This isn't a good angle to take a photo, but you can see a muginadeshiko flower well. These are indigenous summer flowers. Tuyukusa used to grow all over our garden like weeds, but in Los Angles, I bought a pot in a large nursery.
The name of these sweets is hydrangea. It's pink, purple, and bit blue. The ware is oribe pottery with dark green glaze.
I love the way the teacher's hands move. It relaxes me while my spine straightens by itself. Their hands always look roundish and move in the most economical way. It's perhaps the most ordinary skill to achieve, but it takes so many years of practice.
In a separate tea room, the flowers were arranged in a basket and placed on a lacquered board for a contrast and formality.
The flowers in the photos are all indigenous to Japan, but in the cities like Yokohama, it’s more difficult to find them nowadays. So ocha practitioners grow them in their gardens. I mentioned this before, but because we burn a fragrant wooden chip like agalwood in an ocha room just before guests arrive, we use only the ocha flowers which are selected for no fragrance.
I love gorgeous western bouquets of flowers in western settings, but in ocha rooms, simple and less are more effective.
14 comments:
Keiko, What a lovely little pink flower and I like how it is displayed.
Do the sweets get their name from the hydrangea plant? It has that same sort of color. It's amazing that they made the sweets that way, fashioned after a flower.
Hearing you describe how the teacher's hands move is relaxing. It goes to show that even things that seem ordinary, take so much time to master.
I enjoy simple flower arrangements, but some of the Western bouquets are nice. One of my favorite flowers is Freesia because of its wonderful scent and daintiness.
'Simple and less are more effective'. I love that, Keiko! I´ve been in a process to apply that to my own life for quite a while now. Thank you for the life lessons you offer in between your words and images!:-)
Rebb,
All the Japanese traditional arts are grounded in seasons. Without seasons, they don’t exist.
So sweets artists make sweets according to the flowers and plants of the season. The shape, colors, and texture are creative within the form. The top of the sweets were sprinkled with clear gelatin pieces. They are dew drops. When I bit into it, I saw the core was reddish brown bean paste covered by a white layer, and the top layer was light pink and purple. The bean paste has very fine smooth texture.
Ajisai (hydrangea) as a motif shows that the host celebrates a meeting in May or June. But if the host were a sophisticated artist, and decided to pick ajisai as a motif, I think she or he would do it in early May. (The situation in the photos are ocha practice, not a party.) It’s fresh and more considerate that way. So it will be a surprise to guests. The details can drive people crazy, but these fussiest details also attract people to ocha.
About freesia, yes, I love the smell. I wasn’t successful to grow freesia, but in San Dimas, I planted 80 rose bushes for fragrance long time ago. I have a star jasmine next to the main door so that it smells good every time I open the door. I used to have a gardenia and white wisteria in the front yard so that after the star jasmine stop blooming, they send good smell.
But just as the Japanese language is so different from English, the concept of good smell in the traditional Japan is different, too. The smell is also an art. We have a traditional art called Kodo. The Way of Fragrance. I don’t know how to describe it. Just like lights, you might not notice the difference without some training.
Nowadays, many Americans like sushi, and Some Chinese in China come to Japan to buy expensive maguro. So, I think it’s a matter of experience. Words fail.
Lu,
I didn't mean it as a life lesson. I meant it effective in ocha rooms.
I love English gardens. I went to Chelsea Garden in England and Monet's Garden in Giverney out of my passion in Western gardens. I enjoy large gorgeous bouquets in a hotel lobby or weddings. I enjoy different experiences. I hope Brazil stays the same. The other day I watched many gorgeous butterflies photos. A Japanese writer went to Brazil a while ago and took photos. The nature in Amazon was amazing, he said.
Hi Keiko, There are so many fascinating details that I continue to learn about your culture. I love it! I didn’t realize that about the seasons. I knew there was something, but I didn’t realize how deep.
80 rose bushes. You must have a huge yard. Wisteria is another favorite for me and all the others you named. So many lovely fragrances and moods.
I would love to learn more about Kodo. I go through life smelling as much that I can soak in. As I wrote in my skunk blog, I may have been a dog in a past life :) And I usually smell everything before I eat it.
I keep forgetting to tell you that I like the new look of your blog.
Hi Rebb,
Skunk? No, no, not bad smell. You're a riot. Wait, maybe, you can start a new disciplined art?! Hahaha.
In kodo, the practitioners only use the special kind of woods that smell good in a subtle way. I'm ignorant about kodo, but I just read that they use aged, dead woods. It said it's a matter of luck to find the kinds of wood that produce good smell when they are burned.
http://www.shinoryu.com/kumikou.html
http://www.shinoryu.com/izanai.html
Like "Flower Moon" games in ocha, probably kodo has games of guessing each perfume.
