…there is a delicate green, belonging to the leaves of a bonsai tree. Each leaf is lobed, bifurcated, it is a ginkgo biloba (ginnan). The trunk twists in typical ‘bonsai’ style (nebikan or moyogi), although this shape is actually wrong for this tree. A bonsai should echo a natural form, and the ginkgo has an upright trunk (hokidachi). The wires have been left on the trunk too long and have scarred the bark. Despite, or because of, its imperfections, this little tree is beautiful and gives pleasure to the observer. Efforts have been made to balance the branches and shrink the leaves, without being overly sadistic. A few rocks and some moss form an attractive base around exposed roots (neagari).