sharing the harvests

you've heard the story of ferdinand the samurai. yes, he was good at battle, but when there were no borders to defend, he delighted in strolling, sketchbook, ink, and brush in hand, and to sit in the shade of a spreading tree to draw the plants around him.









this tremendously civilizing habit of the samurai benefited the populace of the edo period with a growing inventory of the flora and fauna of their land.

how ironic that the dissolution of the samurai culture had an end result of bringing that civil rest to the west.



cultures that had never seen asian flowers embraced them by the armload. japanese gardens were created in many non- japanese cultures, and japanese techniques were incorporated into many of the rest.

and artists and craftspeople throughout the west embraced the botanies as had the people in the country of their birth.







[and yes i remembered the national diet library, finally. i don't think any of their wonderful selections was the exact one i was looking for, but i was thrilled anyway.]