Today is the first anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake. One year ago on Friday 11th March at 2.46 pm the most powerful earthquake ever to have hit Japan, since modern records began in 1900, struck the Tohoku region northeast of Tokyo. Over fifteen thousand people died and more than three thousand are still missing.
It is in the nature of the human spirit that when communities are touched by suffering that people join together in support and compassion. I saw this many times during the three months that I spent in Japan during last year after the earthquake. Many stories of courage have been told and many stories will forever go unrecorded.
Today I have made an ikebana arrangement from the first lesson of the Sogetsu curriculum. I love its timeless, simple beauty. It is arranged in a suiban so that we are conscious of the surface of the water enlivening the work. The branch material I have chosen for this special day is rosemary from our garden because it is symbolic of remembrance. The flower is pink hibiscus.
Greetings from Christopher
11th March 2012
Wonderfully elegant!
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