19TH MAY, 2025

 

Hello all,

Last Tuesday, at our Ikebana International meeting our guest speaker was Linda from Claydreamers, an organization that runs pottery classes. Linda had examples of her wares and gave an interesting presentation. My students and I were so inspired that we intend to go to her classes and make ikebana containers.

It was suggested that members bring arrangements in their favourite, ceramic containers. Above is my arrangement. I wouldn't say that the container is my favourite as I have many that I love. It is, however, one that I made myself close to 30 years ago. I, particularly, wanted to use the ginkgo biloba branches as they are turning colour. The tree is quite tall and the branches are high, so cutting it required some risky moves on my part, which included standing on a stack of roof tiles and, from that position, using the long, extendable cutter to reach the branch. I feel it was worth the effort and risk.

We have a family friend, Samuel, who lives in Stuttgart, Germany and who, recently, sent 6 gorgeous, red roses, one for each woman in our family. It was such a touching gesture. And that's not all. For my recent birthday he sent me a potted, begonia plant, knowing my love for plants and gardening.

I made two, small arrangements with mine and mum's roses.

After an absence of two and a half weeks, I returned to an autumnal Melbourne. The colours of the exotic trees are spectacular. In recent years Manchurian pear trees have been widely used in street planting. They are the standout autumn trees.

In my garden I have a number of shrubs and trees that are changing colours, including two persimmon trees. I was inspired to use the two stems with one leaf each for the next arrangement. The crucifix orchid was ideal to complete the piece because it has a long and thin stem which just manages to fit in the narrow opening of my self made container.

Before I abandon my travel tales, I'd like to share some more photos from Tokyo. It was Lucy's ardent wish to visit the gardens of the Hotel New Otani. Having visited them before, I, too wanted to see them again. We spent a very pleasant hour or so there and finished our day with afternoon tea at the hotel's cafe.

The day before we were to leave for home we set out to visit the Nezu Museum. Unfortunately, after taking three different trains and a 15 minute walk there, we discovered it was closed. Lucy and George were leaving very early the next day but my flight was in the evening, so I decided to go back to Nezu before going to the airport. 

The Nezu Museum Collection includes a hundred National Treasures. The ones I particularly wanted to see are The Korin, Okyo and Kiitsu Trio: Masterpieces of Screen Painting. Photography is not permitted in the museum, so I have no photos to share but you can visit this link Nezu museum . 

May is a particularly good time of year to visit because the iris that are growing in the pond in the gardens of the museum, are in full flower and have a direct connection to the screen. The variety of iris grown there is the kakitsubata (iris laevigata) also known as the rabbit ear iris.

I took the photograph, below, in 2014. I was disappointed at the time that only one iris was flowering. However, looking at it now I find it quite charming....

... and this is what it looked like this year. 

I was absolutely delighted with the museum but, equally, with the garden.

Tokyo's architecture is legendary and I could not possibly do it justice in my little blog but I did want to include a photo of one that impressed me greatly - The Prada Building in Aoyama.

The building was designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron. Its most distinctive  feature is its diamond shaped glass facade, composed of convex, concave and flat panels set within a rhomboid grid.

Lucy photographing

Lucy being photographed

Bye for now,

Emily

BE IT EVER SO HUMBLE.....

 

Hello all,

Well, I'm back and, I have to admit that, the best thing about travelling is coming back to the familiar comforts of home and, especially, family.

Above is the photo of the first arrangement I made since returning and it was made with some of the flowers from my Mother's Day bouquet. They were chosen by my youngest granddaughter who loves pink (what little girl doesn't?). The willow branch was sitting in the bucket in the studio since before I left. It had sent masses of roots and brought fresh leaves. I removed both and used the stem in my arrangement, purely out of laziness.

Said laziness extended to the next arrangement. The painted wisteria was in another arrangement and, having been in water for so long, the ends were rotting. I cut off the rotting bits and reused it together with more pink  flowers, this time roses. Amongst my bouquet were also the stems of magnolia grandiflora.

