Shimogamo Shrine had a Thanksgiving (not our US holiday, just a giving of thanks) festival where students of different classic arts like ikebana could "offer" their new skills to the shrine deity in thanks. The students would then receive a gift of "hand-me-downs" from God. In my case, I received Clementine oranges and sweet rice cake triangles. Mmm.
We went on Tuesday evening to create our arrangements. My ikebana sensei had around twenty students participating in the event, including me and Tanaka-san, my landlord's wife. Each student was given a different vase and different flowers to use for their offering.
My arrangement was entirely constructed from different types of chrysanthemums. Tanaka-san's arrangement used a branch of winter sakura (cherry blossom), mums and a tree branch with red leaves. I think all of the arrangements came out very well, ours included. :)
On Wednesday, visitors could come to the shrine and admire the different offerings. In addition to all the flower arrangements, there were samples of traditional Japanese calligraphy, singers and musicians performing music and offerings of fruits and vegetables.
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