My Ikebana: Bunched Dogwood

Added on January 6, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

This was my last ikebana arrangement for 2013.

Normally, I use dogwood branches for the beautiful lines that they create. This time, I challenged myself to do something different. I looked at the bundled up dogwood branches in my hands and thought that bunched together, they looked pretty too!

I chose a flower container with a solid vertical surface and matched that with the thickest parts of the dogwood branches.

To further augment the colour contrast between the red branches and the black container, I added some green oregonia. This makes the arrangement more cohesive.

As it was, the arrangement was calm and tranquil...but too calm! It was static; so I added long branches diagonally across to sort of "pinch" the arrangement. This added some movement.

Here is the whole arrangement.

...and here is another view.

I hope you like it. --Miyako

Happy New Year 2014!

Added on January 1, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu! 明けましておめでとうございます。

We give thanks for the year that was 2013. Now, we usher in 2014 and look forward to many more wonderful moments. We wish you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

Our Little Privacy Screen

Added on December 24, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

The byoubu is the Japanese folding screen adorned with beautiful paintings. They are used ostensibly to separate spaces and create some privacy...but are also a way of displaying lovely art.

Image from Flickr. Please click on the photo to go to the original source.

We took inspiration from the Japanese byoubu and made our own privacy screen for the shop's credit/debit machine keypad. We didn't paint this. Just recycled some fabric from kimono scraps.

We used to make a conscious effort to look away as customers key in their PINs. Now, we don't have to! :-)

We hope the little space created to protect your PIN is comfy and pleasant!

Kan-nyu, Those Lovely Cracks

Added on December 23, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

Do you sometime see cracks on the glaze of your Japanese pottery?

No, they are not defects. They are intended accidents. Those cracked patterns are called kan-nyuu (貫入) and it is actually a desirable feature of the pottery.

When glazed clay is fired, it expands. The high temperature melts the glaze and fuses it with the clay. When the pottery is cooled down, it shrinks...BUT, the rates of shrinkage of the clay and glaze are different. The glaze shrinks more than the clay and so during the cooling process, cracks are formed on the glaze surface. These crackle patterns are kan-nyuu.

No two kan-nyuu patterns are ever the same. This offers uniqueness in each piece of pottery.

Japanese people love kan-nyuu in their teacups and tea bowls. Tea seeps into the fine cracks, staining it bit by bit. The teacup is slowly changed with frequent use. Its character seems to grow together with its user. It is cherished like an old friend.

On the left, a new teacup. On the right, a well-used and well-loved teacup!

Check your favourite teacup...yes, the one you use everyday...the one that makes you feel that something is missing if it's not with you at the start of the day. Do you see kan-nyuu? :-)

A Little Gift To Sister City, Hakodate

Added on December 20, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

Halifax and the city of Hakodate in Hokkaido, Japan, have been sister cities since 1982. As a symbol of friendship, Halifax has been sending a Christmas tree to Hakodate annually. This tree is the main attraction for the annual "Christmas Fantasy" event in Hakodate. Many, many people appreciate this tree from Halifax.

Many volunteers in Hakodate work hard to make this event happen. We thought we'd give them a small gift from Nova Scotia. So, we took some Nova Scotia tartan and some Nova Scotia lavender...

...and made little Christmas trees out of them!

Through the good offices of the Hokkaido International Foundation, we shipped a box of about 50 of these lovely-smelling lavender Christmas trees to our friends in Hakodate.

Below on the right is Mr. Fumio Yamazaki, representative director of the Hokkaido International Foundation, presenting our little sachets to two directors of the Christmas Fantasy Executive Committee.

The little trees were distributed to members of the Halifax-Hakodate Friendship Association and volunteer staff of the Christmas Fantasy Executive Committee. Plus, the Hakodate City Mayor, Tourist Department Chief and International Department Chief all got one each too. Wow...our little bit of Nova Scotia went a long way! Thank you very much Mr. Yamazaki!

We would also like to thank Mr. Masao Oikawa, a professional photographer and a director of the Halifax-Hakodate Friendship Association for graciously providing us with some of the photographs. He is also the photographer responsible for the beautiful Christmas Fantasy poster.

We hope the friendship between our two cities will continue. We work in our own little way to contribute to this objective!

Enjoy some scenes of Christmas Fantasy in Hakodate...

はこクリのPV動画のテーマ曲に乗せて2012年の様子をどうぞ♪

Gohonte: The Pale Pink Spots

Added on December 11, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

Have you noticed in some tea bowls pale pink spots showing up at random?

These spots are called "gohonte" (御本手).

They appear on the pottery due to the natural reactions from the iron found in the clay when being fired in the kiln.

The origin of the term "gohonte" dates back to the Azuchi-Momoyama period (late 1500's). Tea masters ordered tea bowls to be made in Korea. Together with their order, they sent samples or diagrams of what they would like made. These orders were called "gohon" or "gohonte". When the ordered pottery were delivered, most of them came with the pale pink spots due to the clay used. Soon, this type of pattern came to be called "gohonte."

Originally thought of as imperfections of the glaze, gohonte came to be appreciated by tea masters. They recognized the implicit beauty in the randomness, unevenness, and naturalness of the patterns. Thus, the "flaw" was turned into another attractive aspect of the pottery!

Sometimes, we have some gohonte tea bowls available at the shop. Please come and take a look! Or see available tea bowls online here.

All photos by the ikebana shop. Al rights reserved.

