ホモテナシ

• 茶花 very different from the artistic 生花.
• Surprisingly unregulated for something 茶-related!

• Buddhism started practise of offering flowers, initially (600 AD) two flowers to the left of the altar and two candles to the right; then in 室町 just one each.
• Priests started to make them just for fun (in the very large room, obviously, so the arrangements themselves were quite large and the 花入 used obviously all Chinese).
• In XVI then rooms and thus flower containers became smaller, with one or two blossoms being used

• 利休: Cut fresh green bamboo for a vase, pour clear water into it and, with pure heart, put in a fresh flower.
• Naosuke: Flowers capture 一期一会: A flower only lasts for a brief moment.

• Placement of the hooks (measured above the floor) (LK 23)

• 利休: First contemplate the flower, then pick the vase.
• Vase should be simple, so that the flower remains the focal point (LK 23)

• しゅこ: No conscious effort when arranging flowers
• 利休: Pick one or two cuttings of the same flower, maybe add some 'soft fullness'
  • According to 南方録 one blossom for the small, two for the big room.
• 利休: 花は　の　に　ある　よ　に「The flower should be as it is in the field」

• 利休: In 1567 did a 茶事 where he had the guests return after 中立 to find an empty flower vase with some water in it. 利休 explained to his guests to imagine the flower; and CQ41 describes this as the ultimate 茶花.

• Generally, pick flowers that are a little closed, if you can find them (LK 23)
• 利休 chose short-lived flowers, and forbade the use of long-lived, garish or strongly-smelling flowers such as sweet daphne (Seidelblast), mountain anise (Anis-Duftnessel or Riesenysop), cockscomb; patrinia, pomegranate, candock and marigold (CQ41).
• Naosuke: Don't use rare and unusual flowers. Go outside, look for a flower, cut it.
• Morning glory a bit frowned upon in Urasenke because of the story of 利休 and 秀吉, but here it's a perfectly fine flower (Larry 23)
• Narcissus, however, works well.

haru no no ni sumire tsumi ni to koshi ware zo
no o natsukashimi hito-yo ne ni keru

I came to the filed to pick violets / but I loved the field so much I've slept there all night; from Yamabe-no-Akihito, ~700 AD

• 花入
• Mittwer's book