ONE-HANDED IKEBANA

When I came to Nagoya for the first time in January 1992 I attended ikebana classes. My teacher was Noriko Ishigaki, who was recommended by one of Laurie's friends. As Noriko did not speak English and I did not speak Japanese, Laurie accompanied me to the class as a translation assistant. We were joined by Junko "June" Kimura who spoke some English. In addition to the classes, the four of us met socially on a number of occasions to go to exhibitions or have a meal together. Thus June became my first ikebana friend.

Laurie and I visited June and her husband last week and were taken to visit the small Hachiryu (Eight Dragons) Shrine near their house. The photo above was taken at the entrance to the shrine, which is set in a small quiet grove that conceals it from the nearby houses. 

This is the path in the grove that leads to the hidden shrine.

The shrine is entered through a Torii gate...

... and has this dragon image carved on a large standing stone.

Behind the shrine is a large sacred tree.

I noticed some beautiful lichen on a piece of wood in the ground nearby.

When we arrived at the house June immediately gathered a handful of small flowers from the garden and offered them for me to arrange.

This was no small challenge because I had to do so with my left hand only, having broken my right wrist two weeks earlier. With difficulty I could hold the stems with my right fingers while I removed leaves from the bottom of the stems. I was quite delighted with the graceful lines that I could show in the Jasmine vine.

Greetings from Christopher

18th May 2025

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