Summer Festival in Concord
Clockwise from top left: Master Hideko Metaxas (in blue) and two assistants arranging an example of Rikka Shofutai; a free-style arrangement in honor of the victims and the philanthropists in the Tohoku Tsunami 2011; an Ikenobo sensei arranging a free-style display; Shoka (left) versus Rikka (right)
Learn something new everyday. At the Japanese American Summer Festival in Concord this year, I absorbed an hour of Ikenobo ikebana art, which is really, really, really rudimentary, but at least now I know that the Rikka style involves nine elements, and the Shoka style three elements (heaven, earth and man).
That day was also the first I’ve heard of the “Three Friends of Winter” sho chiku bai (pine, bamboo and plum), and this astonished me because 1. I’d never encountered any old Chinese things that my mom hasn’t told me about, and 2. it involves plum blossom, which is my name. There’s no way I wouldn’t know that my name is part of a trio that appears in Asian arts and folklores at lunar new year time. My memories must have been failing. 🙁 Anyhow, Nancy made a beautiful onigiri box that follows the sho chiku bai theme:
Homemade sho chiku bai onigiri by Nancy Togami: white onigiri with aonori and sesame (sho), yellow onigiri with fukujinzuke (chiku), and pink umeboshi onigiri (bai)
The rice balls, particularly the fukujinzuke ones (soy sauce pickles), go oh so well with the teriyaki chicken sold at the festival. For $5 you get a quarter of a chicken, either white or dark meat. I chose dark meat of course, a big juicy leg and thigh, but the white meat that Nancy picked also looked gleaming. Kenji-san went with 8 skewers of beef teriyaki for $8. We noshed while listening to the taiko drum performance. In the 110-degree heat, I tried not to stare at the kids swooshing their shaved ice, diverted my thoughts instead to the juniper and Japanese maple bonsai.
Mom is an avid believer against potted plants and caged birds, and I don’t even support cutting grass. But these miniature trees are undeniably works of art.
That said, if Mom and I were given one of these, first thing we do is removing the tree from the pot and digging it a nice warm hole in our front yard. 😉
Superb blog! Do you have any hints for aspiring writers? I’m planning to start my own website soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you propose starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many options out there that I’m totally confused .. Any suggestions? Bless you!
1Howdy! I know this is kinda off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could get a captcha plugin for my comment form? I’m using the same blog platform as yours and I’m having difficulty finding one? Thanks a lot!
2Would love to constantly get updated great blog! .
3Regards for helping out, fantastic info .
4I carry on listening to the news bulletin talk about receiving free online grant applications so I have been looking around for the best site to get one. Could you tell me please, where could i get some?
5I like this blog so much, saved to favorites.
6Betrupi official giriş platformu ve resmi adresi
7Valuable info. Lucky me I discovered your website accidentally, and I’m surprised why this coincidence did not took place earlier! I bookmarked it.
8Very great post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wished to mention that I have really enjoyed surfing around your blog posts. After all I’ll be subscribing on your rss feed and I hope you write again very soon!
9Thank you for another wonderful post. Where else could anyone get that type of info in such an ideal way of writing? I’ve a presentation next week, and I am on the look for such info.
10I’ve recently started a web site, the information you provide on this site has helped me tremendously. Thanks for all of your time & work.
11The next time I read a blog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as much as this one. I mean, I know it was my choice to read, but I actually thought youd have something interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something that you could fix if you werent too busy looking for attention.
12I am so happy to read this. This is the kind of manual that needs to be given and not the accidental misinformation that’s at the other blogs. Appreciate your sharing this best doc.
13Thanks for some other informative site. Where else may just I am getting that type of information written in such an ideal approach? I’ve a mission that I am just now working on, and I’ve been at the glance out for such info.
14Awesome blog! Do you have any tips for aspiring writers? I’m hoping to start my own blog soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you suggest starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many choices out there that I’m totally overwhelmed .. Any suggestions? Bless you!
15Have you ever considered about including a little bit more than just your articles? I mean, what you say is fundamental and all. However just imagine if you added some great photos or videos to give your posts more, “pop”! Your content is excellent but with images and videos, this site could definitely be one of the best in its niche. Amazing blog!
16I adore gathering useful info, this post has got me even more info! .
17Greetings! I’ve been following your blog for a long time now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from Houston Tx! Just wanted to say keep up the great job!
18Hi, Neat post. There is a problem with your website in internet explorer, would check this… IE still is the market leader and a good portion of people will miss your great writing because of this problem.
19I believe other website proprietors should take this web site as an model, very clean and good user genial layout.
