Its value: over 100 million yen. A bonsai is a letter reaching 80 years into the future.
LOUNGE / ART
June 4, 2026

Its value: over 100 million yen. A bonsai is a letter reaching 80 years into the future.

 

LOUNGE | Daisuke Mariko, President of Shinsho

 
In a residential area of Edogawa Ward, Tokyo, there is a place where the view suddenly opens up. Mariko Bonsai Garden. Founded in 1974 by Kanji Mariko, this garden has been passed down through three generations and boasts the most awards in Japan, with 88 accolades including the Prime Minister's Award, making it an unshakeable presence in the world of bonsai. Daisuke Mariko, the third-generation successor, says, "I believe bonsai is the only 'living work of art.'" His calm yet profound way of speaking revealed a coexistence of craftsman's pride and businessman's fortitude.
 

Text by TSUZUMI Aoyama  l  Photograph by KEN Takayanagi

The 360 Days Condensed into Five: The Azaleas of May

 
Mariko Bonsai Garden specializes in azalea bonsai.
"There are about 2,000 varieties of azaleas, so the range of colors is immense. They bloom vibrantly for just five days a year. 360 days of care are condensed into that single moment."
 
As we were guided through the garden, a pine tree with roots clinging to lava rock caught my eye.
"I created that azalea and that pine. For the azalea, I made the roots grow over the rock and cling to it. So, it looks like it's battling rough waves."
 
He pointed to a pine with a powerful trunk dramatically bent, creating a dynamic image. It was a vivid demonstration that each bonsai tells a story and evokes a scene. When asked if he consciously imbues azaleas with narrative, he answered immediately, "Yes. It's exactly the same."
 
"What I can do with azaleas is to arrange the branches like this, but in this state, it's still too shy to show to others. In fact, it takes 20 to 30 years for the roots to establish and the branches to form a beautiful structure," says Mariko.
 
Even the impressive pine bonsai had only been trained on the rock for about five years. The final form will likely be witnessed by the next generation. Believing it will reach someone 30 or 50 years from now, he prunes the branches today. This is the daily life of a bonsai artist.
 

A Dialogue with Approximately 3,800 Bonsai

 
There are about 3,800 bonsai in the garden. He waters them all every day. In the summer, twice a day, morning and evening. But this is far more than just watering.
 
"When creating bonsai, my own feelings are only 10% of the equation; the other 90% must be from the bonsai's perspective, or it will wither. Each one grows differently, so there's no single, identical method. This lack of a fixed form is what makes bonsai so challenging. I don't rely on fertilizers. I draw out the tree's inherent strength through watering and adjusting shade."
 
Each of the approximately 3,800 bonsai requires its own unique dialogue. Standardization is fundamentally impossible. Every three to five years, they are repotted, their roots loosened, and fresh soil added. It is an incredibly labor-intensive world, the antithesis of efficiency.
 
"Even if a branch breaks, I see it as adding character. Branches break in nature too."
 
Rather than lamenting branches broken by typhoons, Mariko finds new narratives within them. He incorporates the improvisations offered by nature into the form. It's akin to a live jazz improvisation session.
 
The Mariko family has a distinct style: they use very little wire. While it's common in the bonsai world to use wire to bend branches, the Mariko family shapes the trees solely through pruning. They discern the tree's natural growth direction and cut away unnecessary branches. Repeating this process for decades shapes and refines the tree, allowing it to truly come alive. It is an art form that takes an incredibly long and winding path.
 
"I often go to observe trees in their natural state. I pay close attention to the angles of branches and the twists of trunks. The forms created by nature hold hints for my next bonsai."
 
The beauty, described as "effortless," arises from this immersion in and observation of nature. Mariko inherited and continues to refine this skill and sensibility from his father, Kanji.
 

A Double Life in Dress Shoes and Tabi Boots

 
Mariko's path to becoming a bonsai artist was not a straightforward one. He asked to apprentice under his father at the age of 18. While his father agreed, the taciturn man gruffly told him, "You don't have to take over."
 
 
 
"I'm a natural-born competitor. When he said I didn't have to take over, I decided I would prove myself and earn his approval before joining. I started in sales at a luxury car dealership, but I always returned to the garden on weekends to hold pruning shears. Weekdays in dress shoes, weekends in tabi boots. I lived like that for a long time."
 
His first year as an apprentice was spent entirely on cleaning. He wasn't allowed to touch the tools. Skills in this world are acquired through observation. In a field where it's said to take ten years to become a master craftsman, Mariko steadily honed his abilities.
 
