《中英對照讀新聞》Flower art blooms among Japan’s stressed out men 花藝廣受壓力過大的日本男性歡迎

Japan’s traditional, female-dominated art of flower arranging is returning to its masculine roots, for an entirely modern reason：it’s become a way for male employees to prune away their stress.

日本傳統上以女性為主導的花藝，現在正回歸其男性的根源，但卻是出於一個全然現代的理由：花藝已成男性員工消除壓力的方式。

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Ikebana, or "the way of flowers", dates back more than 500 years and first blossomed among male artisans and aristocrats.

「花道」的起源可追溯至500多年前，最初是在男性的工匠與貴族間流行。

Aimed at creating harmony between man and nature as well as heightening the appreciation of the rhythms of the universe, arrangements are conducted in silence using only organic elements put together in a minimalist style.

花道的目的是製造人與自然之間的和諧，同時加深人們對宇宙韻律的感受，插花時必須靜默進行，以極簡的風格把有機元素結合。

And it’s this creativity and spirituality that has attracted thousands of Japanese men to reclaim the art form that has more recently been associated with women.

正是花道的這種創意與靈性，吸引了數以千計的日本男性重拾這種近來較常令人聯想到女性的藝術形式。

"Nowadays there are a lot of people seeking something that makes them feel at ease," said Gaho Isono, a master ikebana instructor at Sogetsu, founded in 1927 and one of the first schools to offer flower arranging courses to men.

「現在有許多人正尋找讓他們放鬆的事物，」草月流花道大師磯野雅邦表示，草月流創立於1927年，也是首批為男性提供插花教學的學校之一。

There are an estimated 3,000 ikebana schools across Japan with some 15 million enthusiasts, most of whom see flower arrangement as an antidote to their hectic lives.

據估計全日本大約有3000所花道學校，花道愛好者人數更高達1500萬人，多數人認為插花可替忙亂的日常生活提供一劑解藥。