Arrangement At The McNally Theatre, SMU

Added on September 29, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

This past few days, if you've walked through the doors to enter the McNally Theatre at St. Mary's University in Halifax NS, this ikebana arrangement would have greeted you.

The arrangement was created as part of the Japanesque activity, celebrating Japanese culture. At the McNally Theatre, there were free screenings of two Japanese films last Saturday, Sep 27th.

Miyako and three of her advanced students--Jean, Patti, and Val--worked hard to put this together. That includes enduring the freezing cold working on the design in our garage! :-)

Other friends also contributed. The silver dollar medallions (top left of the photo) were a gift from Beverly. Every year, when she prunes her garden, she delivers silver dollar branches to us! Thank you, Beverly!

These tall branches were courtesy of our friend, Sheila. She graciously let us walk around her cottage and gather whatever branches we needed. See the action photo below! :-)

So, this is what an ikebanista will do just to get that perfect branch! :-)

We show our appreciation too!

And... here are the four ladies who made this possible. (L-R Jean, Patti, Val, and Miyako.) Thank you all for the wonderful work!

We'd like to thank St. Mary's University for kindly allowing us to use the space for this arrangement!

N.B. The date stamp on the last two photos say "09/27/2014" but in fact they prepared this on Sep 26th. The camera came from Japan and was still on the Japanese clock where the dateline had already been crossed! :-)

The Meisen Kimono Exhibit

Added on September 25, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

Halifax had a rare opportunity to view vintage meisen (銘仙) kimonos. The Anna Leonowens Gallery recently exhibited the kimono collection of Haruko Watanabe, a noted collector of Japanese antique and vintage textiles from Tokyo, Japan.

Many beautiful kimonos and haoris were on display.

What is immediately noticeable with the meisen kimonos is the patterns' disengagement from traditional kimono motifs of flowers, cranes, pine, etc. Indeed the meisen kimono shows very bold and vivid designs!

They are like pop art. Very refreshing, very modern.

Meisen silk became popular around the 1910's to the 1950's. The era of art deco!

The designs are adventurous and daring.

Some were mesmerizing too!

With the introduction of a new weaving technique called "hogushi-ori" (解し織) in the early 1900's, meisen silk became easier to produce and thus became affordable to more people.

“At the beginning, the warp is held by an interim weaving. The fabric is removed from the loom and a stencil is used to print the pattern. When the printing process is complete, the real weft is woven, while the interim weft is untied. This process is called “Hogushi”.

The defining characteristics of Hogushi fabric are its lightness and durability. Both sides of the fabric can be used. Due to the warp printing, the patterns are soft and blurred, despite the bold, vivid colours.”

— Arakei Textile

There were also obi at the exhibit.

The meisen kimono remained popular until around the 1950's. After the war, fashion tastes shifted to more Western style clothing. Also, wool became popular. Sadly, by the 1960's, the meisen kimono had all but disappeared.

Thank you to the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD), with special mention to faculty member, Nancy Price and retired professor, Naoko Furue, for making this exhibition possible.

The exhibit was also featured in the Chronicle Herald.

Sources:

Japanesque Schedule

Added on September 22, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

September 27-28 is the weekend mini-festival of Japanese culture to be held at St. Mary's University in Halifax NS.

September 27th (Saturday) is movie night at the McNally Theatre. Entrance is free! Two Japanese movies will be shown:

6:00 p.m. 歓待 Kantai (Hospitalité) , 2010, 96 min, comedy.

Tokyo is bigger and different from what people often think. Some neighbourhoods are like forgotten villages. One of these is home to a hard-working family with a small printing business. A man arrives who will not leave. The unease of hospitality. Xenophobia exists in Japan too. As does humour.

8:00 p.m. ツナグ Tsunagu (Until The Break Of Dawn), 2012, 129 min, drama.

たった一人と一度だけ、死者との再会を叶えてくれる人がいるらしい―。半信半疑で依頼をしてくる人たちの前に現れる使者は、ごく普通の高校生・歩美（松坂桃李）だった。横柄な態度で、癌で亡くなった母・ツル（八千草薫）に会うことを希望する中年男性・畠田（遠藤憲一）。喧嘩別れをしたまま自転車事故で死んでしまった親友・御園（大野いと）に聞きたいことがある女子高生・嵐（橋本愛）。プロポーズ直後に突然失踪した恋...

