In the history of bonsai trees it is common for people to think that the Chinese started to grow these miniature plants first. Although most bonsai tree’s are called Japanese Bonsai. In Japanese the word Bonsai means “tray planting”. I have read that it is said that the bonsai tree was started back in the Han Dynasty. People found paintings showing what looked like bonsai trees in 1972 in the tomb of Prince Zhang Huai, of the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 A.D.) who died in 706 A.D. Buddhist monks brought the bonsai to the Japanese back in the Heian period (794 - 1191A.D. Today you can buy bonsai tree’s all over the world including here in the United States. There are so many styles of tree’s available for purchase nowadays and you can find a huge selection right online at the Bonsai Boy.