Bonsai styles should begin with the tree, not the label

Start at the root base and trace the trunk to the apex. Note where taper changes, where important branches originate, which movement is already present and what feature gives the material identity.

Then ask what a proposed style would preserve, clarify or require you to invent. A credible direction should explain more of the visible tree with fewer unsupported assumptions.

Formal and Informal Upright share an upward destination but differ in the role of movement. Cascade and Windswept can both feel dramatic, yet one is organized by downward gravity and the other by a consistent lateral force. Literati may lean or descend, but its defining tool is restraint and negative space.

Use comparison sections to resolve nearby questions. A separate page is justified only when the search intent and the structural decision are genuinely distinct.

• Compare the same source photo
• Keep trunk identity visible
• Judge negative space, not only foliage
• Reject directions that require hidden structure

Choose two plausible directions rather than committing to the first attractive image. Run both against one clear front view, keep the visual horizon consistent and compare which set respects the tree's existing facts.

Bonsivo makes that comparison visible, but the final workshop plan still depends on health, branch flexibility, roots, season and technique that a photograph cannot confirm.