VIII
A last long follow brought the hunt back to familiar ground—a marsh-encompassed tract of woods with three ways in. There was the deer's trail entering. Yan felt he would not come out there, for he knew his foe was following. So swiftly and silently the hunter made for the second road on the down-wind side, and having hung his coat and sash there on a swaying sapling, he hastened to the third way out, and hid. After awhile, seeing nothing, Yan gave the low call that the jaybird gives when there's danger abroad in the woods.
All deer take guidance from the jay, and away off in the encompassed woods Yan saw the great Stag with wavering ears go up a high lookout. A low whistle turned him to a statue, but he was far away with many a twig between. For some seconds he stood sniffing the wind and gazing with his back to his foe, watching the back trail, where so long his enemy had been, but never dreaming of that enemy in ambush ahead. Then the breeze set the coat on the sapling afluttering. The Stag quickly quit the hillock, not leaping or crashing through the brush—he had years ago got past that—but, silent and weasel-like, threading the maze he disappeared. Yan crouched in the willow thicket and strained his every sense and tried to train his ears to watch the harder. A twig ticked in the copse he was in. Yan slowly rose with nerve and sense at tightest tense, the gun in line—and as he rose, then also rose, but fifteen feet away, a wondrous pair of bronze and ivory horns, a royal head, a noble form behind it, and face to face they stood, Yan and the Sandhill Stag. At last—at last, his life was in Yan's hands. The Stag flinched not but stood and gazed with those great ears and mournful, truthful eyes, and the rifle leaped but sank again, for the Stag stood still and calmly looked him in the eyes, and Yan felt the prickling fading from his scalp, his clenched teeth eased, his limbs, bent as to spring, relaxed and manlike stood erect.
"Shoot, shoot, shoot now! This is what you have toiled for," said a faint and fading voice, and spoke no more.
Yan remembered that night when he, himself, run down, had turned to face the hunting wolves. He remembered that night when the snow was red with crime and down between them now he dimly saw a vision of an agonized and dying doe, with great, sad eyes, that only asked, "What harm have I done you?" A change came over him and every thought of murder went from Yan as they gazed into each other's eyes—and hearts. For different thoughts and a wholly different concept of the Stag, coming—coming—had come.
"Oh, beautiful creature! One of our wise men has said, the body is the soul made visible; is your spirit then so beautiful—as beautiful as wise? We have long stood as foes, hunter and hunted, but now that is changed and we stand face to face, fellow-creatures looking in each other's eyes, not knowing each other's speech—but knowing motives and feelings. Now I understand you as I never did before; surely you at least in part understand me. For your life is at last in my power, yet you have no fear. I knew of a deer once, that, run down by the hounds, sought safety with the hunter, and he saved it—and you also I have run down and you boldly seek safety with me. Yes! you are as wise as you are beautiful. We are brothers, oh, bounding Blacktail! only I am the elder and stronger, and if only my strength could always be at hand to save you, you would never come to harm. Go now without fear, to range the piney hills; never more shall I follow your trail with the wild wolf rampant in my heart. Less and less as I grow do I see in your race mere flying marks, or butcher-meat. We have grown, little brother, and learned many things that you know not, but you have many a precious sense that is wholly hidden from us. Go now without fear of me.
"I may never see you again. But if you only would come sometimes and look me in the eyes and make me feel as you have done to-day, you would drive the wild beast wholly from my heart and then the veil would be a little drawn and I should know more of the things that wise men have prayed to know. And yet I feel—it never will be—I have found the Grail. I have learned what Buddha learned. I shall never see you again. Farewell."
The White Wistaria at Kamedo.
JAPANESE FLOWER ARRANGEMENT
By Theodore Wores
Illustrations from Paintings by the Author
"Little Miss Cherry-blossom."
While it is generally recognized that flower arrangement affords an excellent opportunity for the display of good taste and artistic judgment, we by no means consider it, as in Japan, an art distinct in itself.