My trip to Japan is still very fresh in my mind and I'd like to share a few more photos. During our travels in the Tokyo subway we came across a lovely O'Hara school arrangement inside a glass enclosure. Its freshness and beauty were quite incongruous with the hustle and bustle of the subway.

The next day I was travelling the same route alone and went past the same window. This time there was a new arrangement. I have to commend the arranger for changing the arrangement even though the materials were all still quite fresh.

One place we most looked forward to visit was Naoshima island, which is in the Seto sea. It is referred to as the Art Island and with good reason. It took a Shinkansen, a regional train and a ferry, lugging 3 large and 3 small suitcases to get there from Osaka. We checked into our lovely suite and were preparing to go sightseeing, when I received a phone call from our colleague, Swann, informing us that we needed to have prebooked to visit many of the museums. This was not the case when I was there in 2014. Our hearts sank. No, they hit the floor. We scrambled to book whatever we could and, thankfully, we got to see the some museums as well as all the outdoor art, dotted around the island.

Sam and me in 2014 with Yellow Pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama

Back in 2025 sans Sam (He was much missed)

The next photo is of a sculpture that intrigued us as much in 2014 as it did in 2025. It is of a man reading a newspaper with his canine companion at his side. The interesting thing is that it depicts a Greek Newspaper called 'O Kosmos' meaning 'The World' and the text is in Greek.

Le Banc Sculpture by Niki de Saint Phalle (1989)

And whilst we're on Naoshima let's look at some more photos.

Whilst wondering around the outdoor exhibits, we were approached by a very friendly and charming young man by the name of Kohei, who is a photographer planning an exhibition. We spent a pleasant half an hour with him and, of course, we took the obligatory photos. I will only share one with you.

Lucy next to an untitled piece by Jannis Kounellis (Yes, he's Greek too)

Yayoi Kusama's silver balls featured heavily.

OK, now I'm stopping. Seriously, I could go on all night adding more and more photos. For those who have not been to Naoshima, I strongly recommend you put it in your bucket list. BUT BE SURE TO PREBOOK EVERYTHING!

Bye for now,

Emily

GREETINGS FROM JAPAN

 

Raked garden at Entoku-in Temple in Kyoto

Hello all,

I'm writing this from my hotel room in Tokyo. I have returned here after visiting Kyoto, Osaka and Naoshima. My sister, Lucy, and her partner, George and I had planned an impromptu visit to Japan. Coincidentally, the Ikebana International 13th World Convention was on in Kyoto at the time we would be in Japan. Of course, at that late stage, all places had been booked but we were very lucky to find two cancellations, which allowed us to attend. However, there were no available places for us to exhibit.

In this post I don't have any photographs of ikebana arrangements that I can share with you. I can't use any of the myriad of photos I took of the members' and Iemotos' arrangements because the quality is not good enough to do them justice and, also, because I don't have permission from the makers of those arrangements.

I do however, have many, many photos from my travels. After all, this is Japan, everywhere you turn, there is something that's photo worthy.

There was a great deal happening at the convention and trying to keep up with everything was quite tiring and a little stressful. The exhibition by Iemotos and members from around the world was very good and Lucy and I spent a great deal of time in the exhibition room. The highlight for me were the demonstrations by the Iemotos of the schools. And, I know I'm showing a little bias here but the Sogetsu Iemoto, Akane Teshigahara absolutely nailed it! It was so good that she got a standing ovation. Photos were impossible but, hopefully, they will be featured in the So or Sogetsu magazines. I'll be keeping an eye out for them.

Lucy and I were delighted to meet up with my friend, Kazuko Yano and have a little catch up. As usual Kazuko was quite busy with official duties including acting as an MC for the first day of the Iemoto demonstrations.

Lucy, me and Kazuko

I, also, enjoyed meeting like minded people from around the world. The photograph, below is of a group of ladies from India, Lucy and me. One of these ladies, who follows my blog, recognized me and introduced herself to me. I was absolutely delighted and we had a very pleasant conversation. They brought gifts with them which they generously shared with us.

