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16-09-2003, 07:23 PM
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[IBC] Japanese terms in bonsai (was: [IBC] "yamadori" boxwood)
Roger Snipes wrote:
snip But that is what jargon is, a set of arcane terms that are particular to a certain endeavor that one must learn to be initiated. Whether or not these terms come from a foreign language doesn't really matter. Many of our words have origins in other languages. Regards, Roger Snipes Spokane, WA Zone 5, or maybe Zone 6. Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it, misdiagnosing it, and then misapplying the wrong remedies. Groucho Marx (1895-1977) No, it doesn't matter that terms in any given endeavor come from a foreign language. My own profession, ministry, and the arena in which I work, religion, is replete with words from other languages. That in & of itself is not the problem. In reference to bonsai, though, we all know there is an aura of mystery surrounding it--as though there is some "secret" the Japanese have that we Westerners are initiated into--the bonsai equivalent of a Masonic handshake. It's the thing Jim Lewis referred to in a previous post--the slavish worship of anything Japanese because it's Japanese, not because it works and is appropriate. The sort of worship that will cause a person to spend $3.95 for a packet of ten plastic screens because they're Japanese when the same thing can be had for 24 cents a sheet at Walmart. This same sense of mystery is what causes people to buy mallsai. Anything we can do to break down this false sense of mystery is good. That's not to knock anything Japanese. It seems that the best bonsai tools are made in Japan. I can't afford them, but I know that to be true. I aspire to owning a set someday. Not yet, though. What it comes down to is this--do we want to have bonsai remain a relatively elitist art, or include more people? Take your pick and pay your money. Craig Cowing NY Zone 5b/6a Sunset 37 ************************************************** ****************************** ++++Sponsored, in part, by Dale Cochoy++++ ************************************************** ****************************** -- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ -- +++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++ |
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