THE FLOWER ART OF JAPAN 



proportions of a room are told in mats, 

 not by feet as in other lands; a room being 

 seven, nine, or eleven mats. So you take 

 your seat one mat or about three feet in 

 front of the tokonoma and from this position 

 make your bow to your host. Then you 

 begin a close scrutiny of the flower, looking 

 first to discover if the plant's natural growth 

 characteristics are well brought out, if each 

 principle is strongly developed, if the season 

 of year is expressed. Notice if the variety 

 of flowers used has been suggested by a 

 poem or painting of flower on the kakimono, 

 admire the beauty of the vase, its form, 

 the material from which it is made and the 

 design, also see if flowers and vase are in 

 harmony, not only color harmony but also 

 line and proportion. After this you are 

 able to judge of the ability of your host. 



Another view of the flowers, accompanied 

 by a word or two of praise, and you with- 

 draw farther away from the flowers and 

 nearer your host. It is not necessary to 

 give all the details of this ceremony, but 



