Light and Darkness - Ichyio Demonstration

One of the ikebana practitioners that I have come in contact with by writing this blog is Kathleen Adair, Junior Executive Master of the Ichiyo School in Tokyo. Through our exchange of e-mails Kathleen has also become a dear friend and I've been looking for an opportunity to meet her 'in real life'. A couple of weeks ago it finally happened. Sensei Kathleen Adair has been on a tour in Europe and visited Stockholm, Sweden, for a program with demonstrations and workshops hosted by Judit Katkits of First leaf ikebana, Ichiyo ikebana in Stockholm.

The program lasted from Saturday to Sunday and there was a demonstration and a workshop each day, the first one held at The Museum of Ethnography and the second at The Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities. In this blog post I want to give you a glimpse of the first demonstration, with the theme Light and darkness.

The demonstration started off with a cooling arrangement in a tall glass vase. Kathleen reminded us that when using a see-through vase for ikebana, one is always arranging the water just as much as one is arranging the flowers. To make an appealing and interesting arrangement there must always be a relation between the plant materials and the container.

While the first arrangement was 'the last summer arrangement for the season', the second was a traditional autumn arrangement: A moon viewing arrangement with Chrysanthemum, using a loosely woven basket as a flower holder in the shallow container. A specially made Japanese round fan, uchiwa, representing the moon, is attached to a bamboo vase in this arrangement consisting of two parts.

The next arrangement was about making something modern with a very traditional old container, in this case a large bamboo vase made for formal traditional ikebana. By using light and fresh materials and using a plastic covered metal vaier instead of vines, the arrangement got a new and modern feeling to it.

Creating structures of branches to hold the other materials is one of the specialities of the Ichyo school. In this arrangement Mitsumata branches are used stacked on top of each other, as a fixture for the flowers. The arrangement is also lifted up on a plexiglass holder to ad space around the arrangement and create a less heavy impression.

For the last arrangement leftover flowers were used in an arrangement meant to lighten up the dark autumn and winter nights of Sweden. LED lights were placed in a base and glass bowls placed on top of them, so that the plant materials where lit up from beneath.

Judith Katkits, representing the Ichiyo school in Sweden, introduced sensei Kathleen Adair and her assistant.

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Enduring Winter

Naturalistic Freestyle, vertical arrangement.
"Bamboo" Knotweed, Pine, White trumpet lily, Ilex berries, Lisianthus

Surviving winter can be a tough challenge if you are a delicate flower - no matter if you're a human being or a plant. In ikebana, plants that can endure hard times are celebrated as carriers of strength and symbolic meaning.

A much loved motive in East asian art is the Three Friends of Winter; bamboo, pine and plum.  In Japan these three plants are known as 'the three auspicious friends' and are associated with the start of the lunar New Year, bringing good wishes for the year to come. Although the Japanese New Year is nowadays celebrated on January 1st., it is still sometimes marked on the traditional day following the Chinese lunar calendar.  In 2013 the date of the Lunar New Year was February 10th, so this blog post is not that far out.

Bamboo symbolises longevity, pine prosperity, and plum steadfastness. Together they bring stamina and staying power. Plum flowers are of course also a messenger of spring and new life. In every winter arrangement there should always be a hint of spring - an assurance of new life.

In this New Years arrangement, using the traditional colours white, red and green, the bamboo is cut in a fashion typical to the kadomatsu New Years decoration. Actually it is not bamboo, but Knotweed which is easier to grow in a cold climate such as the Norwegian. As you can see there are no plum branches. But there is pine and there is a hint of spring.

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Spring Moon Friendship Knot

Freestyle waining moon arrangement, hanging style.
Weeping willow, white Chrysanthemum and Pussy willow.

Moon arrangements are traditionally placed so that they can be viewed from below, often with the plant materials hanging down over the spectators sitting on the tatami floor. Arranging an ikebana to be seen from below is different from arranging something that is to be seen from above or at the same level. Ikebana is always interacting with the surroundings and the situation. And it is always approaching us when we are admiring it, wether it is from above, below or at the same level.