"At first, honestly, I didn't understand what was enjoyable about it. It wasn't until I was around 22, when I was finally able to create a tree from scratch myself, that I truly grasped the fascination of bonsai."
 
After that, as a weekday businessman, Mariko continued to sprint through his career, holding management positions in foreign-affiliated financial firms and executive roles in venture companies.
 
"It was when I turned 30 that my father subtly broached the subject. He'd ask things like, 'How are things lately?' or 'It's about time, isn't it?' I sensed what he meant."
 

A Corporation Created for the Next Generation

 
 
 
His father remained a man of few words. Yet, Mariko recalls, "I gradually sensed his desire for me to take over." He picked up on the crucial meaning hidden within his father's brief remarks.
 
"I thought about what I would do if I took over the family business. One thing I realized from my own experiences was this: if someone wanted to learn about bonsai, there was no company in Japan they could go to. I wanted to create that first."
 
Instead of simply inheriting the family business, Mariko decided to establish his own company, "Shinsho Co., Ltd." While focusing on bonsai sales, he expanded the business to include bonsai leasing for Michelin-starred restaurants and luxury hotels, as well as Japanese garden consulting. His clients include Reflet, Ginza Kojyu, Bulgari Ginza, and The St. Regis Tokyo.
 
"Simply selling bonsai doesn't reach everywhere. I wanted to deliver entire spaces."
 

A New Door: "JUME"

 
Now, Mariko is pushing open a new door called "JUME (Jyumai)," which means "tree life." It's a project that expresses the passage of time through the changing forms of living things, embodied in bonsai. It is an art-focused bonsai brand established separately from Shinsho Co., Ltd., also known as "BONSAI SADASYO."
 
 
 
 
"JUME" consists of two product lines. One, "Shokei (匠景)," reconstructs bonsai forms from scratch using traditional Japanese handmade washi paper and other materials.
 
"Shokei is one form that embodies the spirit of JUME. I wanted to overcome the barrier of managing bonsai, which can be difficult for some, by using washi paper. I want to deliver Japanese culture to places it hasn't reached yet."
 
Requiring no watering or sunlight, the unique, unevenly layered Japanese traditional washi paper reproduces the textures of weathered bark and moss with astonishing precision. This design, which elegantly bypasses the phytosanitary regulations that prevent the export of live bonsai, is also aimed at international expansion.
 
The other line, "Muku (無垢)," showcases the very essence of a bonsai as it reaches the end of its life, becoming pure and embodying new life.
 
 
 
"Many people think that when a tree dies, it's discarded. But I don't believe a bonsai loses its inherent value when it dies. The added value of bonsai comes from its history, how it lived, and the story behind the bonsai artist's care. And, its natural state is inherently beautiful. 'Muku' is only possible because of our technique of not using wire. The lines of the branches, guided over decades solely through pruning, remain even after the tree has ended its life."
 
Cracks in the trunk, twists in the branches, exposed roots. Mariko calls the evidence of a life lived naturally "completion." The beauty instilled during its life remains even as it withers and decays. It is the embodiment of the wabi-sabi aesthetic in bonsai. Herein lies something that only Daisuke Mariko can create.
 

Living 80 Years Ahead and Today Simultaneously

 
"I believe that if people don't understand the elegance that lies at the heart of Japanese culture, this Japanese culture itself will crumble. While I will continue to protect traditional culture and techniques as the core, I want to take on new challenges in my generation in a way that respects, rather than destroys, them."
 
Managing the approximately 3,800 bonsai at Mariko Bonsai Garden, leasing to Michelin-starred restaurants, and expanding JUME internationally. Starting with bonsai sales, then space design, and now art.
 
Daisuke Mariko is expanding the possibilities of bonsai by navigating daily between tradition and innovation. If someone writing a letter to be delivered 80 years from now were to bring bonsai into your daily life, which piece would you choose?
 
 
 
Daisuke Mariko
Born the eldest son into a direct lineage family that has continued for 425 years, he is the third-generation successor of Mariko Bonsai Garden. He has 17 years of experience in bonsai. Mariko Bonsai Garden boasts the most awards in Japan, with a cumulative 88 accolades including the Prime Minister's Award, across three generations. He has an unconventional background, having achieved business success at major automakers and foreign-affiliated financial institutions, and serving as an executive in venture companies. In 2024, he established Shinsho Co., Ltd., and in 2026, JUME Co., Ltd. He is challenging industry transformation by merging business acumen with tradition, aiming to communicate the true value of bonsai to the world.
 
Mariko Bonsai Garden (BONSAI SADASYO) https://mariko-bonsai.com/
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