:THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF NEW YORK 



schools but hold the same relative positions and heights in all 

 schools and in all arrangements. 



The central or highest spray in the group is the Heavens, 

 the next in height is the Man and the lowest is the Earth. These 

 three principles can be arranged in two distinct styles known as 

 In and Yo, or otherwise masculine and feminine, or right and left. 

 In this country we attach little importance to the style of the 

 arrangement. The style merely suggests where the arrangement 

 is to be placed; but in Japan a feminine arrangement can never 

 be placed conspicuously whereas a masculine arrangement can 

 be used on any occasion. 



This idea of applying a distinction of sex is closely adhered to, 

 not only in flower arrangement but in landscape gardening. 

 The colors of flowers are given sex distinctions which indicate 

 their position in regard to height and prominence in the arrange- 

 ment. 



It is difficult to realize how important a place flowers hold in 

 the everyday life of the Japanese, bat it is a fact that the Jap- 

 anese manage to derive wide gratification from flowers and to 

 utilize them more effectively as features of public pleasure than 

 any other people. Everyone knows how they delight in their 

 open air flower fetes: no one is too old to make, in the cherry 

 blossom season, a long pilgrimage to see this flower in some 

 historic spot where it will appear to great advantage. All events 

 are heralded by flowers. 



On entering a Japanese house the initiated could tell at once 

 the season of the year, whether a guest was expected, if coming 

 by land or sea, and a hundred other every day occurrences. 



In all well regulated houses in Japan a flower receptacle shaped 

 like the crescent moon is used to represent the phases of the 

 moon or the days of the month. By the way the flowers are 

 placed in this holder, at a glance one can tell as readily as by our 

 calendars the day of the month. 



This art, coming to Japan as it did with Buddhism and practised 

 by the Buddhist priests, was developed in order to prolong the 

 lives of plants and flowers, and was a natural development of 

 the Buddhist desire to preserve animal life. 



The supports in which the flowers are placed were also de- 



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