Life-size
flower dolls brighten Japanese Garden
Kyle Cavaness
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
The Cal State Long Beach Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden and the Orange County
Chrysanthemum Society (OCCS) held its annual Chrysanthemum Show Sunday, drawing
both those curious and aficionados about the flower.
The show broke new ground this year by featuring two dolls, which paid homage
to a Japanese tradition of creating life-sized dolls from living chrysanthemums.
The dolls, named Kensuke and Sakie, are clothed entirely in these flowers, a
process Alison Redfoot, education coordinator for the Japanese Garden, learned
in Japan.
“
I wanted to meet [a Japanese family] that had been doing this for generations,
to learn some of their techniques,” said Redfoot, who lived in Japan for
five years.
The dolls at this year’s show took several days to prepare, including tubing
the flowers and creating the patterns on what would become the clothing. Though
creating dolls from artificial flowers has become a popular trend, Redfoot takes
pride in Kensuke and Sakie, who were prepared the old-fashioned way.
“
It’s a very ephemeral art,” Redfoot said. “The flowers are
at their peak, and then they’re gone.”
Maiko Okada, a recreational and leisure studies major at CSULB, helped Redfoot
design and put together the dolls.
Born in Japan, Okada recognizes the beauty and cultural significance of the chrysanthemum.
Chosen as the seal of the emperor around the 8th century A.D., the flower represents
royalty and the power of the throne, commonly known as the Chrysanthemum Throne
in Japan.
The Garden has hosted the Chrysanthemum Show for the better part of a decade.
Josephine Pantevin, a former CSULB student, worked as a docent in the Garden
and still considers it a personal treasure.
“
It’s an escape within Long Beach,” Pantevin said. “A lot of
people know about it, but very few people come here.”
The backbone of the show was the OCCS. The group boasts 20 members, and holds
monthly meetings as well as annual shows. Shows such as the Japanese Garden’s
Fair are a chance for members of the OCCS not only to show off their work and
gardening skills, but also to gather socially with friends.
OCCS member Bill Loesch has been growing chrysanthemums for over two decades.
“
It’s like an addiction,” Loesch said of his love for the flower. “Money
soon becomes no object.”
The show, in the end, is a celebration, both of nature and of friendship.
“
That’s what the Garden does,” Redfoot said. “It brings different
groups together.”
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