About
Hello all. My name is Bjorn Bjorholm, I’m originally from Knoxville, TN. I was first introduced to bonsai at the age of 13 and have since helped found the Knoxville Bonsai Society as well as my own personal business, Bjorvala Bonsai Studio. My passion for the art of bonsai (and my interest in Japan itself) led me to spend a year in Kyoto, Japan as a language major at Ritsumeikan University from 2006-07. While living in Japan, I had the opportunity to attend the Daikan-ten exhibition in Kyoto as well as the Kokufu-ten in Tokyo. I was also privileged to visit the gardens of Saburo Kato & Masahiko Kimura in Tokyo, Koju-en in Kyoto, and Fujikawa Kouka-en in Osaka among others. Seeing the world’s top bonsai first-hand and being able to speak to the masters in their native language allowed me to develop my skills and understanding of classical Japanese Bonsai.
While in Japan, I also made several important contacts in the bonsai community including Ryan Neil (Masahiko Kimura’s current apprentice) as well as Bill Valavanis (owner of International Bonsai). The advice and inspiration of both Ryan and Mr. Valavanis were instrumental in my decision to become a bonsai apprentice myself beginning June 2008. This brings me to the point of this site -to share with everyone in the bonsai community my experiences as a bonsai apprentice at Fujikawa Kouka-en in Osaka, Japan. In June 2008, I became a full-time apprentice under the guidance of Mr. Keiichi Fujikawa at his Osaka-based nursery. I plan to update this site on a regular basis so that those who are interested can share in my experiences in the Japanese bonsai world and hopefully learn from them as well. Thank you and enjoy!
At Fujikawa Kouka-en in Osaka, Jan. 2009