{"id":604,"date":"2007-10-12T22:25:13","date_gmt":"2007-10-12T13:25:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2007-10-12\/604"},"modified":"2007-10-12T22:25:13","modified_gmt":"2007-10-12T13:25:13","slug":"ikebana-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2007-10-12\/604","title":{"rendered":"Ikebana, Part II"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n

As promised in an earlier post, here are some of the Ikebana (floral\narranging) works I saw<\/span> at the exhibition that also had the preschooler ikebana<\/a> I\nposted<\/span> about the other day.<\/p>\n\n

If you know the slightest thing about ikebana, you'll probably cringe at\nthe total lack of understanding evident in my comments, so you have my\napologies up front.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f\/2.8 @ 28mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f\/2.8, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nIris, Maple, and Iris<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Based on how they were presented, the three works above were clearly by\nimportant and\/or well-respected people. The middle<\/span> and right-side\nnameplates indicate that they were done by the heads of schools (although\nI'm not sure whether “school” here is in the sense of a place<\/span> of study, as\nin “school of thought,” or both).<\/p>\n\n

Nearby was the witch-hazel (mansaku<\/i>, \u4e07\u4f5c)<\/span> work by Marina-chan's\nMommy that I mentioned<\/span> in the earlier\npost<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f\/2.8 @ 50mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>90 sec, f\/5.6, ISO 500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nWitch Hazel<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The photo really does not do it, or any of these, justice. I suppose<\/span> the\nsame could be said for a photo<\/span> of a painting<\/span> or of a statue<\/span>: such photos\nconvey the intellectual appearance, but fail completely to convey any\ngreater artistic sense. At least, that's the case with my photos. The photo<\/span> above makes the arrangement look pedestrian, when it was really\nexceptionally well balanced. To put it<\/span> another way, it just made you feel\nnice to look at it, but I can't<\/span> same the same for the photo.<\/p>\n\n

I don't know much about plants, so had to look up witch hazel<\/a>. Actually, I had to<\/span> look up all the plant names I mention<\/span> here, including this\nJapanese rowan<\/a>\n(nanakamado<\/i>, \u4e03\u7ac8<\/span><\/a>) display\nthat was next to the one above:<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Sigma 30mm f\/1.4 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f\/2.5, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nJapanese Rowan<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

There were hundreds of ikebana arrangements in many styles, sometimes\nincorporating bamboo, gourds, rocks, and other items from nature. Here's\none example from among many.....<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f\/2.8 @ 55mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f\/2.8, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nIris and Leopard Plant, in Bamboo<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The lower flower is tsuwabuki<\/i> (\u77f3\u8557<\/span><\/a>) in\nJapanese, or Farfugium japonicum<\/a>, neither\nof which mean anything to me, but it's pretty, so a rose<\/span> by any other name\nblah blah blah....<\/p>\n\n

I like how imperfections in the plants were not necessarily avoided, but at times actually embraced...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f\/2.8 @ 55mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>100 sec, f\/2.8, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nEqual-Opportunity Arrangement<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

As I said, there must have been hundreds of arrangements on display, in\nseveral large rooms. I had only<\/span> a short<\/span> time, made shorter by Anthony being\na bit<\/span> fussy (until Arthur looked after him for a few<\/span> minutes, thanks!), so\nI really<\/span> didn't have time even to enjoy them all, much less photograph even\na representative<\/span> sample (and what I did<\/span> photograph was under conditions\nthat we'll generously call “less than ideal”).<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f\/2.8 @ 17mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f\/2.8, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHeavy Turnout<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

To head off the inevitable question about the lady left-of-center\nwearing a face<\/span> mask, it's common in Japan to wear such a mask<\/span> when you have\na cold<\/span> so that you avoid passing it along to everyone. It's a basic<\/span>\ncourtesy that the rest of the world would do well to adopt.<\/p>\n\n

About the crowd, I thought<\/span> the shirt on the guy in the picture below was\na bit,<\/span> er, avant-garde....<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f\/2.8 @ 52mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f\/2.8, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nInteresting Shirt<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The arrangements on the table in front of them all seem to use\nnon-traditionally shaped vases, which is perhaps avant-guarde as well?<\/p>\n\n

The ones in the shot below feature bamboo of various shapes...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f\/2.8 @ 55mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f\/2.8, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nIkebana on Display<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Another one that I liked, from the same group as the witch hazel and\nJapanese rowan, is an arrangement of mayumi<\/i>, \u771f\u5f13<\/span><\/a> (Japanese spindle<\/a>,\nwhich yes, I had to<\/span> look up).<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Sigma 30mm f\/1.4 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>350 sec, f\/2.5, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nJapanese Spindle<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

It was hard enough to get a picture of the simple tabletop arrangements,\nbut some of the larger installations were all but impossible to capture.\nThere was a large<\/span> bamboo-and-something-yellow thing on the floor that was\nquite pretty, but even if all the people were gone (which they weren't)\nthere was no angle that gave any kind of good background....<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f\/2.8 @ 55mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>90 sec, f\/2.8, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nUse Your Imagination<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

As I said in the previous post<\/a>, Ikebana is an art with over a thousand<\/span>\nyears of history and refinement that is lost on me. But pretty<\/span> is pretty,\nand there was plenty of pretty on display, so I wished<\/span> I could<\/span> have stayed\nlonger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As promised in an earlier post, here are some of the Ikebana (floral arranging) works I saw at the exhibition that also had the preschooler ikebana I posted about the other day.<\/p>

If you know the slightest thing about ikebana, you'll probably cringe at the total lack of understanding evident in my comments, so you have my apologies up front.<\/p>

Based on how they were presented, the three works above were clearly by important and\/or well-respected people. The middle and right-side nameplates indicate that they were done by the heads of schools (although I'm not sure whether \"school\" here is [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=604"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}