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Description
In the 3rd month of the year, special tea ceremonies were held in the Inner Palace when guests and hosts played sophisticated games, such as guessing which types of tea were being served, or exchanged roles. In mawaribana guests took turns arranging flowers appropriate to different moments of the ceremony, choosing among cut flowers and vessels that had been set out by the host. This type of performance art required quick thinking and steady nerves, as everyone else intently watched. Here 3 younger women and an older lady (dressed in black silk robes) quietly observe a middle-aged woman carefully cutting flower stems. Two bamboo containers have already been provided with flowers, the standing bamboo stalk with openings cut for flowers and the hanging bamboo joint with red berries. Set into the tatami matted floor in the foreground is a square hearth / ro with a lidded water kettle and to the left side is a formal black lacquered preparation stand / daisu to hold items for the tea ceremony, including the silver cold water jar and the gold-colored lacquer / maki-e tea caddy / natsume on the top shelf. In the alcove / tokonoma is a hanging scroll of calligraphy, and several pieces of lacquerware are displayed on the adjacent shelves. The sliding wall panels / fusuma are decorated with waves printed with silver dust.
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