<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<link href="http://gmpg.org/xfn/11" rel="profile">
<!-- Enable responsiveness on mobile devices-->
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>
'They have certificates, but no flower!' · ~rogbeer's corner
</title>
<!-- CSS -->
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/~rogbeer/styles.css">
<!-- Icons -->
<link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" sizes="144x144" href="/~rogbeer/public/apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png">
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="/~rogbeer/public/favicon.ico">
<!-- RSS -->
<link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="~rogbeer's corner" href="/~rogbeer/atom.xml">
</head>
<body>
<div class="container content">
<header class="masthead">
<h3 class="masthead-title">
<a href="/~rogbeer/" title="Home">~rogbeer's corner</a>
<small>where ~rogbeer stashes some stuff</small>
</h3>
<br />
<small>| <a href="/~rogbeer/archive">Archive
</a>
</small>
<br />
<small>| <a href="/~rogbeer/atom.xml">RSS Feed
</a>
</small>
<br />
<small>| <a href="/~rogbeer/contact">Contact
</a>
</small>
<br />
<small>| <a href="/~rogbeer/around_town">What can I do around tilde.town?
</a>
</small>
<br />
<small>| <a href="/~rogbeer/rogbeer">What's with the name, ~rogbeer?
</a>
</small>
<br />
<small>| <a href="/~rogbeer/swap">What is the value of a cassette tape nowadays?
</a>
</small>
<br />
</header>
<main>
<article class="post">
<h1 class="post-title">'They have certificates, but no flower!'</h1>
<time datetime="2019-02-05T00:00:00+00:00" class="post-date">05 Feb 2019</time>
<p>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.</p>
<p>“What is ‘flower’?” I asked him.</p>
<p>“Flower? Flower is this!” he replied, before launching into a song, on his
guitar, which I couldn’t help but dance to.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Hirshfield mentioned the concept of <em>hana</em> in a form of
Japanese theatre called Nō. Supposedly, <em>hana</em> - 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), <em>hana</em> can be accessed
sometimes in youth, but in maturity, <em>hana</em>… - oh, I forget what Hirshfield
wrote.</p>
<p>Perhaps this might be interesting enough for me to investigate further.</p>
</article>
<aside class="related">
<h2>Related Posts</h2>
<ul class="related-posts">
<li>
<h3>
<a href="/~rogbeer/2023/02/13/cloudy/">
coffee-places with toilets attached
<small><time datetime="2023-02-13T00:00:00+00:00">13 Feb 2023</time></small>
</a>
</h3>
</li>
<li>
<h3>
<a href="/~rogbeer/2022/06/02/overcast/">
I've just read about war, murder and Hitler
<small><time datetime="2022-06-02T00:00:00+00:00">02 Jun 2022</time></small>
</a>
</h3>
</li>
<li>
<h3>
<a href="/~rogbeer/2021/12/08/indoors/">
tried out a grand piano
<small><time datetime="2021-12-08T00:00:00+00:00">08 Dec 2021</time></small>
</a>
</h3>
</li>
</ul>
</aside>
</main>
<footer class="footer">
<small>
© <a href="">~rogbeer, whoever he is</a>, <time datetime="2023-02-13T06:29:33+00:00">2023</time>. All rights reserved.
Built on <a href="https://jekyllrb.com/">Jekyll</a>, using the theme
<a href="http://getpoole.com/">Poole</a>.
Hosted on <a href="http://tilde.town/">tilde.town</a>
</small>
</footer>
</div>
</body>
</html>