Why Roof-top?
In recent decades the industrialisation of the Korean Peninsula has caused a sharp decrease in the available amount of space. As such many places are not ideal for the long term cultivation and care of bonsai trees. That is, unless you have a roof. Some Korean apartments or small residential building have roofs that double as outdoor areas, these usually have plenty of sunshine and due to construction usually have a parapet that blocks excess wind. This makes it an ideal place to keep Bonsai.
Bonsai comes from the two Chinese characters (Kanji) meaning a bowl and planted. In Japanese this is Bon (盆) a bowl , container or tray and Sai (栽) a planting, they correlate to the Korean word Bun (Korean:분 Hanja: 盆) and Jae (Korean:재 Hanja :栽) . This makes sense as the art form travelled from China through Korea during the Korean Three Kingdoms Period from 57BC to around 935AD. The base form of this art is the Chinese Penjing (盆景) which literary mean "Tray Landscape".
So basically Penjing from China turned into the Bunjae of Korea which in turn gave rise to the Bonsai of Japan. Thus one can see a difference in the overall interpretation of what these "tray plantings" should really be. Furthermore its introduction into the west has caused yet more redefinition of the nature of Bonsai.
Bonsai comes from the two Chinese characters (Kanji) meaning a bowl and planted. In Japanese this is Bon (盆) a bowl , container or tray and Sai (栽) a planting, they correlate to the Korean word Bun (Korean:분 Hanja: 盆) and Jae (Korean:재 Hanja :栽) . This makes sense as the art form travelled from China through Korea during the Korean Three Kingdoms Period from 57BC to around 935AD. The base form of this art is the Chinese Penjing (盆景) which literary mean "Tray Landscape".
So basically Penjing from China turned into the Bunjae of Korea which in turn gave rise to the Bonsai of Japan. Thus one can see a difference in the overall interpretation of what these "tray plantings" should really be. Furthermore its introduction into the west has caused yet more redefinition of the nature of Bonsai.