Page:Japanese flower arrangement.djvu/67

 Now you have your flowers ready to put in place. The beginner must follow closely all these rules to be sure of being right before he commences to put the flowers in an upright position in the vase. If you understand well the theory of arranging these three you can arrange any number of flowers in the same way.



Your kubari having been firmly fixed in the vase as described, the vase is filled about three-quarters full of water. If filled to the brim you spill the water in placing the flowers, so wait until the arrangement is completed, then fill. With the open end of the kubari away from you as in the cut, take Heaven in your hand, place Man in front of it, and into the hollow formed by Heaven place Earth back of Heaven.

While you hold the branches in your hand, take the knife and cut off on a slant all the branches; thus: [61]