About the seasons, they are very distinct in Japan, and it used to be very rich in nature. So cerebrating a season could be just enjoying a particular flower or vice versa, and that enjoyment is a brief moment, so spontaneity is the key to the traditional Japanese arts. I used to think that's such a common behavior that all the people in the world are basically the same. But I guess ancient Japanese made many careers out of ordinary things. Good for them. And good for us.
You are sooooo funny, Keiko. I actually, do like the smell of skunk, just as long as it’s not too strong. I love the earthiness of it and for some reason have always enjoyed the smell and don’t see it as a bad smell. But, yes, that would be quite something—a new disciplined art. The art of Skunk! Hehe.
Thank you for the links. I can’t read it but at least I can see the art in practice and I see the pieces of wood. I would love playing that game if they try to guess each perfume. Sounds like fun.
Reading your last paragraph, I could really see myself blend right in with the Japanese culture of the seasons. I love spontaneity and appreciating little gifts of nature. Yes, “Good for them. And good for us.” And good for us that you are sharing these gifts with us. :)
p.s. Thank you for posting the beautiful red flower and others. I took a photo a few weeks ago, but have not downloaded it yet. It’s a red kangaroo paw flower.
You are sooooo funny, Keiko. I actually, do like the smell of skunk, just as long as it’s not too strong. I love the earthiness of it and for some reason have always enjoyed the smell and don’t see it as a bad smell. But, yes, that would be quite something—a new disciplined art. The art of Skunk! Hehe.
Thank you for the links. I can’t read it but at least I can see the art in practice and I see the pieces of wood. I would love playing that game if they try to guess each perfume. Sounds like fun.
Reading your last paragraph, I could really see myself blend right in with the Japanese culture of the seasons. I love spontaneity and appreciating little gifts of nature. Yes, “Good for them. And good for us.” And good for us that you are sharing these gifts with us. :)
p.s. Thank you for posting the beautiful red flower and others. I took a photo a few weeks ago, but have not downloaded it yet. It’s a red kangaroo paw flower.
Rebb,
About earthy smells, I agree with you. For a bit of smells, I have a good feeling about them, too. In Genji-monogatari, I read a scene that a man wants to see a woman and goes near her house. He cannot see her, but he goes near the bathroom to smell her. I was struck by that. Maybe, in our modern brains, most of us would say, Yak! But I understood that earthy good feeling underneath, especially because 1000 years ago in Japan, court people did not eat meat, so the toilets were probably not as bad as today's toilets. Isn't it interesting?
Keiko, That’s a good point about how 1000 years ago in Japan, court people did not eat meat to go along with more wholesome earthy scents. Nowadays it is Yak! because of all the junk we put into our bodies. Yes, today’s toilets are not very pleasant. It is very interesting.
p.s. You made me curious to find any books on scents and such and the library did not have much, but I did find two books. One is called “Incense: rituals, mystery, lore” and while I was searching the online catalog, I came across a book called, “The flowers of Japan and the art of floral arrangement.”
Two memories occurred. One is that I used to burn incense in my room all the time when I was maybe in my late teens through my twenties and then I remembered how Catholic churches burn incense, usually Frankincense, I believe. And then one day when I went to a small Buddhist temple house, incense was burning as an offering, along with some other things.
I stopped burning incense because my senses started becoming too sensitive to the smell and I would feel sick. But I think soon, I will try again. The second memory is when I worked in the flower shop. My boss was a Chinese lady and she had a friend that would come in from time to time that also owned a flower shop. I think she was also Chinese. Anyway, she would make the most beautiful Ikebana flower arrangements and they would make them together. I loved that style. So simple, natural, free.
Rebb,
The incense burning for kodo or ocha is different from the incense burning in temples or churches. They don’t burn that much. I mean you don’t see smoke and the smell is very very subtle. And we say to hear a scent, not smell a scent. We don’t bring our nose close to the source, but our ear.
Japanese flower arrangement is called Ikebana. Maybe, those Chinese women had lived in Japan or learned from one of Ikebana schools. The Ikebana community is very competitive. If you have time, I recommend to see one large event so that you can sample a variety of floral arrangement.
I’ll list many links in a separate blog for you and Lu and Vincent.
Keiko, Thank you for clarifying. I think I may have run too many thoughts together. I wasn't comparing, only sharing my memories, and also just expressing that I would like to explore my own relationship to scent/fragrance and other cultures, which is why that book looked good to me. And you can imagine with my own incense burning in my tiny room, the scent became loud and strong without my putting my ear or nose up to it.
:)
Thanks for the inspiration, Keiko.
If I ever see an Ikebana event, I will definitely try to attend. I think I would love it. Thank you.
Rebb,
I understood your many thoughts, and me, too, about sharing. Thank you.
Post a Comment