flowers, trees, and other growing things

[Inoue Tsukiko]

Its late, and my knee is killing me so I'm not just writing vague I'm feeling vague too.

I remember reading something about certain trees or flowers or motifs being very seasonal. Was it clothing, artwork, architecture, social status? Combinations thereof? Have some of those seasonal-specifics changed?

[Saionji Shonagon]

I remember reading something about certain trees or flowers or motifs being very seasonal. Was it clothing, artwork, architecture, social status? Combinations thereof? Have some of those seasonal-specifics changed?

Yep. That's vague. Although I can't imagine how seasonal motifs affect architecture or one's social status - except perhaps when everyone points and laughs because you wore "pine tree" in high summer.....

Japanese aesthetics are very much keyed to nature and the seasons. One sees it expressed in clothing most noticeably. And in poetry, allusions to nature and the seasons are plentiful. Cherry blossoms, with their short and glorious blooms are a stock metaphor for the fleetingness of life and beauty.

Kass has an outline on irome no kasane, the Heian color combinations of women's robes that were considered seasonably fashionable. (Men's clothing colors were linked more to rank.) www.reconstructinghistory.com/japanese/Irome.htm

Notice how "Maple" and "Chrysanthemum" themed color combinations appear in autumn?

Saionji

[Noriko]

For appropriate seasonal words, I found these websites to be helpful, though the first one is a bit more user friendly.
renku.home.att.net/500ESWd.html
etext.lib.virginia.edu/japanese/haiku/saijiki/1sp.html

[Matsuura Suetsune]

When it comes to plants its hard to pin down any hard and fast guidelines or rules. Color, texture, and shape of the blooms, leaves (in all seasons), and bark are what WE notice. The Eastern eye sees the individual bloom or branch as a study of natural beauty as well as how the entirety of a group of plants and their surroundings work together. The best way to orient your self is to immerse yourself in the surroundings you want to portray. Its not just the history, arts, and norms that help you, its also the context, nuance, and feel of every part of that culture that you can immerse yourself into.