My Ikebana: Curled Dogwood

Added on December 9, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

As we get closer to the holiday season, I thought I'd point my ikebana towards the season's colours. I used mainly red dogwood and holly (ilex) branches.

The container I chose was a bright red-orange one with an interesting elongated C-shape.

I curled three of the red dogwood branches to match the shape of the container.

Did you notice that the holly branch was not coming out of the mouth of the container? Holly could last for quite a bit even without water; so I merely placed it on the outside. Sometimes, working with material without the restriction of having to put it in water is a pleasure!

I wanted to highlight the container's shape so I used only a minimum of plant material.

Here is the whole arrangement.

I hope you like it. --Miyako

Daruma Dolls

Added on December 6, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

Why does this doll have no eyes?

Because it is waiting for you to fill it! That's right, the daruma doll's eyes are left blank on purpose.

When you have set a goal for yourself, you paint one eye. You are allowed to paint in the other eye only when you have achieved your goal. This old tradition from Japan is a wonderful motivational tool!

The daruma doll is made of papier-mâché and is in the image of Bodhidarma, the founder of Zen Buddhism. The dolls are designed not to tip over...a symbol of the never-give-up spirit. "Nana korobi ya oki" is a Japanese proverb that says, "Fall down 7 times, get up 8 times." That is how the roly-poly daruma inspires us not to give up on our goals and dreams.

In Japan, daruma dolls are commonly sold outside shrine grounds in the New Year. People go to the shrine to pray for a good year and if they set certain goals for the year, they will pick up a daruma doll. It could be for a politician running for election; a businessman with a sales target; a student studying for exams; an artist finishing a project; a child saving coins in a piggy bank to buy a toy... No goal or wish is too small!

So are you ready?

Step 1: Decide the goal you want to achieve.
Step 2: Paint in one eye of the daruma doll. Now you are committed!
Step 3: Put the doll in a prominent place where you will see it everyday!
Step 4: Work, work, WORK...to accomplish the task you have embarked on.
Step 5: After successful completion, paint in the other eye.
Step 6: Give yourself a pat on the back. Congratulations!
Step 7: Back to Step #1!

Try the daruma doll with your next New Year's resolution! :-)

第62回多摩探検隊「多摩だるま～受け継がれる手作りの心～」（2009年6月放送）多摩だるま。それは、江戸時代から多摩地域に根づく伝統的なだるまです。今回は、一つ一つ手作りで作られた多摩だるまの歴史や特徴を紹介します。また、親子三代にわたりだるまを作り続ける職人の心に迫ります。＜協力＞内野屋　拝島大師　円福寺＜キャスター＞　田崎愛美＜制作補助＞中島聡　森田智子　葛西友久　齊藤綾　小原美穂　辻圭介太田朗　安田亮介＜イラスト＞　佐竹祐哉　辻圭介＜ナレーション＞　佐竹祐哉＜監修＞　松野良一＜ディレクター＞　成松美菜＜制作・著作＞　中央大学FLP松野良一ゼミ

Get your daruma doll from our shop!

Ikebana From Chile

Added on December 3, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

In the past year or so, we have had frequent contact with an ikebanista from Chile. Her name is Ana Luisa Quiñones and she holds a 4th Grade Teacher's Diploma in the Sogetsu School. She is also an orthoptist in Santiago, Chile. Our correspondence started when she purchased some flower containers from us online. Since then she has been sharing many things about ikebana in Chile.

The materials she uses are all very exotic to us. Also, makes us very envious! :-)

In this one below, she uses Chilean palm leaves that she hand-wove into a net. The huge white flower is a King White protea cynaroides and the fluffy material is lichen from Patagonia. The arrangement was her contribution to the Ikebana International Exhibit in Santiago last June, 2012, which focused on the Chilean palm.

More Chilean palm! Very creative use of the palm tree seed pod.

This creation uses vellon patagonico--unspun sheep's wool from Patagonia...still raw and delicate.

Here is a simple one with big hydrangea and some horsetail branches. The flower container is familiar! ;-)

...and this one with small roses and young bamboo leaves. The bamboo provide a light and gentle space for the roses, which almost feel like butterflies fluttering about! The containers look familiar too, by the way! ;-)

Apart from ikebana, Ana Luisa likes to work in the kitchen too. ...and she likes matcha! Aren't the cakes mouth-watering? :-)

Last but not least, she sends us a photo of a familiar figure--our hand-made owl. She calls him the "sympathetic owl". It stays in her clinic and makes her young patients happy!

Thank you very much, Ana Luisa for sharing your ikebana adventures with us!

All photos courtesy of Ana Luisa Quiñones. Used with permission.

Hariko No Tora, The Papier-Mâché Tiger

Added on December 1, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

from The Tyger by William Blake, 1794.

Hariko no tora, the papier-mâché tiger, is a traditional Japanese craft.

In Japan, tigers are known for their bravery and also for having close-knit families.

The papier-mâché tiger represents courage and family love.

The tigers are also there to help children grow strong and healthy.

Perhaps the more famous and interesting type of hariko no tora is the one with the bobbing head. We have a big one in the shop to welcome you!

RAWR! Don't be scared. It doesn't bite. :-)

We're not particularly big fans of GIFs but in this case, this GIF is probably appropriate to show you the bobbing head. :-)

Please visit the shop and pet our tigers!

If you are interested to learn about how the tigers are made, please visit this site. It is in Japanese only but there are a lot of photos. The paper they use is washi, Japanese paper.