Why Are There So Many Right Flow Trees?
Right flow Japanese Maple. In display the accent piece would be to the right. Luis Vallejo Bonsai Museum, Spain.
Left flow Chinese Hackberry. Luis Vallejo Bonsai Museum, Spain.
A common comment is, “The majority of my bonsai flow to the right”. Just this week we did an inventory of right vs. left bonsai on the benches here at Crataegus Bonsai, and our results support this observation.
41 bonsai flowed left. 63 flowed right. Which makes 65% with a right flow.
The next question is, “Why?”
One theory is how we read. That because we read left to right we are predisposed to “see” bonsai as right flow objects. Might be.
I’ve wondered if when we select trees—when we are choosing material—we choose them through the lens of how we read. That maybe our preferences predate the styling of the tree.
Another idea tossed about is handedness. That because most of us are right handed (I am) we create more bonsai weighted to the right.
I’ve never done a flow inventory in Japan. Until recently the Japanese were strict in their schooling, forcing kids to write with their right hands. Not anymore. But if handedness in flow were true I think we’d see a strong bias there to right flow.
The last question would be “Does this matter?”
It may, if you enjoy setting up bonsai displays of multiple trees. Not only does a bonsai have flow, but a display does as well. Outdoors, with a group of posts, the bonsai on the ends should flow inwards or the display looks haphazard and in disunity.
Even in my large bonsai garden with lots of options I often have trouble setting up a display with the appropriate flow, if I wish for a wide mix of species.
In the garden of David Benevente, Spain. Notice the flows of the outer trees, which flow to the inside.
I’d be curious to hear your thoughts and the flow percentages in your yards!
20 Comments
Interesting. I get annoyed with myself as I flow most to the left and don’t know why. I’m right handed.
Oh, that is an interesting comment! Bucks the trend a bit.
I’ve noticed the same thing in myself and others. I am right handed and sometimes deliberately try to design left flowing trees to avoid the problem in my own collection.
I have the same instinct. I think I’m taking the tree at face value, trying to get the best out of it, but then there are a lot of right flow trees, so maybe I’m not!
Great post. I have known for some time that I have a strong preference for right flow with my own trees that I’m trying to actively combat (why having everything be the same?). I’m left-handed (albeit weakly, I do prefer right-handed scissors) so that may or not be the explanation. When I draw bonsai (using my left hand) I’m more likely to draw right to left, so maybe that does play a role. I had always suspected it was more about how we read from left to right, but we’d need a cultural study to examine that explanation. I’m a psychologist but I don’t specialize in this kind of question so unfortunately I don’t have much more to add LOL.
Thanks Tony! It seems many of us are having a similar experience…
Amazing. I love that you are commenting on this since it’s something I also noticed in my trees recently.
I also have a tendency to make my trees flow to the right. It feels more comfortable to me and I think it definitely has to do with the way I read. Eye movement from left to right just feels more comfortable and looks more appealing.
Rarely will I design a tree with a flow towards the left unless it really must go that way due to branch or trunk structure. As another commenter mentioned, I too will sometimes intentionally try to have a tree flow to the left (if that is an option) since I have so many with a right flow.
Love the blog posts!
Thanks Paul! The comment from Mats and the science available on this subject seems to support your backyard observations.
Japanese when written vertically is read from right to left…
Is there a difference in direction proportion based on nation of origin?
It is an excellent question…
I am a left-handed 80 year old retiree. The world is set up for RIGHT HANDERS!!! So, I’ve had to adjust. To your point, I am severely left handed but I hope that I still strive to give the best front available to my trees. Maybe that’e delusional, but I’ve been delusional about life since childhood. I still believe that everyone is good.
Cheers, yes, many left handers would likely agree with you on the world being set up that way-
We have a four-acre bonsai nursery and the tree population is about evenly split right vs. left. We focus more on the tree front and the characteristics of the tree that we want to display. Why reinvent the wheel when nature creates opportunities that we can exploit?
Thanks Brent! That is ideal!
I thought that it was related to reading/writing. In traditional Japanese, horizontal writing/reading is right to left and that supposedly leads to a majority of trees with a leftward flow. Does anyone know if the tree flow in Japan is leftward biased?
I didn’t think to look! Maybe on my next trip…
Personally I prefer right leaning trees or trees that flow to the right.
There is pretty solid science behind favoring right handed flow done with comparison of reversed art.
The Gutenberg diagram explains how we tend to view objects. I’m guessing this has quite a bit to do with the differences of the left and right cerebral hemispheres.
Visual interpretation is pretty complex. The brain does not just see objects. It first attempts to recognize. It then fills in certain parts and we eventually comprehend and finally analyze. In reality there is a lot of different parts of the brain involved. Some of theses are done by the right brain (sees from the left) and some by the left brain (sees from the right). I’m not a neurologist but I think brain physiology may have something to do with this.
Rather than counting trees consider flipping the images and have people compare photos of the same tree flowing to the left and flowing to the right.
Jonas Dupuich has given great lectures on bonsai flow though I have not heard him bring up favoring right or left. His lectures available on YouTube on the topic of flow are worth while.
Here is a pretty decent article of how we see art from a flow perspective.
https://www.braddailey.com/flow-visual-hierarchy
Thank you for an excellent post and your ongoing contributions,
Mats H
Hi Mats, thanks for this, fascinating take on handedness! I didn’t know there was science on this so really appreciate the comment!
Yeap about 40% right, 30% left and 30% with no so obvious flow (Ginkgo and quinces) here! ideally for me will be having two ‘fronts’ but the most important it’s having an overall balance in my garden.
Interesting subject.
It is a fascinating one, isn’t it!