The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-03-24
FLOWERS HAVE THEIR RANK.
Regards for Floral
GIories in the Orient.

Qrom the st. Louis Globe-Democrat.)
With such titles as ten thousand times
sprinkled with gold. and disheyeled hair
in morning sleep" fresh in his memory,
and coming from a land where the ar
rangement of flowers is part of the edu-
cation, it must be something of a shock
| to the Japanese visiting this country TO
hear the proSaic names we beStow on our
| chrysanthemums and to find how reck-
! iessly Americans arrange bouquets He
appreciates that as a nation we are much
| less fond of flowers than are his people,
! and how little they mean to us in life be-
| yond the pleasing sensations produced by
| their beauty. In Japan the arrangement
of them is pursued as an art, being pro-
foundry studied by men of rank, phil0so-
pliers and priests. besides learned and lit
erary men, ladies of the aristocracy are
allowed to practice the art as being likely
to inspire such estimable virtues as gen.
tleness, self-denial. forgetfulness of care
and spirituality. Lifetime is indeed
| not too long for the japanese. either man
or woman, to devote to an understanding
of the subtitle meaning conveyed by flow
ers. and the rigorous rules necessary to
observe in producing with them the best
artistic results.
In Japan the peony. although acknowl-
edged to be the royal flower of China, is
| still the favorte of the upper classes. II
| is given on occasions of Importance the
| position of honor on the datS in the prin-
| cipal recess; never is * placed in the CEN
| ter of the room, nor on shelf, and no
other flower is allowed to come near its
royal presence. Sometimes art dictates
| that two black twigS shall be grouped
| behind it, the thought being to enhance
by contrast it's abundant life and beauty
| The lotus flower also is conceded to have
| royal national rank. and is called the
| King of Indian flowers. On festive days
the japanese never use 1t, as they asso-
ciate it entirely with the spirit of the
| dead. The royal flower of Japan, of
| course, is the cherry blossom The Idea of
| floral rank is one to which the Japanese
| ara var al
| laws of precedence must be closely adj
| hered to in the arrangement of their flow
ers. To an American it seems perhaps
inexplicable that they should have placed
| the purple wiStaria high above the white,
which they mostly exclude from their
compositions.
regarded as difficult OF arrangement, and
| therefore the most arbitrary rules have
| been evolved in their composition With
! one large flower, but three leaves are al
| lowed; with two flowers, seven or fifteen
leaves are used; three flowers are given
| thirteen leaves. and five flowers are fur
| nished with eleven leaves
So deftly are thoughts conveyed by the
ARRANGEMENT of flowers in Japan that
| often verbal messages are unnecessary.
| In November. the coquette sends to her
| lover a leaf or branch, of maple. Like
| it," he translates her love has changed"
! ON farewell occasions those called re
| turning flowers" because they bloom
4 twice a year. are used to subtly express
a
| that are i'll. blossoms of a sturdy. vigor-
Gus growth are placed that health and
strength may be suggested Only very
| gay flowers are strewn in profusion when
| supplications are made for those in af-
| Fiction Prayers for rain are accompan-
| led by large floral pieces so arranged as
| to point from right to left that the east
wind bringing rain may be honored. and
| very naturally the reverse order typify-
| ing the west wind is employed when fair
| weather is desired.
| Border of the thin mist: shades OF the
| evening sun: waves in the morning sun;
| companion of the moon: snow on the leaf
| of the bamboo: moons halo; spray-capped
| wave: starlit night: beacon light; the sky
at dawn: the first snow, and golden dew
are among the many imaginative and pref
| ty names the Japanese bestow on their
| chrysanthemums. these flowers which
appeal so strongly to their poetic natures
| In the arrangement of them they are very
| careful ard guard against seven faults
| their stems must not be OF the same
| length. a single blossom must not turn
| its back nor present its full face; three
! flowers must not appear to form trl-
| angle they must not be hidden by leaves:
| nor must they be arranged in the way OF
| steps; an open, full blossom should never
| be placed at the base of the composition,
| and one odd one should not fan between
| tuo others alike in color.