Ikebana Demonstration at Engaku-ji Temple in Kamakura

Today I went to a demonstration of Seika, a classical form of Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging. The headmaster (iemoto) of Towa Kado, a very traditional Ikebana school, created three beautiful arrangements with such ease, but it's not as easy as it looks.

He has a small bag of tools used to cut, file--even hammer--branches into place. The curves of many of the branches are created by cutting a tiny slice in the branch and placing a matching wedge of wood to create a bend without a break. Three or four wedges create a curve. But one overzealous pinch and the whole branch would snap in half. (That didn't happen today!)

Can you tell what each arrangement represents?

Probably not, but once I tell you, you will probably see the resemblance! The evergreen arrangement represents the peak of Mt. Fuji. The cherry blossom arrangement represents the flow of the Sagami River. And the pink alstrameria arrangement represents a boat in Sagami Bay.

A bonus in attending this program was that it took place in Kamakura on the grounds of Engaku-ji Temple, a famous Zen temple with several buildings surrounded by a cedar grove. It is here where I first learned about a special book you can purchase to receive han stamps from each and every temple or shrine you visit in Japan. No matter which shrine or temple you visit, it costs 300 yen to drop the book off while you walk around. Then when you pick it up on your way out, you will find inside an unique artistic calligraphy representing the temple or shrine. The "book" actually has accordian style pages that I imagine--once filled--could stimulate many conversations while displayed on a prominent bookshelf. I've visited a good 20 temples or shrines so far, so I'm only slightly disappointed that I didn't learn about this tradition earlier. I guess I'll just have to retrace my steps!