After getting from the airport into the city (to Nagoya Railway Station), a short walk quickly saw me at my first hotel where, because I was ahead of booking-in time, I dropped off my luggage and set off to see my first show. This was in the grounds of Nagoya Castle. Stand after stand of potted blooms greeted me after I paid my entry fee and joined the many hundreds of visitors. Virtually only two types of exhibition (disbudded) chrysanthemums were shown. What chrysanthemum enthusiasts know as Intermediate Decoratives and Spiders. Mostly they were all in the ‘three-up’ Daruma style. Cascades, massed displays of what the Americans call ‘cushion mums’ and lots and lots of chrysanthemum bonsai (though not in bloom), and some semi-cascades in an oval shape grown almost horizontal to the pot and, overall, not much bigger than a football (league, that is, not soccer). There were also some nicely trimmed, in topiary style, plants which you could, perhaps, liken to ‘lollipops’. Proceeding around the exhibition, I came to a large marquee. Air conditioned and all. In here were over twenty ‘tableaux’ featuring the life-size ‘dolls’ partly and fully dressed in chrysanthemum blooms. What were not flowers were cuts of Juniper foliage. Juniper is the native tree of Japan (along with many stands of bamboo). The heads and arms of the dolls are a painted papermache and the ‘body’ is made from finely split bamboo. Using Spray varieties, bunches of flower stems are bound together and have wet spagnum moss wrapped around the ends. These stems are then fastened onto the bamboo and the flowers ‘arranged’ to form the dolls ‘clothes’. © 2000 Bruce Skeen/Paul Barlow Follow Bruce on his travels by choosing each day in turn: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 If you would like further information or wish to comment on this publication please send your e-mail to: paul.barlow@chrysanthemums.info
Last updated on 22 December, 2001 |
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