For a trailer with English subtitles, please click here. (Sorry, we could not embed the video in the blog post.)

September 28th (Sunday) is a day of cultural presentations including tea ceremony, bugaku performance (court dance & music), kyudo (Japanese archery), taiko (drums), calligraphy, washi (Japanese paper), incense, and of course, ikebana! Entrance is free. Venue is also the McNally Theatre.

We will be doing the ikebana part. :-) Hope to see you there!

The Japanesque event is co-organized by St. Mary's University and the Consulate General of Japan at Montreal, with the support of The Japan Foundation.

My Ikebana: Autumn Colours

Added on September 14, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

I chose flowers with autumn colours--orange spray mums and alstroemeria plus some pink mums to add a splash of light colour!

The dried branches were ones I picked some time last winter!

SInce there was no need to put the branches in water, I used the space outside of the container. By placing the branches next to the thick body of the metal container, I showed a light vs heavy contrast.

Here is the whole arrangement.

I hope you like it. --Miyako

Manga Envelopes - Free!

Added on September 5, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

We found ourselves with a bunch of old manga books. Discarded. Nobody wanted them anymore. They had one foot in the recycling bin already.

Mottainai -- that was the first thought that came to our minds. Mottainai is a Japanese word that expresses that feeling of regret when things are wasted. So, we thought of another idea. With a bit of cutting and pasting, we turned them into little envelopes!

They're perfect as a "gift wrap" for small items...especially for our little anime mascots!

...and we have lots of them!

The manga envelopes are FREE with any small item purchase....while supply lasts!

New Scrunchies

Added on September 2, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

We've spent the long Labour Day weekend making new scrunchies!

Each scruchie is lovingly hand-made in-house using fabric and elastics from Japan.

Did you know that the Japanese name for scrunchie is "shu-shu"? It derives from the French chouchou., which could mean a teacher's pet, or ... a scrunchie!

Come by the shop and check out some of the new patterns! Click here to shop online.

The Kanban And The Gagoh

Added on August 15, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

As you ascend the stairs to our ikebana studio, the first thing you will see is a small wooden board with Japanese characters carved on it. This is Miyako's ikebana kanban (看板). It means "signboard" in Japanese.

In the Sogetsu school of ikebana (we only talk about the Sogetsu school because that is what we are intimate with), the ikebana practitioner is allowed to have her own kanban after she obtains the Teacher's Diploma Fourth Grade. The diploma also means she can now start teaching ikebana. In the old days, many people taught ikebana from their homes. They hung their kanban outside to let people know ikebana was taught in that house. It is similar to the Western practice of a doctor or lawyer hanging out their shingle when they begin their practice. In this age of the Internet search engines, the kanban has probably outlived its usefulness but we imagine most teachers would still want to have one...if only for sentimental reasons! The kanban is not compulsory and you do not need it to start teaching. You can teach as long as you have the diploma and you are registered as a "teaching" member of the Sogetsu Teachers' Association! (Note: You can also register as a "non-teaching" member but this means you cannot take on students.)

Let's take a closer look at the kanban. The big white characters「草月」say "Sogetsu". The square symbol near the top left is the official seal of the Sogetsu school. The smaller characters in black on the middle right「師範」say "shihan" which means "teacher" or "instructor". The characters in light blue on the bottom half「バレステロス虹都」are Miyako's name...or rather her gagoh (雅号). It says "Ballesteros Kouto".

Gagoh can be loosely translated as a "pseudonym". Many people practicing the arts (ikebana, shodo, chado etc) in Japan use a gagoh when they reach a certain level of mastery. In the Sogetsu school, students who have earned the Fourth Certificate* (１級修業証) can start using a gagoh.

*Note: The Fourth Certificate is obtained after successfully completing Curriculum 4. The Fourth Certificate is not yet a teaching diploma. See here for more information about the Sogetsu ranks.

