One day, my boss at TaiShoEn, was watching me work with a shinpaku (a type of juniper) and asked me if junipers were my favorite tree to develop. I replied that I liked all trees but that I enjoyed twisting junipers into contorted shapes. He then suggested that I might like a break in the routine (I worked seven days a week during my apprenticeship) and visit a nearby grower of shinpaku. Of course, I jumped at the chance to visit a grower. I wandered around the grower's fields until my boss started negotiating with the nurseryman. When asked how many of the trees my boss would like, my boss replied that he would take all of them. This, of course, pleased all parties, especially me! The shohin bonsai shown above is representative of the material that I developed from the vast amount of material that I had the pleasure to work. I hope you like the tree.