grafting and repotting trees; and new techniques for using tools. And, although the Kawasumi family is worldrenowned for their bonsai tool design, their instructions allow gardeners to improvise with other readily-accessible bonsai, gardening or even simple workshop tools. Step-by-step photographs accompany the text, many in full-color.


Masakuni Kawasumi III, the first qualified tree doctor for bonsai in Japan, contributes his unique insights to make this an invaluable resource for beginners and experienced enthusiasts alike.

MASAKUNI KAWASUMI II worked in the family bonsai business for decades, designing his own tools and cultivating bonsai on a professional level. He took over the business in 1950. Masakuni II is credited with popularizing bonsai around the world. For his work in tool making, he was awarded a Yellow Ribbon Medal by the Japanese Government in 1993. In 1996, he established the Masakuni Museum of Cutting Tools and Industrial Tools near Tokyo.

When his father died in 2002, MASAKUNI KAWASUMI III took over the business, which he runs today while continuing his research in the cultivation and care of bonsai.