JANUARY - Japanese Flower Calendar
JANUARY - PINE the Japanese name for pine is Matsu.
A special and noble material the evergreen pine is an iconic sight in Japan and has the meaning of constant and everlasting. Matsu has a double meaning the same word is used when waiting for a loved one to return so is often used in poetry and art. Pine is the most impressive of all the flowerless trees in Japan, they are pruned into the classic "floating cloud" formation by skilled gardeners. There are five varieties of pine to be found in Japan and in Japanese belief trees are places where gods can rest whilst visiting this world, hence the importance of pine trees in gardens.
In Ikebana the Pine is used in arrangements for the new year often combined with winter flowering Prunus and Bamboo making the combination The Three Friends of Winter. As a noble material pine should be used looking its best so all dead needles are removed from a branch before being used. The dead needles them selves are used in traditional Ikebana landscapes. Collected from under trees the brown needles are steamed, on steaming they become a vibrant terracotta colour and are heaped on moss to talk to you of Winter.
Haiku for pine
The wind
In the pine tree on the peak-
The very beginning of NewYears Day