In Japan the art of flower arrangement is as highly regarded as music, poetry, or painting; and in order that one may become expert therein, it is deemed necessary to devote quite as much attention, time, and study to this as to any other form of art. We look upon flower arrangement in general as merely the result of individual taste, but a Japanese regards it from a very different point of view. He is governed, in this accomplishment, by numerous and well-defined rules which can only be acquired by long and patient study. It would be impossible, without this knowledge, to compose an arrangement of flowers which would meet with the approval of competent critics. It would, in fact, be quite as hopeless as for a musician to compose great masterpieces of music without previous training and careful study. The art of flower arrangement is not only practised by women and girls, but by men as well, for it is an accomplishment indispensable for all who would make any pretence to learning and culture.
During a conversation between a Japanese friend and myself, I once remarked that a certain young lady was not very pretty. "You are quite right," he answered, "but she is very clever at flower arrangement."
Arrangement of Bamboo,
Plum, and Pine. Symbolic
of good luck and
everlasting happiness.
There are six or seven schools of flower arrangement, and while they differ more or less as to details, the fundamental principles are alike in all.
In spite of the fact that flowers are so inseparably associated with everything Japanese, it would be a mistake to assume that Japan is a land of flowers for wild, as well as garden flowers, are far more profuse in many sections of this country. Japan is, however, rich in cultivated flowers that are grown in great profusion in garden and nursery in the suburbs of all the cities.
Flower sellers, carrying their fragrant burdens in huge baskets, are met with everywhere, and they are patronized by the poor as well as by the rich, for the prices are low enough to bring them within the reach of all. Although there are many varieties of flowers, few, comparatively, are used in flower arrangement for the Japanese limit their choice to those with which they are most familiar and such as are most closely associated with the different months or seasons, seldom or never using rare or unknown flowers.
The reason given for this is that a thorough knowledge of the character of the flowers and the conditions under which they grow is indispensable, in order that a proper and effective use of them may be made.
The following may be mentioned as the popular flowers of Japan, and most closely associated by the Japanese with the different seasons of the year:
The first to appear is the plum blossom, which is hailed with delight as the harbinger of spring, and enjoys, therefore, the greatest popularity.
The plum is closely followed by the cherry blossom, which almost rivals the former as a favorite.
The next, and the last of the spring flowers, is the Wistaria. Summer's flowers include the peony, iris, and the lotus; while autumn claims one of the chief favorites, the chrysanthemum, and also the morning-glory.
Corner of Iris Garden.
Winter has no flowers, but here the poetic imagination of the Japanese fills the void; for when trees and landscape are whitened with snow, he converts this, in his picturesque fancy, into "winter flowers," and this exquisite love and appreciation of all that nature affords in her various phases, is a strongly developed trait, common to all classes of Japan.
Lotus Flowers at Kamakura.
Certain flowers are considered lucky and others unlucky—the latter including all such as are supposed to possess poisonous qualities. I found, for instance, that one of the wild flowers, a beautiful scarlet lily, known as the Shibuta-no-hanna, which I greatly admired, was regarded with disfavor and was never used for decoration or flower arrangements, for the reason that it was a flower of ill omen.
On the other hand, a favorite arrangement, formed of a combination of pine, bamboo, and plum blossoms, is symbolic of good luck and everlasting happiness. It is frequently used on festive occasions and figures conspicuously in the New Year's decorations that are arranged over gate and doorway.
The first glimpse that I obtained of a flower arrangement scene in Japan was presented to me under conditions that made a most pleasing and lasting impression.
Flower Basket with
Chrysanthemum
Arrangement.
The little daughter of one of my neighbors in Tokio, who gloried in the name of Kosakurasan, little Miss Cherryblossom, had kindly consented to pose for a picture upon which I was engaged. During the several sittings that I received from this little lady of eight she told me much of her short but eventful life. She attended school, and explained that aside from the regular instructions she received, her parents had engaged a very accomplished young lady to give her sisters and herself a lesson in flower arrangement once a week at home.
A Peony Show.
I was much interested to know more about this floral study and expressed a desire to be present on one of these occasions.
Kiku Haran and Zuromodoki
in Hanging
Bamboo Vase.
