jin

The word “jin” means in bonsai cultivation, a section of dead, stripped wood on a branch or trunk, shaped to suggest age. In plain terms, a bonsai technique or feature: bare, bleached deadwood left on a living tree for artistic effect.

“Jin” is pronounced jihn (/d͡ʒɪn/ in IPA).

Here is “jin” used in a sentence: “The bonsai master carefully created a jin on the old pine to give it a weathered look.”

Words with a similar meaning to “jin” include Kim, Kam, rivers, prefecture & seat, Changjiang Creek and River.

“Jin” is a noun.

The word “jin” comes from Japanese.

“Jin” is an uncommon word in modern English.

Both are deadwood features, but they sit in different places. A jin is a dead, bark-stripped section on a branch or at the top of the trunk, while a shari is a strip of deadwood running along the side of the trunk itself. Many mature bonsai display both features together.

A jin is created by stripping the bark from a dead or unwanted branch and carving the exposed wood into a natural-looking taper. Growers usually treat the bare wood to whiten and preserve it, so the finished jin resembles sun-bleached deadwood on an old tree.

A jin makes a young tree look old. In nature, deadwood appears where wind, lightning, or drought has killed a branch, so a shaped jin suggests a tree that has survived harsh conditions for many years, which is central to bonsai's illusion of age.