THE JOURNAL

The Bonsai Den Journal

Stories of Japanese bonsai, pottery, craft, and tradition.

Featured story

Horie Biko: The Potter Behind the Crane Medallion

September 5, 2026

Collectors identify a Horie Biko pot by touch before they ever read the signature — a small raised crane medallion set into the clay. Here's how to recognize...

Potters & Kilns

The makers and the kilns behind them — who made the pot, where, and what marks it.

Tools

Buying guides across the DEN Tools range, steel tiers explained, and video to come.

Pot Library

Every pot we have listed and sold, kept on record with its maker, kiln and dimensions.

Latest Stories

The Story Behind DEN Tools

October 1, 2026|Bonsai Den

Every DEN Tools piece starts in the same place: a small workshop region in Niigata, Japan, called Tsubame-Sanjo — a name that means almost nothing to most gardeners outside Japan,...

Reiho: Four Generations of Tokoname in Every Line

September 25, 2026|Bonsai Den

Reiho pots are classic Tokoname shapes, executed boldly, in clean and unmistakable glazes. Here's why the fourth-generation potter of the Seizan kiln is one of the best values in Japanese...

Bushuan: The Champion Racer Behind Japan's Boldest Drip Glaze

September 12, 2026|Bonsai Den

If there's a single word for Bushuan's work, it's extremes — and the glaze is where that shows up first. He built his reputation reproducing the effects of noborigama, the...

Reading the Chop: The Person on the Bottom of Your Pot

September 12, 2026|Eric Meyer

That mark on the bottom of your pot isn't a brand. It's a person. A field guide to Japanese potter chops — how to read them, which way to read...

Horie Biko: The Potter Behind the Crane Medallion

September 5, 2026|Bonsai Den

Collectors identify a Horie Biko pot by touch before they ever read the signature — a small raised crane medallion set into the clay. Here's how to recognize his work,...

Bigei: The Tokoname Potter Behind the Hand-Burnished Vermilion Clay

August 30, 2026|Bonsai Den

Bigei pots are unmistakable for their smooth, hand-burnished vermilion clay and quiet, tree-first design. Here's what we know about the potter behind the name, and why his kiln's closure is...

Jin Pliers: Stripping and Shaping Deadwood Without Losing the Edge

August 29, 2026|Bonsai Den

Jin and shari work punishes a blade that slips or dulls mid-grip. Here's why a manganese-alloyed stainless jin plier holds up to it, season after season.

Wire Cutters: Keep a Dedicated Tool for Removing Wire

August 29, 2026|Bonsai Den

Removing training wire with a branch cutter or scissors dulls an edge meant for live wood. Here's why a dedicated wire cutter belongs in every kit, wire gauge after wire...

Knob Cutters: Removing the Bump a Standard Cutter Leaves Behind

August 29, 2026|Bonsai Den

Even a concave cutter can leave a raised knob after a branch heals over. Here's what a dedicated knob cutter does that no other tool in the kit replicates.

Root Cutters: The Right Tool for Repotting Season

August 29, 2026|Bonsai Den

Root work asks for a straight, flat-ground blade instead of a concave jaw. Here's why a dedicated root cutter matters at repotting time, and how the alloy holds an edge...