I ran into some people, whom I met at the previous convention in Okinawa as well as Australians from different states. Australia had a healthy contingent of attendees. I, also, met up with Mrs. Taruna Agarwal, the president of Ikebana International, Mumbai chapter, who was awarded a certificate on the opening night. Taruna had contacted me in 2020, during Covid and asked me to do a Zoom demonstration for their members. Some of you may have seen it at the time but, since then, she has uploaded it on YouTube. For those, who might be interested just type in 'Emily Karanikolopoulos Ikebana Demonstration'.

Taruna and me

Kyoto is a must visit destination if travelling in Japan. We were only there for a few days and most of our time was taken by the convention. One place I've been wanting to visit and wasn't able to do so in the past is 'The Philosopher's Walk'. We managed to do it and it was brilliant! Here are some photos -

Lucy and George beginning the walk

  

Lucy and me climbing up the hill

The view of Kyoto from the top of the hill

The following day we left Kyoto for Osaka. We had little time there so we  spent most of it visiting Osaka castle.

Lucy in front of the castle

Inside the castle we met a compatriot, whose name I forgot and who, we were pleasantly surprised to hear, was born in the same area of Greece as Lucy and me but now lives in London.

The sculpture in the photograph, below is in front of the building where the Australian Embassy is in Osaka, where the three of us went to vote.

And this is me casting my ballot in our Federal elections. It was quite an effort to get to the embassy but the three of us were determined to have our vote.

Bye for now,

Emily

GREETINGS FROM TOKYO #2

 

Hello all,

The photograph, above, is of the arrangement in the Japanese Room of Sogetsu HQ, which was made by Master Instructor Suisen Takagi.

The small arrangement, below, was also in the Japanese Room.

For those who haven't visited Sogetsu Kaikan yet, this is what one sees when approaching the building.

I arrived in Japan a few days before the Ikebana International 13th World Convention because I wanted to catch up with my Japanese friends. The first friend I caught up with was Emiko and I shared the photograph of the two of us last week.

The following day I had lunch with Kosa Nishiyama sense at the Japanese restaurant, Wadakura. She had organized, everything including the pre ordering of the sumptuous meal and selecting a table in front of a window, from which we could enjoy the view of the Imperial Palace Gardens. As wonderful as it all was, the best thing was spending time with my friend. It's sad to think that, with such distances, we may not see each other in person again. Of course, thanks to modern technology we can communicate very easily.

Kosa Nichiyama sense and me

That evening I had dinner with Akiko Takahira Abe at an Italian Restaurant at Ginza 6 Shopping Complex. I arrived early and enjoyed some serious window shopping before our meal. We had so much to say that we forgot to take photos. She and I had become friends when, in 2014, I was in Tokyo for 3 months studying intensively at HQ as part of the Norman Sparnon scholarship. Akiko was part of the Overseas Affairs department and in charge of looking after me. We clicked and have been friends ever since.

We met again the next day. Akiko had planned for us to visit Ashikaga Flower Park in Tochigi Prefecture, which is renowned for its huge wisterias. This is the ideal time to visit the park because the wisterias are in flower. Of course, there are, also, many other spring flowering plants to be dazzled by.

My friend Akiko at the entrance of Ashikaga Flower Park

Based on Akiko's description, I was looking forward to visiting the park but I was not prepared to be so impressed that words fail me. I thought I died and gone to heaven and I did not want to leave. Apart from other flowering plants, such as azaleas, dogwoods, snow ball trees, rhododendrons etc there are 350 wisteria trees in all colours. There is one that is 150 years old, which has been designated as a natural treasure.

Below are a few photographs which can only give you an idea of the scope and magnificence of this garden. One thing I could not capture, however, was the heady fragrance that permeated the whole park.

The Great Wisteria - 150 years old

We had lunch at the park and waited until dark, when the park is transformed by strategically placed lights into a fairyland.

If anyone is planning a trip to Japan for late April to early May, do yourself a favour and visit the park. It is a bit of a distance from Tokyo but well worth the effort.

Bye for now,

Emily