A Shimpaku Juniper in May. Wiring the Back Branch and Styling the Branch Pad — all while holding an image of the autumn display stand in mind. Removing the Dead Foliage (Toya), working through a Restyling that turns the front to the back, all the way up to the Crown — within that very first wrap around each branch, autumn has already begun.
May 10th. Styling work on a Shimpaku Juniper moves to the Back Branch. In this season — when Dead Foliage (Toya), those yellowing leaves, just begin to appear — we want to leave as much foliage as possible. Because the autumn display is already taking shape in the mind, right now.
Where to place the Back Branch is, in truth, simple. Let it settle between the branches on the front side — that single principle is enough to begin. The more complex judgments follow after.
Weaving past the foliage, guiding wire onto each slender branch one by one. That first wrap sets the direction of the branch, and sets the line of the Branch Pad. Whether you enter from below or above changes the wrapping direction — that decision, too, is made before the first wrap begins.
Hurrying changes nothing. The care you give to that first decision is exactly what the rest of the work gives back to you. At the tip where the wiring ends, finish softly — wrapping it in, gently. Never over-tighten.
When four fine branches run side by side, we do not keep all of them. Thin them out a little, so the Branch Pad line settles cleanly. Keep the buds close to the branch base, cut at the tips — the judgment of what to release is what shapes the silhouette of the Branch Pad.
Jin follows the same logic. We strip the bark from a branch cut last time and taper the tip ever so slightly. While refining the form of the tree in this moment, we are also, at the same time, cultivating where the deadwood will go.
On this Shimpaku Juniper, the marks where old wire bit in still remain. This is a tree mid-way through a Restyling — turning its front face to its back. We work around those marks, placing new wire in fresh places.
This is not a rejection of past work. Those marks are evidence of the time given to this tree. The fact that the Back Branch sits at a sufficient height — that is the very reason this Restyling can rebuild the Crown.
After aligning the front lines into a dome shape, we fill in the space behind. Only when the Crown is brought cleanly into order does one reach what is said to mark a true professional — and that is where this Restyling is heading. The figure that will stand on the autumn display stand has already begun, in this very moment, today.
The Master: “Fune” journey begins with registration.
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