“Coming of Autumn”
“I began Noh no Ikebana after I saw an obituary for Toshie Yokoi, a founder of Noh no Ikebana, in 2004. I had known her for a while, and I was very much interested in her works and also the arrangements created by other Noh no Ikebana club members. When I saw the article in 2004, I thought she was encouraging me to make a new challenge.
Since then, I’ve been enjoying making my arrangements at home and in my garden and sending photos to newspaper publishers. A local photoshop closed recently, and I have less chance to make prints to contribute today. But, when I find giant alliums and calla lilies blooming in my garden, I make arrangements to show them to everyone else.
The theme of this arrangement is “Coming of Autumn.” The heatwave this summer was awful. The colorful flowers of the common zinnias endured such extreme summer heat, and they came from my mother’s garden decades ago. I combined them with sun-ripened vegetables such as pumpkins and winter melons to express the joy of welcoming the fall.”
<Containers> A flat winnowing basket and an ittomasu (old measurement container)
<Materials> Common zinnias, dahlias, cleomes, taro, a pumpkin, a winter melon, egg plants, etc.