Ginza with the Girls

There are many schools of Ikebana, each with its own philosophy of flower arranging. Nagasaki attends the Ko Zan Ryu which is celebrating its centennial this week with an exhibit in downtown Tokyo.



Hiroko (second from right), who attends a different Ikebana ryu but went to the same high school as Nagasaki (far right), invited me to visit the exhibit with her and our friend Yuko (left). In the world's most populous metropolitan area, estimated at more than 35 million people by the United Nations in 2007, it amazes me that my JAW friend went to high school with my Kamakura Chapter of Ikebana friend.



Even more amazing was bumping into Mori-san (above) from the Shonan Ladies. Mori-san, as it turns out, is enrolled in Ko Zan Ryu so I had the opportunity to admire her creation as well.



My approach to flower arranging involves grabbing a couple of cellophane-wrapped bouquets in the produce section of the grocery store once or twice a year and then jamming as many stems as possible into the neck of an old glass milk bottle. Needless to say, I didn't have much to offer in the way of sage commentary as I wandered around the exhibit hall. The above arrangement gave me a chance to wave my arm while enunciating "forsythia" in a contemplative tone. From what I could tell, the philosophy of Ko Zan Ryu favors a natural, wind-blowing-from-the-left look. Unless you view the arrangement from the back, of course, in which case the wind is blowing from the right.



By the time I ran into Gomi (above) from the Kamakura Chapter of Ikebana, I was beyond amazement. Apparently I was also beyond keeping my shirt tucked in. Hiroko says Yuko is stylish because she has a daughter. "I also have a daughter," I announced. Hiroko looked slightly surprised. Maybe my daughter needs to be more aggressive about influencing my fashion choices.



Hiroko had made lunch reservations for us at an Italian restaurant just a few blocks from the exhibit hall. She produced a coupon that gave us an entree, salad bar, beverage, and dessert sampler for 1500 yen. And now I have one of those coupons so I can take you there the next time you're in the neighborhood.

Yuko showed us the scarf she is knitting using a soft yarn and a ribbony fabric strip. Faced with the prospect of spending an hour on the train with yours truly, Yuko researched my interests and then spent an hour preparing and fine-tuning a presentation in English. How sweet is that? She is showing me her scarf in the restaurant rather than on the train because I accidentally hopped on the first train car when I had been clearly instructed to meet Yuko in the last car.

("Gosh, Mom, even I remembered you were supposed to get on the last car. What's for dinner?")

For my penance, maybe I'll try to prepare a topic in Japanese before I see Yuko again. One topic I'll be sure to avoid is shopping districts, though, because Dr. T informs me "-bashi" does not mean "a central place." It means "bridge". There sure are lots of interesting shops situated near bridges in Japan.