In Sogetsu, the gagoh is a name you can choose for yourself; but more often, it is your teacher who gives the name to you. In Japan, the study of ikebana is a lifelong endeavour for most people. Once a teacher has been chosen, students study under that teacher for the rest of their lives, except when their is a special reason to change. The gagoh is normally given in kanji, where one of the characters is taken from the teacher’s own gagoh. Miyako's teacher’s gagoh is “shikou” (紫虹 “purple rainbow”). Miyako's gagoh is “kouto” (虹都 “rainbow capital”). Incidentally, the character "to" (都) can also be read as "miyako" in Japanese!

Again, the gagoh is not compulsory but most people like to have one. The gagoh gives recognition of accomplishment and also a sense of continuity from teacher to student. If you do elect to have a gagoh, this must be duly registered with the Sogetsu Foundation. The gagoh appears in official documents like the Sogetsu Teachers' Association Membership Card.

It also appears in your diplomas.

Did you know....?
The gagoh of the founder of the Sogetsu school is "Sofu" (蒼風). Therefore, in Sogetsu no one is allowed to use the character「蒼」"so" in their gagoh. Likewise, the use of characters that will be pronounced as "Sofu" is also prohibited.

Sources:
草月流非公式用語辞典
花の情報局
How to Study Sogetsu Ikebana

Cold Brew Sencha Green Tea

Added on August 11, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

In the heat of the summer, sometimes we just prefer a cold cup of tea. So we tried cold-brewing some sencha green tea. It's really easy. It's basically just putting the tea in cold water and letting it sit in your refrigerator overnight!

We used 3 tablespoons (that's like 6 scoops of the wooden spoon you see in the photo) of sencha green tea leaves and 2 litres of water. We used a large teabag so that it doesn't get messy in the pitcher later.

The teabag has a flap that you can fold over so that the contents don't spill out later. (They're good to use for spices in your soup or stew as well!)

Then we added water into the pitcher and left it in the refrigerator overnight (about 8 hours). Unlike when brewing green tea with hot water where steeping time is important, you don't need to worry too much about an extra hour or so! There is no precise recipe for a cold brew. :-)

One sleep later...volia!

Extra tip: Using a pair of chopsticks, shake the teabag up a bit to release more flavour and colour!

The flavour of cold-brewed sencha green tea is a bit subtler and smoother. Cold-brewing also results in less caffeine in your tea. Very refreshing for hot days!

You can use gyokuro tea leaves too!

By the way, if you are wondering where you can get those teabags... We have them right here at the shop! :-) Or purchase online here.

We also have premium grade Japanese green tea, of course!

Introducing The Resin Kenzan

Added on August 8, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

The kenzan of the 21st century is here! Introducing the resin kenzan!

Hyperbole aside, this is a revolutionary kenzan. The pins are brass but the base is made of a hard polyester resin. It will take the usual heavy branches that a regular kenzan would. It is translucent, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. It contains no lead; therefore, it is quite lightweight.

So how does it stay stable? It works with another revolutionary product, the double-suction kenzan mat!

The mat is made of silicone resin. There are suction cups on both sides of the mat. One side adheres to the container while the other side holds the kenzan steady. It may look like a soap holder, but the suction quality is infinitely better. The kenzan will stay in place!

The mat is available in two colours: black and clear. Choose according to the colour of your container.

The black mat disappears in a black container.

The clear mat disappears in a white container...

...and it looks good in other colours as well.

Of course, you can also use it with the traditional kenzan. The weight of the steel kenzan plus the suction cups will increase the stability. It is the ultimate kenzan mat!

Whether you use it with traditional or resin kenzan, the mat will keep the kenzan solidly (but within limits of course!) in place. To all of you who know the difficulty of moving a moribana arrangement, this now becomes easier to do!

Extra bonus: you can use these mats in the kitchen too. Use it as a base for your mixing bowl while you're whipping up some cream, for example! :-)

Made in Japan.

The resin kenzan and double-suction mats are available for purchase at our online shop . Or, please visit the bricks-and-mortar shop to see the real thing!