Flowers For Everyone

In honor of the spring tourist season in Kyoto, the traditional downtown area is putting on a light-up called "Hana Dori" (Flower Road). While technically I think this is supposed to mean they will light up the blooming plum and cherry blossoms, it also includes displays of all sorts of ikebana, flower arranging. My friends and I went the other night and wandered the candle-lit parks, winding through the traditional shops of Gion toward Kiyomizudera. On the way we passed several of these ikebana arrangements. Note the drastic difference between "traditional" and "modern" ikebana art.