Kitsune described "yamadori" well and correctly, I think, in her BT Online
journal article:
--- BEGIN excerpt from BT Online ---
The complexity of Japanese as a language is illustrated in bonsai by many
phrases. One example is the use of the words "yamadori". Yama means
"mountain" and tori (dori) means "to take". This phrase was used in Japan
because any place wild was in the mountains. So all collecting of wild
material was from the mountains. Now the mountains in Japan have been
largely collected out, so the definition of yamadori as applied to bonsai
has changed to mean any tree or shrub that has been shaped by nature until
collected.
--- END excerpt from BT Online ---
She goes on to pose distinct questions on adoption of the term for material
that "in an urban setting ... was not likely naturally placed and not
totally at the mercy of the elements." This cannot be "yamadori" by the
above definition.
Kitsune also notes modern Western use of the term "yamadori-style" that
emulates 'wildness' through a design imposed upon it. Will the term stick?
Good grief, "suburban yamadori!" Dave & Craig toss in another wrinkle.
I've assumed _yamadori_ referred to material collected from the wild which
had characteristics (e.g., natural dwarfing, weather-enhanced arrangement of
elements or similar distinctions) recalling its wild source. I think that
"...-dori" also means "placement/arrangement" in Japanese (e.g. _hidori_ is
written "day" + "_dori_" and means "schedule"). Is a topped tree from the
local woodland _yamadori_ material if indistinguishable from cultivated
examples? Would you be disappointed to attend a workshop supplying
"collected material" that looked like nursery stock?
Best wishes,
Chris... C.Cochrane,
, Richmond VA USA
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