Only in Japan, a country isolated for centuries, which then became an 'empire' that through brutality and oppression sought global domination, would they decisively seek stunting growth of all that lives, and call it 'beauty'.

Wow. You seem to be hurting. Did you see this week's theme on
Monday. Go to weekly themes and check out SKS24, the first to comment, and click on the site he gives concerding dominance and affection, as it applies to plants, animals, etc. Only one page.
Seems like you might enjoy it.

I had never considered bonsai in that way. makes me think of binding feet, and all that.

hmm. and I always loved bonsai. need to rethink that, I guess.

Bonsai: Tuan, p. 61 - 68

need to rethink that, I guess

Well, it is what it is. Reminds me of Kubrick, specifically Barry Lyndon. Very beautiful film on the surface. But it's also about how we are little different from other animals. There are winners and losers, dominators and the dominated. See also the first 25 minutes or so of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

And, uh, yeah: bound feet. Honor killings. Child labor. That list goes on forever.

OKaaay . . . where's the happy place? Time for the happy place!

At one time I had a bonsai tree I inherited from somewhere.
And I agree, I have to do some rethinking. Anu's thread this week has me thinking about lots of things that way. Pigeon-holing people, like discrimination. I can see a certain beauty to the forced trees, etc., but it does seem improper in a certain way. The same with animals breeding them such to achieve some sort of beauty. I have a King Charles Spaniel, in 1939
some folks inbread them somehow to shorten or lengthen the nose to make them more appealing (I forget which), and mine is now called a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel. Seems somehow odd. I wonder how long it will take to do it to people with the genome projects and cloning ideas that are out there.
But then this is a forum for ideas.

The ape scene in 2001 A Spacey Odyssey is definitely an example.
Someone once wrote an article on it showing how it tried to reconcile creationism and evolution. The first act of the
"now conscious" ape is murder of the neighboring band of apes similar to Cain and Abel. Whew!

Speaking of trees in this link. I just finished "Prince Caspian"
both the book and the movie which is about 6 months old. The final battle scene has trees coming to the rescue, which had been asleep for over 1000 years. They help the four Pensivie children and Caspian. I know C.S.Lewis, the Author of the
Narnia books, of which Prince Caspian is one, and JRR Tolkien of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, were friends. As such,visiting as they were wont to do, in some park, can you imagine the discussion turning around to trees and their place in the general scheme of things. Tolkien's trees, the Ents, come to the rescue of Frodo, et.al., in the final battle as well. Just
ruminating, here.

Wasn't binding feet Chinese?

Domesticated trees need to be pruned and trimmed. As long as this is done for functionality/health reasons the trees and shrubs keep their natural look.
Topiary does no harm to the shrubs, they need to be trimmed anyway and I love the look of those forms.
Bonsai means above all clipping the roots. Not nice these little poor minitrees.... Better have the raked gravel garden in stead of it and be philosofical about stones.
(give me my own somewhat controlled wilderness anytime).
Now,come to think of it,if we could resize ourselves to a quarter of our actual size, what a benefit to the world this would be. Bonsai people, eureka!
bonsai cars, bonsai houses, bonsai skyscrapers, bon!

Binding feet was Chinese. But there are so many examples of
"mutilation" (if you will) in the name of beauty, e.g. stretching
women's necks with successive rings raising the head higher and
higher.
But beauty is "in the eye of the beholder",that.
I am not particularly interested in it, but would not body
piercing fit the example?