In the early Edo period, when bonsai culture was first established, bonsai was primarily appreciated by the upper classes—such as court nobles and samurai—as an object of visual admiration. However, by the Showa era (1926–1989), many ordinary people had begun to grow bonsai themselves. In this essay, I would like to explore the background behind this shift.

To illustrate this more clearly, let us examine the case of Sazae-san, a manga by Machiko Hasegawa that came to symbolize the typical Japanese household during the Showa period.
In the story, the father of the Isono family, Namihei Isono, owns a detached house with a garden in Setagaya, Tokyo. This setting can be seen as Hasegawa’s way of portraying the growing affluence of Japanese people at the time. Furthermore, to underscore that prosperity, she had Namihei grow bonsai in the garden—once considered a hobby of the upper class.

During the Showa era, many people regularly watched the Sazae-san anime on television. Viewers often saw Namihei as the ideal father figure and identified with him as the head of a middle-class family. In other words, the idea of “middle-class family man = Namihei Isono” became deeply rooted in the public consciousness. Since his hobby was cultivating bonsai, many Showa-era fathers naturally became fascinated with the practice. As a result, bonsai began to shift from being something to view to something to nurture and enjoy.

As bonsai spread among the general public, the related market also grew. Bonsai nurseries began selling saplings and finished bonsai; pot makers manufactured and sold specialized bonsai pots; and equipment makers who produced watering cans, bonsai scissors, and tools such as wire pliers also benefited. The entire industry began to actively promote bonsai as something to be grown. This commercial support was another factor that helped solidify the shift toward cultivating bonsai as a mainstream form of enjoyment.

As a result, even during today’s global BONSAI boom, bonsai is widely recognized as something to be cultivated. However, this widespread popularity has also led to the proliferation of “bonsai-like” creations that do not follow traditional Japanese methods and aesthetics.