Sogetsu school memories
March 12th 2007:
After the grand 80th anniversary Sogetsu demonstration and the celebratory dinner of the previous day, we get ready to attend an international students workshop at the School. Our hotel, Marroad Inn Akasaka was well located within walking distance of Sogetsu, and so off we went early in the morning, with an air of anticipation!
The greens bunches...
and the flowers....
and the array of vases on one wall. There are more vases lining the other walls as well!
Malathi chooses to do a "no-kenzan" arrangement, and comes up with this lovely and dramatic composition.
I choose this blue tsubo pot, in order to learn the special fixture needed to work with this vase. This involved one y-shaped twig horizontally wedged in the broadest part of the sphere, and one vertical y crossbar that fits into that! This was my composition before correction. After correction, it was less crowded and there was better use of space I remember.
Koka san demonstrates. Click on the picture and take a look at what is written on the black board!
The nagiere arrangement
The no-kenzan exhibit. Note how the branches use the sides of the container.
...and the clever use of wires!
After the grand 80th anniversary Sogetsu demonstration and the celebratory dinner of the previous day, we get ready to attend an international students workshop at the School. Our hotel, Marroad Inn Akasaka was well located within walking distance of Sogetsu, and so off we went early in the morning, with an air of anticipation!
It was a beautiful morning, and we made good time, and arrived at the building even before it opened!
The impressive glass-fronted Sogetsu building!
So we wandered the streets for a little while. And found the "old" tucked in with the "new". All over Tokyo, there will be these little old homes or shrines you will come across, if you walk the streets.
The impressive glass-fronted Sogetsu building!
So we wandered the streets for a little while. And found the "old" tucked in with the "new". All over Tokyo, there will be these little old homes or shrines you will come across, if you walk the streets.
There is a little road-corner park next to the school and we spied this first camelia bloom, in the otherwise, end-of-winter and brown scene. Spring was just around the corner.
Another peculiarity - streets filled with commuters with their noses covered. How conscious they are of not spreading their hay fever to others!
Another peculiarity - streets filled with commuters with their noses covered. How conscious they are of not spreading their hay fever to others!Finally, the school did open and we went into the grand foyer. (No photography allowed here, and so I have no pictures). The foyer is used to showcase the works of the past iemotos, like sculpture and other art work, which are permanent.
Up in the lift, and into the classroom floor. First off you see the flower shop, where, as part of the fees you are allowed one bunch of green material and one bunch of flowers. There are so may exotic varieties, that I dont know what to choose!
It seems a better strategy to go in pick a vase, and then choose flowers.
The greens bunches...and the flowers....
and the array of vases on one wall. There are more vases lining the other walls as well!
Malathi chooses to do a "no-kenzan" arrangement, and comes up with this lovely and dramatic composition.
I choose this blue tsubo pot, in order to learn the special fixture needed to work with this vase. This involved one y-shaped twig horizontally wedged in the broadest part of the sphere, and one vertical y crossbar that fits into that! This was my composition before correction. After correction, it was less crowded and there was better use of space I remember.
Koka san demonstrates. Click on the picture and take a look at what is written on the black board!The nagiere arrangement
The no-kenzan exhibit. Note how the branches use the sides of the container.
...and the clever use of wires!
After some fellowship with Koka san and her team, we left after a satisfying morning. The next stop was the one-woman exhibition of Iemoto Akane at Takashimaya department store!
More pictures on that soon!
Comments
What a beautiful write up!! The "Old" meeting "New" is amazing. That old fashioned Japanese house is very beautiful. And the Class at the Head School is exciting. Thanks for the post. I feel like having visited the place myself :)