31 lines
1.3 KiB
Markdown
31 lines
1.3 KiB
Markdown
|
---
|
||
|
|
title: "'They have certificates, but no flower!'"
|
||
|
|
layout: post
|
||
|
|
---
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
The exclamation in the title of this post came from a street-busker I have met,
|
||
|
|
a number of years ago. He was commenting on the quality of music-playing
|
||
|
|
that came from young musicians nowadays.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
"What is 'flower'?" I asked him.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
"Flower? Flower is this!" he replied, before launching into a song, on his
|
||
|
|
guitar, which I couldn't help but dance to.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
So what is flower? I couldn't help but to want to have a more theoretical,
|
||
|
|
or even academic, perspective on the terminology of this street-busker.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Finally, years later, with glory to my god - and thanks to Him, of course - I found a mention
|
||
|
|
in a book called "Nine gates: Entering the mind of poetry" by Jane Hirshfield.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Hirshfield mentioned the concept of *hana* in a form of
|
||
|
|
Japanese theatre called Nō. Supposedly, *hana* - which, interestingly enough,
|
||
|
|
means 'flower' in the Japanese language - is the quality by which an actor
|
||
|
|
can move the audience, despite being hidden behind a mask and standing motionless
|
||
|
|
on stage. Supposedly (according to the claims of Hirshfield, who in turn
|
||
|
|
was quoting a practitioner or observer of Nō), *hana* can be accessed
|
||
|
|
sometimes in youth, but in maturity, *hana*... - oh, I forget what Hirshfield
|
||
|
|
wrote.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Perhaps this might be interesting enough for me to investigate further.
|