Formal upright or Chokkan - Straight, upright, tapering trunk. Branches progress regularly from the thickest and broadest at the bottom to the finest and shortest at the top. Informal upright or takichi - Trunk has visible curves, but the apex of the tree is located directly above the trunk's entry into the soil line. Extreme Informal or Miyogi - Trunk has exaggerated curves and often lots of deadwood. Slanting or Shakan - Trunk is straight like that of a formal upright but the apex of the bonsai is located to the left or right of the root base. Cascade or Kengai - Bottom of a cascade style falls below the base of the pot. Semi-cascade or Han-kengai - Bottom of the tree extends beneath level of the lip of the bonsai pot but not below the base of the pot. Exposed-root or Neagari - Roots of the tree are exposed as extensions of the trunk, free from soil. This type of tree would be seen along a stream where the soil is slowly eroded from under the tree. Twin-trunk, two-trunk or Sokan - Two trunks rise from a single set of roots. Generally one trunk will be larger than the other and they are often called mother/daughter. Generally, the smaller trunk will be behind and the branches of the smaller trunk start lower but complete those of the bigger tree. Forest or Yose-ue - Planting of many trees, typically an odd number unless too many to count easily, in a bonsai pot or more often, on a slab of stone. Literati or Bunjingi - A bare trunk line, with few branches typically near the apex of a long, often contorted trunk. Broom or Hokidachi -Tree with extensive, fine branching. Trunk is straight and upright and branches out in all directions about 1/3 of the way up the entire height of the tree forming a ball-shaped crown. Windswept or Fukinagashi - A slant style where all of the branches are on one side of the tree as if they had been blown there by a strong persistent wind along a coast.

Tree Styles