Rikka Shofutai | Ruscus

This arrangement is in the rikka shofutai style. The primary material is ruscus, notably complemented by paperwhite and pussy willow.

When I came to class today, I caught Prof. Paula by surprise. Normally, I text the Thursday night before, but I forgot to. Luckily, Prof. Paula was able to pull together the materials so that I could still participate.

Materials

These are the materials that were used in the arrangement:

• Ruscus: Ruscus was used for the shin and the uke. In this arrangement, instead of using ruscus for the hikae, we added variation that incorporated the paperwhite.
• American Pussy Willow (Salix Discolor): We used the pussy willow for the mikoshi. The branch was relatively lighter in tone than most other pussy willow I've seen, so it kept a light contrast to the rest of the arrangement.
• Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum): Used on the right side of the maeoki.
• Paperwhite:
• Spotted Calla Lily (Zantedeschia Albomaculata): The leaves of the calla lily were used for the soe and the uke.
• Marsh Orchid: I'm not entirely what kind of flower this is, but going with a best guess of some sort of marsh orchid. You can see if peaking out as the sho-shin.

Feedback

There were a couple of items that Prof. Paula provided feedback and made corrections for:

• Clean-up Beneath the Mizugiwa: There were some stray leaves beneath the mizugiwa that muddied the separation between the plants and the vessel.
• Clarify the De of Do: The de of do is supposed to be around 45°, but mine was a bit more vertical. As a result, the sho-shin started to get blocked from view.