Daisuke Mariko (JUME BONSAI), the third-generation bonsai artist at Mariko Bonsai Garden, has exhibited a new work from the ‘LuVLEE Artwork Project’—his first piece featuring a stone—at SHIBUYA SAKURA STAGE in Shibuya from Monday 26 October to Monday 2 November 2026. The piece is a washi paper bonsai ‘Takumi-kei -SHOKEI-‘, his first piece featuring a stone.
A one-of-a-kind piece created by layering sheets of 0.03mm-thick Tosa washi one by one, imbued with the ‘memory of life’ of the tree
Bonsai artist Daisuke Mariko (JUME BONSAI) has been selected as an exhibiting artist for the ‘LuVLEE Artwork Project’, which fuses world-renowned artists, contemporary art and traditional Japanese crafts to create a new worldview.
His work for this exhibition, themed ‘ONE LOVE’, embodies a prayer for coexistence that transcends national and cultural differences, expressed through a ‘rock-mounted’ black pine whose roots take firm hold in the rock.
By layering sheets of Tosa washi paper, each just 0.03 mm thick, one by one, he expresses the tree’s ‘memory of life’. As Daisuke Mariko’s first ‘ishi-tsuki’ masterpiece, it brings together the technical skills unique to a bonsai artist with the aesthetic beauty of bonsai.
Exhibited Work
| Title: |
Shokei -SHOKEI- ‘Iwakura -IWAKURA-’ |
| Tree species: |
Black pine (with stone base / Ibi stone) |
| Material: |
Tosa washi paper, 0.03 mm thick |
| Pot: |
Specially crafted, wrapped in woven Japanese obi fabric |
Daisuke Mariko: Profile
Third-generation owner of Mariko Bonsai Garden. Bonsai artist.
Mariko Bonsai Garden has received a total of 88 awards (as of 2025), including the Prime Minister’s Award. Whilst preserving traditional bonsai techniques, he is exploring new possibilities in the art of bonsai through his ‘Shokei’ series of washi paper bonsai.