ABSTRACT
Both the rikkwa and ten-chijin styles are formal, while the nageire style is free and natural. The difference between these two styles, however, may appear very slight to foreigners, though it is quite clear to the Japanese eye. But the differences in the method of arrangement may be very easily discerned. Rikkwa and ten-chi-jin both have a flower-holder at the mouth of the vase; This holder is a wisp of straw in the rikkwa, and in the ten-chi-jin is a forked tree branch or twigs crossed like the letter X, through which the flowers or branches are to be arranged. In ten-chi·/in the length and the angle of each branch, or of heaven, earth, and man, are fixed, whereas in rikkwa the shin branch is arranged vertically, the other branches being put at the left, the right, and in front of it. These branches may be tied with wire to the shin or main branch, and a bamboo water-container filled with flowers may be attached to the middle of the main branch. The water-container is usually covered with large tree leaves such as the leaves of the loquat.
