One of my favorite places to walk when I lived in Tokyo was among the beautiful pine trees that rim the moat around the Emperor's palace. The trees were like exotic dancers who assumed dramatic poses, for they had been shaped by special gardeners over the years. In the plant shops, one could find the smallest of these trees, known as "bonsai," dwarf pines.
I tried to imagine the suffering a little pine tree must go through to achieve such beauty. And then I thought ― what if. What if the dying princess in the Emperor's palace can only be saved by a beautiful dwarf pine, who is pure of spirit. In my story, a spindly little pine dreams of saving the princess. He undergoes great pain to become beautiful, with the help of King Sojobo, a mountain demon, and his band of tengu, but must agree to sacrifice his life so that the princess can live.
A critic wrote of The Dwarf Pine Tree: "This poignant work reflecting the gentle spirit of Buddha emerges as a minor masterpiece."