This arrangement has the feel of autumn. The yellow chrysanthemums are the main objects. But the susuki grass blades add dynamism to the composition, while the brown-tinged leaves to the side have their own distinct personality.
My teacher said it was interesting I kept the blades long, and very much like me, which I think he meant in a positive way, as in a free spirit.
More of my ikebana at these links: No. 5 No. 4 No. 3 No. 2 and My No. 1 Ikenobo Ikebana.
I was allowed to choose my vase and so it’s a rather unusual shape this time that really stimulates your imagination as to where the leaves and flowers should be, can be, wants to be, or are speaking to your soul to be. The beauty of Ikebana is that it is a conversation, silent but certain, not only with the elements of Nature but also with things like a vase, specially made by an artist for Ikenobo Ikebana, an individual. You are also relating to many other people, your ikebana teacher, of course, and your inner self, but, more significantly, memories of people, like your mother, who taught you your first lessons in ikebana, pride and joy in your Japanese heritage, and recognizing beauty and the message of impermanence in Life.
My Ikenobo Ikebana No. 4 is here with links to the previous works.
The star of today’s ikebana are roses from Kenya called Game Changers, arranged in a wine glass partly filled with plastic crystals. My earlier Ikebana: My first ever Ikenobo Ikebana. Part Two or my Second Attempt. And Part Three.
Two and a half weeks later, the flowers have gone dry but are still vibrant with color. My teacher told me to watch for the flowers as they go dry, and, although I found just three pieces this time, they look grand and happy in the Hagiyaki plate. My parents lived in Yamaguchi Prefecture, where Hagi is located, and my father was a professor after retiring from an engineering company. They became friends with a lot of Hagiyaki artists and got their works at bargain prices. I treasures all their Hagiyaki pieces. There is a whole universe in this arrangement. And the messages that beauty _ and life _ do not end with death.
Hiroshima On Our Minds. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba read a tanka poem by Shinoe Shoda at the end of his speech this year. He read it twice, which was not initially planned, saying: “With a flood of emotions as I reflect deeply on those words, I hereby conclude my address.”
The official translation:
The heavy bone must be a teacher’s. The small skulls beside it must be students gathered around.
The big bone a teacher
Nearby tiny skulls
Huddle close
The original Japanese:
太き骨は先生ならむ
そのそばに小さきあたまの骨
あつまれり
The words of the Hiroshima poet, who wrote extensively about the horrors of war, are engraved in a memorial in that city. She died in 1965.
The Bear _ a poem by Yuri Kageyama
It still sits crumply
With bit of a stunned look,
That first thing you bought for me
More than 40 years ago
“Into that little girl thing,” you said,
Like you were calling me out on a pretense
But you knew all along it was true
Like our love;
“I want you to live a full life,” you said.
Days, weeks, months,
Years from now after you’re gone
Piercing my heart,
Squeezing out tears,
The bear is still here,
Dry cleaned
Maybe just once or twice,
Watching me
Sitting prim
People say things have little meaning, and it’s just the person or the emotions that the thing reminds you of that have meaning. Sometimes they are one and the same thing because if you have something for more than 40 years, that certainly means something, and that thing has a meaning of its own. People leave, taking off from this world and going somewhere very far. But the thing stays. And it continues to tell us what that person means. Because that person never really leaves. He is always here, just like, or even more than, that thing. This is the fourth in a series that follows this third piece, which has a link that connects to the previous pieces.
https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/UHpWS3a76U/
This is a song Isaku wrote for his father, “Sanctity,” featuring Sumie Kaneko on vocals.
あなたからの 贈りもの
遠く離れても 耳をすませば
私の大事な宝もの
か弱い鼓動 今は誇り
惜しむ間もなく 走れども
もう何も耐えることはない
てしおにかけた 我が子ども
もう何も迷うことはない
This is how I’ve translated the words into English:
This gift I got from you
Listen hard, even from afar
It’s my most precious treasure
That faint beat is now my pride;
Before one even knows it, that passing of time,
There is nothing to bear anymore,
That child, you raised with all this love,
There is no uncertainty anymore
From “Katari Vol. 2 Stories from Japan” by Isaku Kageyama 2025.
Today’s Ikenobo Ikebana used a sponge called “oasis,” because it’s apparently made by a company called Oasis, to arrange the flowers in a way that was quite three-dimensional but required the placement of the leaves at the bottom to “hide” the sponge. The teacher said to start with the main elements, the sunflowers. You place one sunflower, then the other sunflower, always lower than the first. The other elements are basically fillers for the empty spaces, but you have to think where those spots are and balance them. You can play around with the long leaves, even bending them with your fingers. But always remember the tips must look up, never droop. Adding the water comes last. The speckles of glitter reflecting in the vase are gorgeous and an understatement at once.
YOUR ROOM _ a poem by YURI KAGEYAMA
The door is open
It still smells like you
So sweet
Strange how I don’t remember
Your smelling so sweet
I let it air out
I don’t want the smell to fade
But to let you have some fresh air
This is the third part in a series, which has the link connecting to the earlier pieces. The link to the piece that follows this one.
FEELING LOVED _ a poem by Yuri Kageyama
You would tug at my elbow,
Meaning No,
When I stared too long at a good-looking guy,
To be fair, you would never gawk at beautiful women,
Although you might have been doing it when
I wasn’t looking.
You lived up to that Ideal,
The perfect faithful husband,
At least in that way, which
Makes you a good guy,
Despite all your failings
In other ways.
Because that is what love is:
Doing everything that makes the person you love
Feel
Loved
And not doing anything that might make that person you love
Not
Feel
Loved.
You said as you lay dying:
“I feel loved.”
And I knew I had done good.
In our Love.
This is the second installment in a series, which follows the first installment “What Do You Think?” These poems will be part of a bigger piece I am working on about Japanese American men. I don’t have a title for either the series or the bigger piece yet. Go to this link for the next piece that follows this piece.
My Second Ikenobo Ikebana
Actually my teacher told me it’s against the rules to let a flower that broke off float in the water, when I did it. But when he took the photos at the end of the class with all the lighting set up, or actually another student and me holding them up, he took the flower, dropped it in the water and took this photo. He is a nice teacher. Although allowed in other styles of Ikebana, Ikenobo did not, seeing fallen flowers as death, and his works are about life, purity and our eternal connection to the spiritual. It made me sad that death is so beautiful. And I like this photo.
