"IKENOBŌ SENKŌ, one of the most outstanding masters in the history of ikebana, lived in the 18th century. Once, while he was a guest, his host asked him to create an ikebana arrangement. However, there were no suitable floral materials at hand, so the host gave the master a single moss-covered twig and a vase. IKENOBŌ placed the singularly beautiful mossy twig into the vase without any alteration. He then reached into his kimono and, from within its folds, took out an ivy maple branch wrapped in clean paper. As if it were a cherished, special treasure, he also fitted it into the vase, conjuring a splendid, beautiful ikebana from the union of the two plants and the vase, to the great delight of the host and the guests. Then, he departed silently. Later, recalling this occasion, he told his friends that he had carried that ivy maple branch with him for thirty years, pondering its one and only possible use, and that the long-awaited opportunity was created in the very moment he saw the mossy twig that had been picked from the kindling."