A few days later little Miss Cherry-blossom appeared at my studio-door with a large bunch of chrysanthemums in her arms and an invitation from her mother to be present at a lesson which the teacher was about to give. I accompanied my little friend, and arriving at her home, was ushered into a room where I found the teacher and pupils deeply absorbed in their interesting study. I watched the proceedings with great interest, and though I failed to comprehend much of what the teacher endeavored to impart to her pupils, it gave me great pleasure to observe the interesting group. These bright-eyed, prettily dressed little Japanese maidens, earnestly engaged in their interesting occupation and surrounded by quantities of flowers, formed such a charming and delightful scene, that I decided on the spot to make it the subject for a picture.
Later on I carried out this idea, and the illustration which appears on [p. 211], gives an impression of the result. I engaged a famous old professor to arrange the chrysanthemums as they appear in the picture. The old man came to my studio bringing the flowers which he had carefully selected, and spent over an hour in making the arrangement. Several times, when it was almost completed, he pulled it to pieces and began again, exclaiming that it was not good enough. "It would pass," he said, "for ordinary purposes;" but since it was to serve as a model to be copied into the picture, nothing but absolute perfection would satisfy him.
This old professor was famous in his art and enjoyed great distinction and consideration—as much so as any famous poet or painter.
Aside from his occupation as a teacher, he was frequently engaged by wealthy people and by proprietors of tea-houses to make arrangements of flowers for dinner-parties and other festive occasions. Many methods are known and employed for keeping cut flowers fresh; and some of the famous professors of this art claim to possess the secret of certain ingredients, which, added to the water containing the flowers, have a stimulating effect and greatly prolong their life. The successful application of this process, known as mizuage, requires much experience, certain plants requiring a strong and others a weak solution.
Early Plum Blossoms at Sungita.
One enthusiastic exponent of this art declared to me that many years ago, at a flower arrangement competition, given by a famous Daimio, he had received the first prize for an arrangement of bamboo, which, to the surprise of everyone, remained fresh and unfaded for twenty-seven days. This had been accomplished—without the use of water—by injecting a certain tonic into an opening which he had bored at the top of the bamboo stalk.
On another occasion, when he had arranged a combination of bamboo and morning-glory, he had carefully wrapped strips of paper around each of the flowers early in the morning before they had opened. Later in the afternoon, and just before this flower arrangement was to be shown to a company of guests, he had removed these paper wraps, and, by pouring a certain liquid into the water, had caused the flowers slowly to unfold before the eyes of the delighted spectators.
Entertainments of this character, where guests are invited to view various arrangements of flowers made especially for the occasion, are often given. Sometimes a guest is invited to make an extemporary arrangement, the flowers and everything necessary being provided for the purpose.
On one occasion, on a visit to the girls' high school in Kioto, I found a class of twenty or thirty girls receiving a lesson in flower arrangement. The professor, an old and distinguished-looking man, was seated before a low stand with a heap of flowers and shrubs at his side, and as Japanese houses are not provided with tables and chairs, the pupils and master were seated on the matted floor.
The teacher selected a few sprays from the heap and after carefully trimming off the decayed leaves and twigs, proceeded to arrange the blossoms in a vase standing before him. The lines given to the branches and stems of flowers were not always natural, but the character was given by much twisting and bending, as well as in the manner in which they were fastened in the vase; the stems of the flowers being held firmly in place by two short sticks of wood, wedged in tightly across the neck of the vase. In some instances a forked twig serves the same purpose. The chief feature of Japanese flower arrangement is simplicity, and usually but few flowers are required. The object of this device, therefore, is to give to the stems a firm position and enable them to rise erect out of the centre of the vase. Sometimes small metal crabs, or tortoises, are utilized as wedges.
Corner of Japanese Nursery.
Kohenai, Iris and Chrysanthemum
in Bamboo Vase.
As the professor arranged the flowers, he carefully explained his method to a group of five or six girls who were seated opposite to him. He impressed upon them the fact that flower arrangements are linear in character: being, in most instances, based on three lines rising gracefully from the neck of the vase. The centre or principal line should be the longest, the second one-half, and the third one-fourth the length of the first. He cautioned them against allowing these three stem-lines to cross one another in a way to form angles, nor should they be permitted to run in parallel lines. Other arrangements are based on five and seven lines and sometimes as many as nine or eleven, but these are uncommon and are rarely seen.
