Friday Flowers: Lotus and Water Lilies

Yellow Lotus among the lily pads at the Water Garden at Suiho-en.


The Old Pond
(By Basho, trans. Fumiko Saisho)

The old pond--
a frog jumps in,
sound of water.


While visiting the Japanese Garden, I took more than a few photos of the gorgeous lilies and lotuses in the flower pond. Heck, I was tempted to grab my sketching supplies and draw some en plein air pieces. But it was infernally hot, so I contented myself with camera work.

Pink waterlily

Thank goodness for sunblock. ;-)

Garden of Water and Fragrance

Suiho-en: View of the Shoin Building from across the lake.


In the city of Van Nuys, there is a gorgeous Japanese garden, Suiho-en, the Garden of Water and Fragrance. It often baffles Angelenos as to why such a lovely place is hidden away in The Valley. For some curious reason, when the Tillman Water Reclamation Plant was planned, it included plans for a Japanese Garden. That's a peculiar conceptual combination, but it turned out to be an excellent idea. The esteemed garden designer, Koichi Kawana, created this lovely enclave of tranquility.

Southern California has many Japanese gardens, but I think this is my favorite. It's almost definitely the biggest. There are events held throughout the year, such as the origami convention that occurs in October.

In any case, a stroll through the garden is a relaxing experience. In theory, I prefer flower gardens, but, in practice, I always have a peaceful state of mind after walking around the lake.

Suiho-en: Karesansui, the dry garden

Although there are two odd things of note when visiting the garden. Because it is part of the Water Reclamation Plant, there is a security check point when entering the parking lot. I suppose they are worried that somebody might try to disrupt the Los Angeles water supply. Second, because it is adjacent to the reclamation facilities, on hot and muggy days there is occasionally an unpleasant scent in certain parts of the garden. In fact, if you have an interest, you can go up to the observation deck to look upon the water reclamation process. Personally, I don't have such an interest. ;-)

Bunka Sai

Hina-Ningyō

The South Bay of Los Angeles is home to a fairly diverse ethnic community. The city of Torrance in particular is home to a notable Japanese-American community. And this is really excellent because every year they hold a Japanese Festival at the city cultural center. It's called a Bunkasai festival, which means that it focuses primarily on demonstrating the accomplishments of students or amateur performers. There is a wide arrangement of activities on display.

Among the crafts on display were various Japanese dolls (ningyo), miniature trees (bonsai), and floral arrangements (ikebana). Here are a couple photos:



Bonsai Bougainvillea



Ikebana on display

 There was also a performance stage at which various things were being demonstrated, including music and martial arts. Here are a few that I was able to view:



Koto performance

 The koto is a traditional Japanese instruments with 13 strings. It has a gentle, zither-like song. I was very happy to catch this brief performance. Lovely.

Of course, one of my favorite traditional weapon martial art forms is the naginata. It's essentially a curved blade on a pole. Of course, the demonstrations use practice weapons. ;-)



Naginata demonstration

 I love the sweeps and thrusts of the weapon. There is a dance-like grace to the motions. Moreover, it is traditionally associated with women, although not exclusively so. Fun stuff!!!

Finally, there was some fine Japanese food to enjoy. Yum!!!

This was the 39th annual Bunka Sai festival in Torrance. Good times.

We can't let an opportunity to play some koto music pass. Here's a vid:

Here's a link to Ikenbana Society of America.

And here's a link to Southern Californa Naginata Federation.

Enjoy!!!