Two weeks ago, I attended a fascinating exhibit displaying painted kimonos. The artist whose work was on display was the brother-in-law of my Ikebana-sensei, so she helped him decorate for the show with artistically placed ikebana arrangements. The show was held in an historic machiya or traditional wooden townhouse which still had its original wood-burning stove with a built-in rice warming area. These homes (that usually doubled as merchant's workplaces) are well designed and beautifully simple.The same could be said of the intricately painted kimonos. Each silk kimono and obi on display was painted completely by hand. As you can see in these examples, the skill and attention to detail was amazing. Especially when botanical subjects were handled, the graceful realism just jumped off the silk! This made the ikebana arrangements a natural pairing for the kimonos, don't you think?
Making the event even more quintessentially Japanese, I was invited to kneel on a small pillow on the tatami mats and share a pot of green tea with the hosts and other guests who were there when I was. The tea was delicious. However, kneeling (hero pose style) for extended periods of time is fairly uncomfortable.
