Japanese Kiku Festival

Kiku: The Art of the Japanese Chrysanthemum Festival (October 18–November 16, 2008 )

The chrysanthemum, known as kiku, is perhaps the most revered of the fall-flowering plants in Japan. For centuries the secrets of its cultivation were carefully guarded. But during a five-year cultural exchange, The New York Botanical Garden learned the time-honored growing techniques and display styles to become the first garden outside of Japan to showcase the art of kiku in the Imperial style.
Discover for yourself the exquisite beauty of kiku—cascades of flowers, single plants with hundreds of flowers, and others with an enormous flower atop a single stem—as Kiku: The Art of the Japanese Chrysanthemum, an elaborate flower show and art exhibition, returns to the Botanical Garden.


Tradition Comes to Presence - What It Teaches Us -
New York, NY - Written by J. Ishikawa

What is the first thing that comes to your mind? Sushi? Green Tea? Sake? Bunch of High-Tech Electronic products? Fuel Efficient Car? Or, Crazy looking Tokyo girls with 20 inches of secret boots and sandals? No matter what comes to your mind, Kiku Matsuri (Festival) at the Bronx Botanical garden has ensured us that the old Japan never has faded or never will fade away from its traditional position.

Kiku Matsuri has surely reminded us of the very core spirit of “Japanese-ness” - a caring culture and beauty within, well described with a word like "Yamato nadeshiko": Kenkyūsha's New Japanese-English Dictionary (5th ed., 2003) translates Yamato-nadeshiko: "a Japanese woman (with all the traditional graces); an ideal Japanese woman." Also known as an ideal Japanese woman, it revolves around acting for the benefit of the family and following instructions or acting in the best interest of patriarchal authority figures. Virtues include: loyalty, domestic ability, wisdom, and humility. The name is believed to originate from the willowy Dianthus superbus or the Japanese Nadeshiko flower.

In a modern society, where many people are globally connected and so little things differ from nation to nation in business, technology and heavily interactive economy (as we all know now that the foreclosure in Miami now can bankrupt the nation like Iceland – 4000km away from each other), traditional identity of a single culture can often be left behind. As a result, the border of nation and traditional culture gets blurred at times. An event like Kiku Matsuri ensures us that each culture has a distinctive tradition and custom, and we live our modern lives built through centuries of history and the transformation of human civilization. The kimono show and Shinto wedding during the event took us back to the time when we were wearing kimono on a daily basis in Japan, and allowed us to explore and appreciate the beauty of tradition as well as a sense of a distinctive culture within it.

Japanese, especially Japanese women, in the current society have many more options in their lives, whether it is in career, interests, or lifestyle in general. Since the beginning of the 20th-century, many things have been considerably westernized in Japan. Whether you are in Japan or here in the U.S., the fundamental lifestyle seems to be identical nowadays. It is amazing when we remember that we are the nation, which had closed its door to any other countries for over two centuries, not so long ago (untill the mid 19th-century). Now, how did Japan adapt itself to the western world so quickly and nicely?
We see many things in Japan which are interpreted or tried out through the concept of "Zen" philosophy. Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, referred to in Chinese as Chan. Chan is itself derived from the Sanskrit Dhyāna, which means "meditation". Zen emphasizes dharma practice and experiential wisdom—particularly in the form of meditation known as zazen—in the attainment of awakening. Zen means waking up to the present moment. That is, perceiving this moment exactly as it is, rather than through the filter of our ideas and opinions about some things. According to Zen, existence is found in the silence of the mind (no-mind), beyond the chatter of our internal dialog. Existence, from the Zen perspective is something that is only happening spontaneously, and it is not just our thoughts.Japan has adopted western culture and its influence nicely, while keeping its own cultural flavor. I personally believe that this is because the "Zen" concept has been rooted and well exercised in every scene of Japanese life. Accepting things as they are and finding one’s "self" while being surrounded by the outer world - those are the things that many Japanese naturally learn and adapt to in their lives.

In this modern era, it has been ever challenging to feel tradition and live with our cultural identities. Yet, it is possible and can be even fulfilling to live in a modern society with the historical wisdom of the history. Kiku Matsuri may remind us of the balance between living in the present and past, and nurture our relationship with tradition and cultural philosophy.

New Features
A fourth kiku style, shino-tsukuri (“driving rain”), on display in the Courtyards of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory along with the three traditional styles presented last year: ozukuri (“thousand bloom”), ogiku (“single-stem”), and kengai (“cascade”).

A new exhibition, The Chrysanthemum in Japanese Art, in the LuEsther T. Mertz Library gallery, depicting the use of the chrysanthemum as a visual motif in paintings, prints, textiles, and more. The 32 objects on display from October 18 to January 11, 2009, include a kimono, hanging scrolls, folding screens, and an array of household treasures and are on loan from exceptional collections of Japanese art: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Mary Griggs Burke Collection of Japanese Art, and several private dealers and collectors.

A new bamboo sculpture by artist Tetsunori Kawana, who created the popular towering bamboo sculpture in the Conservatory Courtyards last year.

A chance to wind down and view the exhibition in the evening with Kiku and Cocktails

Back and Better than Ever

Bonsai in the Conservatory’s Seasonal Galleries (through November 2) and in the Conservatory Courtyards (through November 16). An autumnal display of Japanese maples, conifers, and bamboo in the Conservatory Courtyards. Kiku for Kids, hands-on activities for families including a child-sized tea house, in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden.

New Features

A fourth kiku style, shino-tsukuri (“driving rain”), on display in the Courtyards of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory along with the three traditional styles presented last year: ozukuri (“thousand bloom”), ogiku (“single-stem”), and kengai (“cascade”).
A new exhibition, The Chrysanthemum in Japanese Art, in the LuEsther T. Mertz Library gallery, depicting the use of the chrysanthemum as a visual motif in paintings, prints, textiles, and more. The 32 objects on display from October 18 to January 11, 2009, include a kimono, hanging scrolls, folding screens, and an array of household treasures and are on loan from exceptional collections of Japanese art: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Mary Griggs Burke Collection of Japanese Art, and several private dealers and collectors.
A new bamboo sculpture by artist Tetsunori Kawana, who created the popular towering bamboo sculpture in the Conservatory Courtyards last year.
A chance to wind down and view the exhibition in the evening with Kiku and Cocktails

Kiku Matsuri, a range of cultural programming, including dance and music performances, demonstrations, workshops, and lectures as well as courses celebrating the chrysanthemum in Japanese art, life, and culture.