20I got what you mean , thanks for posting.Woh I am delighted to find this website through google. “Those who corrupt the public mind are just as evil as those who steal from the public.” by Theodor Wiesengrund Adorno.
21Magnificent beat ! I wish to apprentice while you amend your site, how could i subscribe for a weblog site? The account aided me a appropriate deal. I have been a little bit familiar of this your broadcast offered bright transparent concept
22Undeniably believe that which you said. Your favorite reason seemed to be on the net the simplest thing to be aware of. I say to you, I certainly get irked while people consider worries that they plainly don’t know about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top and defined out the whole thing without having side effect , people could take a signal. Will likely be back to get more. Thanks
23Howdy this is somewhat of off topic but I was wanting to know if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding know-how so I wanted to get guidance from someone with experience. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
24Wow! Thank you! I permanently wanted to write on my website something like that. Can I take a portion of your post to my website?
25Hiya! Quick question that’s completely off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My website looks weird when browsing from my iphone4. I’m trying to find a theme or plugin that might be able to fix this issue. If you have any recommendations, please share. With thanks!
26so much great info on here, :D.
27Great line up. We will be linking to this great article on our site. Keep up the good writing.
28I’m impressed, I need to say. Really rarely do I encounter a weblog that’s each educative and entertaining, and let me inform you, you’ve hit the nail on the head. Your concept is excellent; the problem is something that not enough persons are speaking intelligently about. I am very comfortable that I stumbled throughout this in my seek for one thing relating to this.
29I must point out my appreciation for your kind-heartedness for individuals that have the need for help with this particular area. Your real dedication to getting the message all over had become incredibly powerful and has frequently enabled associates much like me to attain their aims. This insightful guideline denotes a whole lot to me and even more to my mates. Warm regards; from each one of us.
30Awsome site! I am loving it!! Will be back later to read some more. I am taking your feeds also.
31Nice post. I was checking continuously this blog and I’m impressed! Extremely useful info particularly the last part 🙂 I care for such information much. I was looking for this particular info for a very long time. Thank you and good luck.
32Regards for helping out, great information.
33With havin so much content and articles do you ever run into any issues of plagorism or copyright infringement? My site has a lot of unique content I’ve either created myself or outsourced but it appears a lot of it is popping it up all over the web without my authorization. Do you know any techniques to help protect against content from being ripped off? I’d definitely appreciate it.
34Very clear site, thanks for this post.
35I enjoy your work, thankyou for all the interesting articles.
36Wow! Thank you! I permanently wanted to write on my blog something like that. Can I take a fragment of your post to my website?
37I’ll immediately grab your rss feed as I can not find your e-mail subscription link or newsletter service. Do you have any? Please let me know so that I could subscribe. Thanks.
38I am extremely impressed with your writing skills as well as with the layout on your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself? Either way keep up the excellent quality writing, it is rare to see a great blog like this one nowadays..
39It is really a nice and helpful piece of info. I’m glad that you shared this useful info with us. Please keep us informed like this. Thanks for sharing.
40The next time I read a blog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as much as this one. I mean, I know it was my choice to read, however I actually thought youd have something interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about one thing that you may repair when you werent too busy searching for attention.
41Absolutely written articles, Really enjoyed reading through.
42I conceive this internet site has got some very excellent information for everyone :D. “Heat cannot be separated from fire, or beauty from The Eternal.” by Alighieri Dante.
43I have not checked in here for some time as I thought it was getting boring, but the last few posts are good quality so I guess I will add you back to my everyday bloglist. You deserve it my friend 🙂
44Glad to be one of several visitors on this awful internet site : D.
45Just wanna remark on few general things, The website design is perfect, the content material is really good. “We can only learn to love by loving.” by Iris Murdoch.
46Way cool, some valid points! I appreciate you making this article available, the rest of the site is also high quality. Have a fun.
47I know this if off topic but I’m looking into starting my own blog and was wondering what all is required to get setup? I’m assuming having a blog like yours would cost a pretty penny? I’m not very web smart so I’m not 100 certain. Any recommendations or advice would be greatly appreciated. Cheers
48Thanks for the marvelous posting! I actually enjoyed reading it, you are a great author.I will make certain to bookmark your blog and may come back later in life. I want to encourage you to definitely continue your great posts, have a nice holiday weekend!
49payment anyone bridging to gnosis a candid writeup of gnosis tie mistakes to keep off before stirring funds is a solid starting point. hope i had presume from the voice about two-ply checking the stopping-place network urlhttps://dev.to/boyd_durgan/gnosis-bridge-mistakes-i-learned-to-avoid-before-moving-funds-2goi/url
50