View from sitting on the tatami floor.

This arrangement is a waining moon naturalistic freestyle, with the long hanging branches of weeping willow as the main material. Weeping willow is always used without leaves, emphasizing the sweeping bare lines. The looping circular lines are repeating the form of the vase. But the knot on a weeping willow branch also has a traditionally meaning, it expresses the wish for new friendships to come.

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Under the Cinnamon Moon

Browsing for new ikebana videos on YouTube I came across a presentation by California based ceramicist Barbara Stevens Strauss speaking about the Japanese influence on her art, through her study of Ikebana, Chanoyu, Raku firing, and Zen. It's recorded at the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco on the occasion of her one-woman show opening "Under the Cinnamon Moon: Japanese Inspired Sculpture".

I found this personal talk to be a quite inspiring story and wanted to share it with you all. The whole presentation takes 45 minutes and is divided into 4 videos. If you have limited time I recommend video 2 in which Ms Stevens Strauss talks about her present ikebana teacher Soho Sakai of the Sogetsu School. I've referred to the Soho Study Group in a previous blog post. It's of course easier to follow the story if you can also set aside time to watch video 1, featured in this blog post.

Barbara Stevens Strauss makes raku ceramics and also practices and teaches chabana, tea flowers. As many of you know I am a big fan of both raku and chabana. Let's hope we'll see more from Strauss in the future.

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7500 Visitors

This video presents a slide show with ikebana arrangements that are previously posted on my blog. The last year I've had 7500 unique visitors, and I made this slide show to mark the occasion. I'd like to thank you all for visiting, and especially my regular followers. Enjoy!

Music: Kôjô no Tsuki (Moon over the Ruined Castle), Jean-Pierre Rampal and Lily Laskine, Japanese Melodies for Flute and Harp.

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Moon Viewing

Autumn is the best time of the year for moon-viewing, a very popular activity in Japanese culture. To an ignorant person the moon can be full, half or simply gone. To a true moon enthusiast every night has its own unique moon. The thin waxing crescent moons, "Second-day moon" and "Third-day moon", have a special quality. And so has the Jûsanyazuki, the "Thirteenth-day moon", which is two nights before full moon - and of which the one of the ninth month (mid-October) is thought especially beautiful. I could go on for ever, but the most popular moon is definitely the harvest moon, Mangetsu or Jûgoyazuki, the full moon on the 15th night of the eighth lunar month (late September).

Last autumn I posted a series about moon flowers on this blog. I'm reposting the photo that was rated the most viewed, to give you all a renewed feeling of the magical autumn moon.

Waxing moon ikebana (slanting variation no.4): Japanese maple and white Chrysanthemum in a moon vase.

The harvest moon seems to be bigger, brighter and more colourful than other full moons. And since there is no long period of darkness between sunset and moonrise at this time of the year, the farmers could continue working to bring in their crops, hence the name.

If you are in Japan and not busy with the harvest you can visit the Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto, which is known as a moon-viewing palace. The villa, that was built by Prince Toshihito in the 1600s, is famous for its minimal and orthogonal design, and has been an inspiration to modern architects such as Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius. This villa is constructed to offer especially enjoyable viewings of the moon. The drawing rooms with their sliding screen doors are aligned exactly to provide the best view of the harvest moon, and the Gepparo (Moon-wave Pavilion) sits perfectly positioned for viewing the reflection of the moon on the water. It all sounds amazing.

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Modern Moon Mania

It has been said that the moon has a special influence on human beeings. Despite research showing no association the belief persists that the full moon effects our minds. It's true that the moon is able to move oceans. It's possible because of the large surface. But the moon has no influence on smaller lakes, and even less the water content in a human body.

Still the moonlight fascinates people, and so do ikebana arrangements in moon vases. The arrangements in this post are modern interpretations of traditional moon arrangements. As in all modern ikebana line and mass, space and volume are important aspects. The flowers and berries should ideally be light in colour - I just couldn't resist the nice contrast created by the strong red against the black vases.

