Kadomatsu - pine gate
New Year approaching I scheduled the last lesson of the year to make a Kadomatsu (pine gate). This is a traditional Japanese decoration placed the entrance to the house from Christmas Day to 7th January. These arrangements are usually several feet tall and sit on a reed base. The Kadomatsu is to welcome the Kami, (Inari Okami the deity for rice and agriculture) for a prosperous year.
Teaching this to my students was two fold, firstly introducing another aspect of Japanese cultural, secondly working with material in a different format. The students were asked to bring pine and some floral material for colour. When I was taught this exercise I was told there was a reason for the selection of materials is: – bamboo for strength, pine for longevity and Ume (winter flowering plum, which brings colour to a white background of snow) for new life to come. In Australia students selected material from their gardens, which included ginger flowers, Christmas bush and Hydrangeas.
Tying a Mizuhiki, (paper cord used in celebratory arrangements, gifts and cards) knot was added to the arrangement