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Flowers For Te An Invaluable Technique

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“Flowers for Tea” Chabana, flowers for tea, is an invaluable technique that can be found in the Japanese tea ceremony (Chanoyu). It was derived from the art of flower arranging, Ikebana, and has its techniques rooted in Shintoism and Buddhism. First, the arrangements began as a way of celebrating the seasons in conjunction with life and death that nature exhibits. It is the ephemeral realm found within Buddhism and the celebration of nature which Shinto embodies that brought these arts to their fruition. Also, this form of decoration near or in the tokonoma (alcove) is displayed as a way of indicating the seasons or evoking the meaning of the kakejiku (scroll), as well as, the feeling of wabi. Several varying themes are found throughout chabana in reference to the underlying themes in chanoyu those being shin, gyo, so. These themes are attributed to the formal, semi-formal and informal tea gatherings found in bowing, floral arrangements and floral vessels found in the tea ceremony.
The development of chabana from ikebana is attributed to the tea master Sen no Rikyu. There are several theories as to the reason why Rikyu brought flowers into the tea ceremony; the first was that his wife placed a beautiful flower in the tokonoma in which a guest admired and the second involved Toyotomi Hideyoshi. According to author Henry Mittwer, Hideyoshi had heard of rumors of Rikyu’s garden in which beautiful morning glories grew; when he was invited by Rikyu for morning tea,

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