Today's Picture: 049

[akujunkan]

Is of:


Ikebana--Japanese flower arranging, in other words.

Say the words "Japanese flower arranging," and you're likely to get images of a few artfully arranged sprigs in a minimalist vase. That's the old school stuff. The popular stuff, the stuff that everybody goes to see, is the newer, (to my eyes) more experimental variety, like you see in the picture above. I believe this piece belongs to the 草月 school of ikebana.

I say "to my eyes" because I don't doubt that there are just as many rules for 草月 as there are for the older, more traditional forms. I'm also not sure whether or not there are any nails holding this piece together, although it wouldn't surprise me if there weren't and the whole thing was just very carefully balanced.

Incidentally, this picture was taken at an ikebana exhibition in Maruyama Park, which in turn is part of the weeklong festivities surrounding the Hanatouro--literally "flower lantern"--festival in Higashiyama.


That will be all.

Comments

[bran420-7.livejournal.com]

Gorgeous and so detailed. I wish I could see it in person.

[akujunkan.livejournal.com]

I wish you could see it with me too!!

There was another really awesome one that featured matsutake mushrooms (which cost big $$$$ here) and something that looked like cranberries, but since I don't own a tripod I only get one good night photo out of every fifty or so I attempt.

[bran420-7.livejournal.com]

I hear that. I always get a glare. Even when I turn the flash off!

[akujunkan.livejournal.com]

For me it's not so much glare as it is that I just have really, really unsteady hands. Combine that with the vastly slower shutter speed on night mode, and you get a lot of photos that are only good for polychrome Rorschach tests...