KARACHI: A small black lacquered tray, stones, pebbles and white sand with a pair of chopsticks, different feathers, brushes, stencils, spoons, spatulas and a tiny dustpan. These were just some of the things that created the most dramatic and breathtaking of natural scenes in miniature during the Bonseki demonstration and lecture by Midori Inomata, wife of the ambassador of Japan in Pakistan, in collaboration with the embassy of Japan at a hotel here on Thursday.

Bonseki is a traditional ancient art form in which scenery and nature are portrayed in miniature by placing natural stones on black lacquered trays, with various size and amounts of white sand used to add dimension. The art enjoyed great popularity in Japan during the Edo era (1603-1867). Bonseki scenes often depict mountains, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, seashores and gardens.

The humble artist, who had specially flown down to Karachi from Islamabad for the live demonstration, said that some 25 years back she herself hadn’t known of the art. “But when I did, I was very impressed and made an effort to learn it,” she said.

Going about her work with slow peaceful music playing in the background, Mrs Inomata explained that after completing one piece of art, which usually takes around two to three hours, the work would soon disappear though appreciation for it remained in the mind. “I enjoy the process of making a Bonseki though not as much as the end result. My mind tells me to keep on going and once finished I admire it before cleaning up the tray again by putting all the tools and materials back in their place,” she said.

Mrs Inomata had a special little wooden chest of drawers for her nine types of sands, different in grain sizes and consistency. In order to put the sands back in their drawers, she had several size sifters too.

For this demonstration, though, she let the final work of art rain for a while and be admired by the guests. It was an autumn scene of a very quiet seaside under the full moon which received a lot of praise from the guests.

“Japan is a land of unique mixture of traditional and modern culture and beautiful natural landscapes. Each of the four seasons has a strong influence on the cultural diversity and unique spirituality in Japan, which we like to highlight through the art of Bonseki,” said Hiroshi Inomata, the ambassador of Japan.

Earlier, Akira Ouchi, the consul general of Japan in Karachi, said that through the demonstration he hoped the people of Karachi would appreciate the exquisite natural beauty and fascinating diversity of Japan.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2015

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