I was wondering what I should do with this tree. I have it in a pot with some cool seiryu stone. I have done some shari and Jin work a long time ago. The tree is getting bushy and shading out the inside and killing it. I want to know what styling advice and general advice you guys have.

It seems like it needs some thinning out. Not possible to see any branches or pads. However branch selection come spring may be a challenge If that lower bend is the only one. Usually it is hard to make them look like anything else than a porcupine. I think I would grow a new leader for more mowement and a bigger tree. But really hard to be sure from that green mass covering all the stucture.

Here is the inside.

So, yes. Exactly what I suspected. You have just one bend on the whole trunk. As we normally want to see the mowement from the front and have the branches on the outcurve, it is very hard to make it look like anything else than a porcupine. I stand firm that I would let a new leader to form and train it for a higher tree with a few more bends. That may take quite some time, but it is always better to aim for a great tree in a distant future than an average or poor tree tomorow.

Yeah I bought this tree from a regular nursery already styled. So do I just bring up another branch and wire it into place as the trunk.

I tried to make it look more civilized and less bushy and wired it into a good shape.