My Ikebana: At The 26th ACJLSC

Added on by the ikebana shop.

I had the honour to install ikebana arrangements at the 26th Atlantic Canada Japanese Language Speech Contest held last Mar 9th, 2024 at St. Mary's University. Congratulations to all the participants!

Welcome flower at the entrance.

At the podium.

I hope you like them. —Miyako

My Ikebana: Oodles of Noodles

Added on by the ikebana shop.

The Quinpool Oodles of Noodles Festival (Mar 6-10, 2024) is a celebration of noodles! Chefs from the many restaurants along Quinpool Rd will prepare noodle creations for everyone to enjoy. We created a special noodle arrangement for the event!

 

Noodles were coloured, dried, and meticulously shaped for the arrangement. Don't they look like wisteria?😊

In the middle are three ramen-inspired bowl arrangements with ramen noodles, chopsticks, and sweet mini peppers.

Here is the whole arrangement.

They are on display on the 2nd floor of the Oxford Taproom for the duration of the Noodle Festival. (Note that the vases are made with Garrison Brewing beer cans!)

I hope you like it. —Miyako

My Ikebana: Drying Dracaena

Added on by the ikebana shop.

The dried and fresh leaves were both from the Dracaena plant. Withered leaves display interesting patterns. It was interesting to put them together with the fresh ones in an arrangement to show contrast and the passage of time.

I hope you like it. —Miyako

Happy New Year 2024!

Added on by the ikebana shop.

明けましておめでとうございます!

Let us welcome together the Year of the Dragon! May we all find the dragon’s strength and wisdom to bring more success in 2024.

My Ikebana: New Year Arrangement at Pier 21

Added on by the ikebana shop.

On Dec 21st, 2023, the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 hosted an event called “Celebrate Winter!”, a fun filled activity day for the whole family that showcased New Year traditions from different cultures. Our contribution was a Japanese New Year themed ikebana arrangement!

Mizuhiki 水引
Mizuhiki are cords made from Japanese washi paper. They are usually used to adorn special gift envelopes for weddings, etc. They are also used in decorations for festive occasions. This arrangement also uses mizuhiki. They hold a wish for the bonds that bring us together to continue to grow strong and firm.

Shochikubai 松竹梅
Shochikubai means “pine, bamboo, plum blossom”. These 3 plant materials have very significant meanings in Japanese culture. They often appear in the winter (and consequently in Japanese New Year décor) because they are plants that “survive” the winter and therefore are seen as omens of good fortune, especially for the coming new year.

Pine stays green all winter long. They are seen as symbols of good health and long life.

Bamboo grows rapidly. They are a symbol of vitality. They also grow straight which signifies a straight moral character.

Plum blossoms appear in the winter, the earliest flower to bloom. In Japan, they appear from the coldest time of the year, late January to early March. Imagine the tenacity it takes took bloom in the middle of winter! They are a symbol of strength and early success.

In this arrangement, you will see pine branches. Fresh bamboo is hard to find in Nova Scotia so we use a bamboo container. Alas, plum blossoms are not available to us here. We use chrysanthemums instead.

Chrysanthemums are hardy flowers that lasts longer than most blooms after they are cut. Because of this strong hold on life, mums are considered symbols of health and longevity—things that we would like to wish for everyone for the New Year!

My Ikebana: Magnolia In Glass

Added on by the ikebana shop.

Young branches are soft & pliant. They are fun to work with because they usually comply to what we want them to do! In this arrangement, young magnolia branches obediently curl up together to fit in a glass container.

I hope you like it. —Miyako

My Ikebana: Light Branches

Added on by the ikebana shop.

A neighbour had been pruning his garden and offered us some of these very fine and thin branches. This calls for a “light” arrangement, where the material is floating out of the container and could be carried away by the wind at any moment!

I hope you like it. —Miyako

"Nagoshi No Oo-Harae" Shinto Summer Purification

Added on by the ikebana shop.

The "Nagoshi no Oo-harae" 夏越の大祓 (Summer Purification) is a Shinto event held near the end of June. It is a sort of a mid-year reset where all of one's bad luck and impurities are driven out, getting us ready for the 2nd half of the year.

The Shinto priest waves around this wand called "oo-nusa" (大麻) to drive away bad luck, illness and calamity. The wand is made from a branch of the sakaki (榊) tree [cleyera japonica] with "shide" (紙垂) paper streamers attached.

"Chinowa Kuguri" 茅の輪くぐり

At the entrance of the shrine, there is a ring made of entwined thatch. You walk through this 3 times before moving onward into the shrine. This action drives out the bad luck and illnesses that have attached to you. Before stepping through, you bow each time. First, walk through, then turn left and back out. Second, turn right and out. Third, turn left and out. Fourth, walk straight through and into the shrine. Notice that by doing these steps, you drew a number "8" or infinity symbol.

"Kata-shiro" 形代

At the shrine, you can get these paper dolls called "hitokata-shiro" (人形代). They work like reverse voodoo dolls. 😊 You write your name on it; blow a breathe into it; and rub it gently on your body. Then you offer it up to the shrine. They will be burned later. What's happening is that you are transferring all your bad luck, illnesses and impurities onto the paper doll and leaving them for the gods to sort out!

Now, you're ready to face the 2nd half of the year!

Photos are from Hikawa Jinja (氷川神社)in Omiya, Saitama Prefecture.