During the lesson the professor imparted much instructive information to his pupils. Among other things he told them that in the art of flower arrangement the student must be guided by nature and a careful study and observation of the character and habits of the flowers employed. Everything unnatural and inappropriate must be strictly avoided. Flowers of different seasons should never be arranged together, and no flower, however beautiful, should have a place in such arrangement out of its proper season.
A Lesson in Flower Arrangement.
Symmetry in flower arrangement should be avoided, and under no circumstances should both sides of a composition correspond or match. (This principle, it may be said, is observed in all forms of Japanese art.) It would be in very bad taste, for instance, to allow two vines to hang symmetrically from either side of a suspended vase, or even for a flower of one color to be placed between two of another color.
One of the fundamental rules of this art is that all flower arrangements should fit into a triangle, either vertical or horizontal, and that in itself serves more or less as a restriction against symmetrical compositions. Great attention should be given also to the manner in which the stems rise out of the water, as they should present a strong and vigorous appearance, and hold, in fact, the same relation to the flowers that the trunk of a tree bears to the branches and foliage overhead. Plants that grow erect should be given an upright direction in floral arrangements, while such, for instance, as grow overhanging the banks of streams or cliffs should be arranged in a hanging position. The professor demonstrated all this with numerous examples which he made and then distributed to the pupils.
Each girl, upon receiving a finished example, made a low bow to the master; and retiring to the other end of the room, proceeded to take the flowers apart and rearrange them as before.
Suspended Bamboo Vase in
the Form of a Boat, Containing
an Arrangement
of Iris.
After having accomplished this to the best of her ability, she returned with it to the teacher's desk, when he pointed out to her any defects it might contain.
The Japanese divide plants and flowers, without any regard to scientific facts, into the male and female sex. Trees, mountains, and streams are likewise classified as their fancy wills. This division of flowers and plants into sexes forms an important consideration in the art of flower arrangement. In a composition in which delicate plants and slender vines are used in connection with stems of trees, the latter represent the male element and should always form the centre or backbone of the arrangement and serve as a support for the former, the female element.
Morning-Glory and Shion
Arrangement, in Imitation
Well Buckets.
The various vessels used for holding the flowers form a very important feature in the art of flower arrangement, and a great many varieties are utilized for this purpose. Certain arrangements require long-necked vessels of earthenware or bronze, while broad and shallow ones are used for others. A great variety of baskets, known as flower baskets, are also used. These vary in shape and size, and some are suspended, while others are placed upon the ground. They always contain an inner vessel for holding water.
Another form of vessel very extensively used is one made of a cylinder of bamboo. This is generally formed from a section cut near the root, where the form is irregular and the joints are close together. These bamboo tubes are from one to two feet in height and from three to six inches in diameter, and sometimes have holes cut in the sides for inserting flowers.
Bamboo vases in the forms of boats are often hung in Japanese rooms. Imitation well-buckets, made of lacquered wood or porcelain, are also employed for holding flowers. Always used in pairs, they are generally suspended over a pulley by a silk rope, and make a very effective and pleasing decoration for a room.
One of the most important results of the study of this floral art has been in the direction of simplicity. It has created a love and an appreciation for the beauty of a single flower—for in its color and form, in its graceful stem and well-formed leaves, the votaries of this art find far more enjoyment than in confused masses of many colored flowers.
While there is, no doubt, much in Japanese flower arrangement that is unintelligible to us and would fail to appeal to the uninitiated, there is also much that would be understood and admired everywhere by persons of good taste. It is indeed a wonder that our attention has not been more generally drawn to this interesting study, so suggestive of a new and promising field of artistic possibilities.
Flower arrangement in Japan, like music, painting, and architecture, is in harmony with the peculiar and unique civilization of that country, and could not, therefore, be taken literally and grafted on to a civilization so radically different as our own. The principle, however, might be adopted and developed on lines in harmony with our arts and to the enrichment of our civilization. As an art it is full of possibilities, and would not only bring us into closer communion, and into a better understanding with nature and the floral world, but would also exercise a most æsthetic influence and add an unknown charm to our daily lives.
Visit to the Chrysanthemum Show.