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Ikebana: Japanese Art of Flower Arranging
Look here to learn more about how Ikebana changed over time during the Tokugawa era:
53 Stations of the Tokaido Road
Shimada on the Tokaido Road (number 24) reminds me of when Seikei and the Kabuki Troupe crossed the Rokugo River because in both scenes everyone has to be ferried across each river. Seikei said that one of the boatmen(who were ferrying people across the river)’s ancestors had saved Tokugawa Ieyasu, and as thanks Ieyasu had promised that the boatmen’s descendants would always be able to ferry people across the river, so a bridge was never built. In the picture there is no bridge either.
In the picture of Shimada there are not very many ferries, although many people are lined up to cross. From this I can infer that this would have been a bottle neck where travelers would have to wait a long time to continue making major progress to their destination. I can also infer that, even if each ferry ride is not very expensive, the sheer number of them would provide any boatmen and their families enough to sustain themselves. There is what looks like a permanent settlement next to the river where the boatmen would live with their families. There is a lot of variety between what all of the passengers are carrying, which shows that all members of every class would travel at least once in their lifetime.
Renga Poem
Can you smell the cold?
The trees are leafless, without life
preparing for snow AL
Frost hits my face, a warning
The wind picks up, ever strong AC
In the fog of fall,
when the grass is frosted over,
a cold-front appears. AL
Touring 18th Century Edo
I find the seki interesting because it is a very clear example of the Shogun’s power and control over Japan in the eighteenth century. It shows how effective the Shogun’s method for snuffing out crime in Japan is. It also shows me what the different classes are. The samurai were the ruling class that kept order in society. Then the farmers provided food, but mostly stayed in one place but provided food for everyone. The artisans and craftsmen who made goods. Then the lowest class are the merchants and shopkeepers, which sometimes transport goods from one part of the country to another. The merchants would have to be pulled to the side to pay a tax for their goods and to have their big bags checked.
I Am Human
“Stop worrying. It won’t help you in the future.” This reminds me of multiple times when I am worrying about whether or not I did something, or what might happen to me in the future. This lesson is telling me to stop because there is nothing I can do to prevent and it won’t help me to stress myself out. Another quote related to this is: “On your deathbed you will not regret what you did, but what you didn’t.” I think this quote is telling me to live in the present because life is short. Overall, these two quotes tell me that: While thinking about the future is good, you should really live in the present because life is short. Like someone once said “You could think of a million reasons not to do something, but you only need one to do it.”