Description

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Kyofu-ryu Ikebana is a style of flower arrangement that celebrates the seasonal beauty and character of the trees, shrubs and flowers and grasses in one's garden. The contemporary Japanese Master and her American student from the 1970s use the creative connections between two cultures over 45 years to form the backdrop for the exposition of delightful technique. Their book is based on a set of original photographs of traditional arrangements commemorating the flow from winter to spring to summer and fall. Each photo is captioned in both languages with commentary in English. Western readers will find an enchanted window into the culture of Japanese tea and flowers in Pico Iyer's essay, What Really Sustains Us? "Ikebana begins by speaking to the senses, in other words, but soon you find that it's touching your spirit..." From its origins, Kyofu-ryu promotes the principles of sustainability, teaching that one looks to the garden to connect the experience of arrangement with the experience of growing, tending and selecting the branches, grasses and flowers to be arranged.Master Sachiko Sekichi's account of the history of her family's school and her explication of the principles of Kyofu-ryu are written in both languages, including lessons on the use of Narcissus (Suisen), Iris (Hanashobu), and Six Arrangements: same materials - different vases. The connections include ShinKanAn, the Teahouse at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, a repository of California Native plants. Ikebana can be created using these native plants, including the specialized arrangements suitable for the traditional tearoom. To encourage the use of native plants in ikebana, a ten-page Plant Table lists the Japanese plants pictured. Each row in the table begins with the name of the plant (in the order they appear in the text) set alongside a thumbnail photo, its scientific name, North American equivalents and where extant, comparable California natives, with comments by Dieter Wilkin, PhD, a Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Research Associate and its past Director of Conservation.