第 14 节
作者:      更新:2022-06-15 11:22      字数:9322
  made      and   published     for  the   edification    of  amateurs。      The     amount     of
  literature on the subject is quite voluminous。               When the flower fades; the
  master tenderly consigns it to the river or carefully buries it in the ground。
  Monuments are sometimes erected to their memory。
  The      birth   of    the   Art    of    Flower     Arrangement         seems     to    be
  simultaneous   with   that   of   Teaism   in   the   fifteenth   century。   Our   legends
  ascribe   the   first   flower   arrangement   to   those   early   Buddhist   saints   who
  gathered the flowers strewn by the storm and; in their infinite   solicitude
  for all living things; placed them in vessels of water。               It is said that Soami;
  the   great   painter   and   connoisseur   of   the   court   of Ashikaga…   Yoshimasa;
  was one of the earliest adepts at it。            Juko; the tea…master; was one of his
  pupils; as was also Senno; the founder of the house of Ikenobo; a family as
  illustrious in the annals of flowers as was that of the Kanos in painting。
  With the perfecting of the tea…ritual under Rikiu; in the latter part of the
  sixteenth century; flower arrangement also attains its full growth。                      Rikiu
  and   his   successors;   the   celebrated   Ota…   wuraka;   Furuka…Oribe;   Koyetsu;
  Kobori…Enshiu;  Katagiri…   Sekishiu;   vied   with   each other   in   forming   new
  combinations。 We must remember; however; that the flower…worship of the
  tea…masters   formed   only   a   part   of   their   aesthetic   ritual;   and   was   not   a
  distinct religion by itself。        A flower arrangement; like the other works of
  art   in   the  tea…room;   was   subordinated   to   the   total   scheme   of   decoration。
  Thus Sekishiu ordained that white plum blossoms should not be made use
  of    when    snow     lay  in  the   garden。     〃Noisy〃      flowers    were    relentlessly
  banished from the tea…room。            A flower arrangement by a tea…master loses
  its   significance   if   removed   from   the   place   for     which   it   was   originally
  intended; for its lines and proportions have been specially worked out with
  a view to its surroundings。
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  The   adoration   of the   flower   for   its own   sake   begins   with the   rise   of
  〃Flower…Masters;〃 toward the middle of the seventeenth century。                     It now
  becomes independent of the tea…room and knows no law save that the vase
  imposes on it。       New conceptions and methods of execution now become
  possible;   and   many   were   the   principles   and   schools   resulting   therefrom。
  A  writer   in   the   middle   of   the   last   century  said   he   could   count   over   one
  hundred      different   schools    of   flower   arrangement。       Broadly      speaking;
  these divide themselves into two main branches; the Formalistic and the
  Naturalesque。       The Formalistic schools; led by the Ikenobos; aimed at a
  classic   idealism   corresponding   to   that   of   the   Kano…academicians。           We
  possess records of arrangements by the early masters of the school which
  almost reproduce the flower paintings of Sansetsu and Tsunenobu。                        The
  Naturalesque school; on the other hand; accepted nature as its model; only
  imposing   such   modifications   of   form   as   conduced   to   the   expression   of
  artistic unity。     Thus we recognise in its works the same impulses which
  formed the Ukiyoe and Shijo schools of painting。
  It would be interesting; had we time; to enter more fully than it is now
  possible into the laws of composition and detail formulated by the various
  flower…masters   of   this   period;   showing;   as   they   would;   the   fundamental
  theories which governed Tokugawa decoration。 We find them referring to
  the   Leading   Principle   (Heaven);   the      Subordinate   Principle   (Earth);   the
  Reconciling Principle (Man);           and any flower arrangement which did not
  embody   these       principles    was    considered     barren    and   dead。   They   also
  dwelt much on the          importance of treating a flower in its three different
  aspects;     the    Formal;    the   Semi…Formal;      and    the  Informal。     The     first
  might be      said to represent flowers in the stately costume of the ballroom;
  the    second    in  the  easy   elegance     of  afternoon     dress;   the  third   in  the
  charming deshabille of the boudoir。
  Our personal sympathies are with the flower…arrangements of the tea…
  master rather than with those of the flower…master。                The former is art in
  its proper setting and appeals to us on account of its true intimacy with life。
  We should like   to   call this   school   the  Natural in   contradistinction   to   the
  Naturalesque       and   Formalistic     schools。   The    tea…master    deems     his  duty
  ended with the selection of the flowers; and leaves them to tell their own
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  story。    Entering a tea…room in late winter; you may see a slender spray of
  wild   cherries   in   combination   with   a   budding   camellia;   it   is   an   echo   of
  departing winter coupled with the prophecy of spring。                     Again; if you go
  into a noon…tea on some irritatingly hot summer day; you may discover in
  the   darkened   coolness   of   the   tokonoma   a   single   lily   in   a   hanging   vase;
  dripping with dew; it seems to smile at the foolishness of life。
  A  solo   of   flowers   is   interesting;   but   in   a   concerto   with   painting   and
  sculpture      the  combination       becomes      entrancing。     Sekishiu      once    placed
  some   water…plants   in   a   flat   receptacle   to   suggest   the   vegetation   of   lakes
  and marshes; and on the wall above he hung a painting by Soami of wild
  ducks flying in the air。         Shoha; another tea…master; combined a poem on
  the Beauty of Solitude by the Sea with a bronze incense burner in the form
  of   a   fisherman's   hut   and   some   wild   flowers   of   the   beach。     One   of   the
  guests   has   recorded   that   he   felt   in   the   whole   composition   the   breath   of
  waning autumn。
  Flower   stories   are   endless。      We   shall   recount   but   one   more。   In   the
  sixteenth     century     the  morning…glory        was   as   yet  a  rare   plant   with   us。
  Rikiu     had   an   entire   garden    planted    with    it;  which   he   cultivated    with
  assiduous care。        The fame of his convulvuli reached the ear of the Taiko;
  and he   expressed   a desire to see          them;  in consequence   of   which   Rikiu
  invited   him   to   a   morning   tea   at   his   house。   On   the   appointed   day   Taiko
  walked through the          garden; but nowhere could he see any vestige of the
  convulvus。 The ground had been leveled and strewn with fine pebbles and
  sand。 With sullen anger the despot entered the tea…room; but a sight waited
  him there which completely restored his humour。                    On the tokonoma; in a
  rare bronze of Sung workmanship; lay a single morning…glorythe queen
  of the whole garden!
  In such instances we see the full significance of the Flower Sacrifice。
  Perhaps the   flowers appreciate the   full significance   of it。              They  are   not
  cowards; like men。          Some flowers glory in deathcertainly the Japanese
  cherry   blossoms   do;   as   they   freely   surrender   themselves   to   the   winds。
  Anyone       who    has   stood    before    the   fragrant    avalanche      at  Yoshino     or
  Arashiyama        must    have    realized    this。  For     a  moment      they   hover    like
  bejewelled clouds and dance above the crystal streams; then; as they sail
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  away on the laughing waters; they seem to say: 〃Farewell; O Spring! We
  are on to eternity。〃
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  VII。 Tea…Masters
  In religion the Future is behind us。          In art the present is the eternal。
  The tea…masters held that real appreciation of art is only possible to those
  who   make   of   it   a   living   influence。  Thus   they   sought   to   regulate   their
  daily  life   by   the   high   standard   of   refinement   which   obtained   in   the   tea…
  room。     In all circumstances serenity of   mind should be maintained; and
  conver