A Japanese artist is helping to improve relations with China through the art of flowers.

Japanese ikebana master Kosen Ohtsubo wrapped up a stack of branches with cortex-like paper and then attached a flower on the top. "This kind of ikebana design is suitable for a hotel's entrance," he said. Standing next to this two-metre high work, Ohtsubo was explaining his craft of arranging flowers to students attending his lecture at Beijing Forestry University (BJFU). The young Chinese were fascinated by his creation and many wanted to know how to do it.

Since he arrived in China in September, Ohtsubo has held 12 lectures at universities in Beijing, Nanjing, Qiangdao and Changsha.

Lecturing across China is one of Ohtsubo's main duties next year. Although in his late 60s, he is energetic and eager. He said: "There is no retiring age for me. I guess I'll be most busy around my 70s."

He was appointed as a special advisor for cultural exchange to China by Japanese Government, and will spend another 12 months raising awareness about ikebana.

The Japanese Government has appointed 11 advisors to assist in spreading its national culture. Another advisor for China is Etsuo Genda, a visual communication design professor with Kyushu University in Japan.

As the leading master of Ryusei-ha, an ikebana school with 120-year history, Ohtsubo is an expert at the classical style of this art, however many of his works are free and modern.

He uses vegetables, fruits, irons, and even stones and garbage to create his art works. Some of the pieces look like sculptures rather than bonsai.

"I could be the first artist in Japan that uses vegetables and fruits in ikebana," Ohtsubo said.

During an exhibition held in India, his vegetable-made design obtained acclaims.

Many of his counterparts preferred his simple creation to that of another artist's design, which was made up of expensive flowers.

This public response encouraged him to think in a different way and he has used more cheap vegetables, such as cabbages, potatoes and watermelons ever since. He holds an exhibition of these types of works every two years.

Ohtsubo advocates artistic reform in ikebana. "It's no good only following the traditions without any change," he said. He believed that artists should search within and something new would always pop up. Being a pioneer, he once wrapped himself up with bandages and attached branches on his own head.

"Ikebana should be a way to express yourself, and a way to deliver your cognition about the world and the universe," he said.

Cultural ambassador

Ohtsubo has planned more than 50 lectures for China next year. His lectures often last about two hours and a half. It always includes an ikebana performance. He usually spends four days getting ready for a single lecture.

"My neighbours are curious about it, too," said Ohtsubo.

Many people are attracted by the bonsai on his office windowsills. He settled down with his family in an apartment near Sihuidong subway station, with his office downstairs on the first floor.

Ohtsubo put up a notice outside of his office window, saying that free ikebana teaching is available from 2pm to 5pm every Sunday afternoon. It caused a rush.

"Now I'm always busy on Sundays so I had to put up another notice, calling off the teaching," he said with pity, "But I will stay home, and wait for more learners and visitors in future."

In his office places a high bookshelf, on which he puts books and materials on ikebana.

These materials including some old Chinese versions are collected in two years. "I have many more in Japan and I hope I can bring them here, to enlarge this small reference room into the biggest ikebana museum in China."

There are more things that Ohtsubo wish to do in Beijing.

He has 100-plus bronze vases in Japan, all of which are quite precious and are almost never seen in China.

Ohtsubo wants to carry them to China and place them in Beijing Forestry University for visiting and set up a research centre in the university.

"BJFU is one of the biggest and most famed universities in this field. I hope it would promote the academic research and popularization of ikebana in China."

He also plans to offer lessons on television and in magazines, hoping the direct visual aid would help people understand tips and cultures in ikebana.

Chinese style

Ohtsubo decided to stay in Beijing for the following 10 years, doing some in-depth research in Chinese ikebana.

As China is the headstream of Japanese ikebana, Chinese classical style is appealing to him.

"Chinese classical ikebana is quite good in artistic conception and is irradiative to Japanese art," he said.

According to Ohtsubo, ikebana is now developing better in Japan than in China and a many obstacles stand in the way of a Chinese ikebana vocation.

The first problem is that few people know the excellence of Chinese ikebana and the artists. "There are many talented masters in China. Their works are of high artistic level but they are seldom known," he said.

Most people turn to Japanese masters at the thought of ikebana art and they easily ignore Chinese artists. "Disciples ought to know learning from a good Chinese master is much better than learning from a second-rate Japanese teacher."

He worries about the commercialization in ikebana field.

"Chinese ikebana has less genres and is not as various as Japanese, and it is developed greatly through business trade."

Ohtsubo does not approve this solving way.

"Businessmen rarely know excellent artists and that reduces the mainstream of Chinese ikebana to poor quality," he said.

Ohtsubo wanted to develop a passel of flower masters in the next 10 years. He said doing ikebana is risky: one may be quite successful, yet probably one devotes all he has but gets nothing back. He hopes more people would like to take this career. "I won't necessarily teach them my Ryusei-ha school styles; I just want them to learn more about the cultures of ikebana, both Chinese and Japanese," he said.

Ohtsubo pictures a scheme for himself during his stay in China. Apart from lectures and performances, he will make publicities on ikebana via media and try to make it known to more people. He has some plan for himself, too.

"I wish I can decorate the Olympic venues," Ohtsubo said with smile, "and I wish to do flower arrangement in the meeting room where Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Hu Jintao meet."

(China Daily December 22, 2006)