Photo/Illutration Hirokazu Obayashi with one of his "Chabo-hiba" cypress trees grown with the "kyokukan-shitate" trunk-bending technique at his gardening company's ground in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, on Jan. 17 (Kyota Tsutsumi)

KAWAGUCHI, Saitama Prefecture--At first glance from a distance, it looks like an elaborate bonsai tree with its twisted trunk and branches stretched out like eaves.

But a closer inspection reveals an ordinary garden tree, although impressive in size. Techniques similar to those used for miniature bonsai trees are employed to create the elaborate look of the mature Chabo-hiba cypress tree. A special process called "kyokukan-shitate" involves bending the trunk. The technique, which is unique to the Angyo district here, known as the "home of garden plants," has been passed down over generations.

It takes 25 years for a tree grown this way to reach maturity because of grafting that must be done before the trunk is bent.

While the gardening technique has won international acclaim in recent years, it has been less well received in Japan.

Hirokazu Obayashi, the 15th-generation proprietor of plant producing company Hashido Co.,  said the process begins when a Chabo-hiba tree is grafted to the rootstock, or a Nikko hiba cypress in this case. Obayashi, 52, then waits 10 years for the tree to grow.

When the trunk reaches a height of about 3 meters, it can be split vertically into four parts to hollow out the core. That way the trunk can be bent easily before it is twisted and bound afresh with a rope.

It takes five years for the tree to regain its strength, and then another five years for Obayashi to trim the branches into forms similar to shelves. At that point, another five years is needed for the leaves to grow into "balls" akin to dense clusters of mushrooms.
"It's like I'm applying the kyokukan-shitate technique to put the finishing touches on trees grafted by my father, my predecessor," Obayashi said.

He said the most difficult processes that require talent and gardening skills are to achieve balance among three factors: "sashi-eda," or long branches protruding horizontally to the ground in synch with the growth of the tree; "uke-eda," which grow to the opposite side and stretch to one-third of the length of sashi-eda branches; and the "balls."
The technique apparently dates to the time of Hashido's 11th-generation proprietor, although Obayashi has no idea what prompted his ancestor to come up with it.

"I suppose he just wanted to try to re-create the beauty of bonsai with ordinary garden plants," he said with a laugh.

Last year, Obayashi's efforts paid off when the Kawaguchi city government began promoting his trees as one of the municipality's distinctive agricultural brands.

His tress have also garnered global recognition. In 2002, he won the Gold Prize in the Outdoor Section at the fifth International Horticultural Expo (Floriade), in which representatives from more than 30 countries participated. Held in the Netherlands, the expo is touted as the "flower Olympics."
Obayashi's trees are also exported to EU member countries.

Hashido's ground has 80 or so trees in the kyokukan-shitate style. Prices range from 500,000 yen ($4,590) for a tree to as much as 3 million yen.

Still, Obayashi said it is increasingly hard to do business.

Part of the reason is falling demand for the trees due to the fact that few houses these days have gardens. With areas around the company's ground increasingly being developed for residential use, Obayashi finds it increasingly difficulty to work in the early mornings using a power saw and other tools.
Still, he sometimes receives photos from people who had bought trees he had nurtured with the kyokukan-shitate technique.
"Because it is difficult to take care of the plants, some of them look out of shape to me, but it still makes me happy to see them again."

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