It is believed that some of the first bonsai in America were brought in by Larz Anderson, who held a diplomatic post in Japan, in 1913. He purchased the trees from Yokohama Nursery Company, and many of these tree are still alive today. An auction catalog, dated 1904, shows that an earlier sale sponsored by the S.M. Japanese Nursery Company, was held in New York, where 600 trees were to be auctioned over a three day period. Today there are bonsai practitioners and bonsai clubs, associations, and societies in almost every state and city in the United States. There are also bonsai nurseries and bonsai teachers available in many metropolitan areas, and literally hundreds of books, magazines, videos, web sites, workshops, and bonsai shows that provide easy access to anyone seeking inspiration, guidance, instruction, and access to bonsai tools, pots, trees, and other materials.

The term bonsai (literally 'tree in a pot') is of Japanese origin and refers to a specific type of art form that grew out of Japanese culture and has been transplanted in various forms around the world. Bonsai though, as we know it today, came from China, where it was called Penjing, to Japan, possibly during the Heian period - 782-1185 AD.

The art of Penjing, cultivating plants in pots, has been traced by some scholars as far back as 500 BC, and we know from paintings that plants artistically designed in pots were being cultivated from at least 600 AD in China, where, during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), it was greatly influenced by the landscape painting and garden art that was flourishing at the time. Before the Tang Dynasty, cultivating plants in pots was called penzai, and had not developed the traditional aesthetic that we find in Penjing. It is believed that the art of Penjing was carried to Japan, Korea, and other Asian countries by wondering Buddhist monks. It fact, bonsai and Buddhism are deeply intertwined, particularly in Japan, and a basic understanding of Buddhism is essential to anyone striving to be a bonsai artist. It should also be noted, as Hiroshi Matsuda points out, that, because bonsai is such an integral part of Japanese art and culture, it is helpful for the aspiring bonsai practitioner to deepen their understanding of Japanese culture.

Once bonsai had established itself in Japan, it developed a distinctive aesthetic derived from Japanese culture, and underwent generations of refinement. It also developed different schools and styles. There are, though, basic bonsai principals that, having been passed down from bonsai masters to students for generations, deeply influence the art. And, only by mastering these principals and techniques, can the bonsai artist free themselves creatively to explore new directions for the art form to take.