Volume and mass: Dried Larch and Calla.

Vertical lines and mass: Calla, Ishu-ike.

Straight lines and mass: Rowan, Ishu-ike.

Horisontal and vertical lines: Pine and Berberis.

That's all from the moon folks! This is the last in a series of posts about moon arrangements.

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More Moons

A couple of weeks ago I posted some pictures of traditional hanging moon arrangements called Tsuri-Tsuki. Those where waxing moon arrangements catching the moon going from a thin slice to full glory. This week I have some more moons to post. The two first are full moon arrangements. In the Sogetsu School, which actually means "Grass and moon school", full moon arrangements are always in an upright style, Risshin-kei in Japanese. Following the moon faces I'm ending this post with two waining moon arrangements, one in horisontal style, Haishin-kei, and the last one in hanging style, Suishin-kei.

Full moon, Risshin-kei basic, Berberis and Chrysanthemum.

Full moon, Risshin-kei 3, Fern and roses.

drinking saké

without flowers or moon

one is alone

Haiku by Basho

Waining moon, Haishin-kei basic, branches and roses.

Waining moon, Suishin-kei basic, branches and roses.

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Moon Flowers - In Bed With a Goddess

moonflowers dimly white

in fading light

how pure: the moon rises

poem by Shimagi Akahiko (1876-1926)

From my bedroom window I have a good view of the moon at night. Moon-viewing, Otsukimi, has a special place in Japanese tradition. The brilliant glow of the full autumn moon is concidered to be the best. These traditional gatherings with writing and reading of special poems and listening to music while enjoying the mystical wonder evoked by the moon, are of cource much more organised than my moon-veiwing from bed.

For a Japanese moon-viewing you need a flower arrangement, always with light coloured flowers, preferably in a special moon vase. The flowers are said to be landmarks for the moon goddess descending from the heavens. The arrangements I'm posting today are waxing moon arrangements in round moon vases that are traditionally hanging from the ceiling. The materials are bamboo, Japanese maple, some unidentified branches and white Chrysanthemum, an autumn flower that in these arrangements can symbolize the moon goddess descending into the vase she has mistaken for the moon.

Research for this post: Japan National Tourism Organization.

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More Leaves

I found som old pictures of Ikebana featuring the surfaces of leaves. Hope you like them. They are from last year, but what the heck - let's enjoy them while it is the season for it.

A cascade of Bergenia leaves with pink roses.

Brown spotted bamboo leaves in a metal boat container with red mums.

Bergenia in a moon vase with a grass straw balancing on top.

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Browsing Through Time

Some people really have put a lot of work in sharing information on internet. By coincidence I stumbled across two articles about Sofu Teshigahara in Time Magazine, one from 1955 and one written in 1978.

In the 1955 articel, "Grass and Moon Master", Sofu is described as "a short, gnomelike figure dressed in a cream-colored coat, grey flannels and sneakers", staring reflectively at a hydragena in Bois de Boulogne, Paris. The first impression is contrasted by the statement "That gentleman is a famous Japanese flower arranger, Monsieur Sofu". The article goes on telling about his ikebana exhibition that "boogles the eyes and stuns the senses". It also tells the story about Sofu starting up the Sogetsu School, his work in wartime, and the success of his exhibitions after the war was ended.

Fascinating reading.

The 1978 articel "Japan's Picasso of the Flowers" writes about the opening of The Sogetsu School's eleven-story headquarters building, designed by Japanese Architect Kenzo Tange. Again we get the story of Sofu going new ways and starting his school. This time he is depicted as travelling in a chauffeured white Cadillac and living in an expensive Western-style house.

Read the articles online through these links:

Grass Moon Master, Time, Monday, Jul. 11, 1955

Japan's Picasso of the Flowers, Time, Monday, Jan. 30, 1978

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