For Bounty and for Days of Prayer

During my apprenticeship, the owner of the flower shop where I was working said that I should “aim to be the florist people call for New Year’s.” This advice has stuck with me, along with the focus in her eyes when she created an arrangement.

The New Year is a time of celebration and connection. To the people of Japan, this is the biggest holiday of the year. Preparing for the season means a host of time-honored customs and traditions, but long before these decorative practices were formalized, our hearts were primed for the sentiment behind them.

Sun and moon and stars. Mountains, rivers, and the sea. When people lived in close contact with trees and plants and other living things, the natural world reigned supreme, sustaining life and serving as a bridge into the future.

Working with plants every day, we here at TSUBAKI spend a great deal of time pondering the way that people long ago observed the natural world.

Back when a pine tree was revered as a conduit for the gods, the sense of vitality of its appearance, its majestic figure, and even its aroma inspired a healing spiritual experience.

The rice plant, cultivated by the Japanese for ages, is sustenance incarnate. Nothing quite matches the beauty of a carefully tended paddy or the joy of grasping an armful of harvested ears of rice.

The hemp plant, woven into clothing long before cotton cloth became the standard, functioned as a tool for sustaining life, and the glimmering whiteness of its elegant fibers played the crucial role of purification in spiritual settings.

But human beings have always felt the strength and beauty of the natural world, whether in a tree standing alone by the side of the road, a single pebble, or a tiny flower. Nature—the source of all life, and the one thing we will never truly master—inspires respect and gratitude, awe and prayer. This year has changed the way that people all over the world live their lives, but it has also been a chance to reacquaint ourselves with these fundamental sensory experiences.

Cherishing the beauty of nature…being thankful for its bounty…sharing the joys of the present and hope for the future. Harnessing the power of these natural materials, we’ve taken a new approach to New Year’s decorations, and we’re ready for your call.

 

Tsubaki:Keishi Miyahara , Ikuko Yamashita

Branding Director:Harumi Fukuda

Art Director:Jyunpei Niki

Photographer:Tetsuya Ito

Editor:Kosuke Ide

Translator:Sam Bett

麻についての情報提供：大麻博物館