Ikebana

me (left), Asuka (right), and the teacher (back)

After breakfast this morning, my host mother brought Asuka and me to the house of a woman who teaches ikebana, the art of Japanese flower arrangement.  Each of us made a flower arrangement and I learned the different proportions of different pieces as well as the concept behind ikebana.  The tallest piece is one and a half times the width of the bowl, the slanted branch pointed outward is two-thirds of the tallest piece, and the flower in the middle is one-half the height of the tallest piece.  After placing those pieces, everyone used the remaining plants to make their own original arrangements.  Ikebana is said to be a reflection of the maker's soul and mind.  If you are upset or confused, you will not be able to arrange the flowers beautifully.  The purpose of ikebana is to arrange the flowers in a way that makes them the most beautiful.  Since a flower's life is short, it should be made to look as beautiful as possible for the time it is alive.  The teacher and her daughter said that I did a good job and my arrangement turned out very well.  I really enjoyed arranging the flowers and I hope that I can try it again sometime.

before we started

the teacher explaining about the tallest piece in the arrangement

starting to work

talking about the chrysanthemum

starting the individual arranging (unique patterns)

me working on my arrangement