Ikebana Club Helps Japanese Life Bloom for Young Students : Education: Members of a local flower club teach elementary students about another culture by recreating portions of rooms and performing a tea ceremony.

In 1975, Grace Brophy did a favor for friends and gave a San Diego elementary school class a quick lesson in Japanese culture. That favor has since turned into an annual countywide event.

Brophy is a member of the San Diego chapter of Ikebana International, a nonprofit cultural organization based in Tokyo that promotes the study of Japanese floral art. Its motto is “Friendship Through Flowers.”

Brophy said that 15 years ago friends asked her to present a program at their child’s school, the former Farnum Elementary School in Pacific Beach.

“We couldn’t believe the reaction we got,” Brophy said. “We were there from 9 a.m. to after 2 p.m.”

Because it was so successful, the organization set up an authentic Japanese setting in another school. In 1979, the first program funded by the school district was presented in the Chula Vista School District and later in San Diego and Poway elementary schools.

When the school district ran out of money for the program, Ikebana packed up its props, costumes, and artifacts and, using its own money, started going to schools throughout the county.

For four days this week, the library at Murdock Elementary School in La Mesa was turned into a traditional Japanese setting as the school played host to the organization, which seeks to teach students about the Japanese culture through experiences unavailable in school.

“We felt a need for cultural understanding between nations,” Brophy said.

Takeko Davis, an ikebana master, helped with the translations for the students, who sat on the floor of the library, which was decorated with Japanese masks, dolls, and artwork.

On one side of the room the tokonoma area depicted an alcove in a Japanese house with a scroll on the wall and a flower arrangement that is changed with the seasons, Davis said. Next to it hung a replica of a samurai.

“Whenever you visit a Japanese home you would come by the area and admire it,” Brophy said. “You would say something about the area before sitting down for tea. Shoes are not worn in the house because the floors are made of floor mats or tatami.”

A map of Japan faced the students, and a silk wedding robe with silk and gold threads flanked another wall.

“We want to immerse the children in Japanese culture to increase multicultural understanding,” said Paul Schnaubelt, who teaches a combined third- and fourth-grade class.

“Ohayo gozaimasu?” asked Brophy, bowing before the class. “This means good morning. . . . It sounds like Ohio. A teacher is very important in Japanese culture, so you bow very low. Girls place their hands in front of themselves when they bow, and the boys place theirs to their sides when they bow.”

A list of simple Japanese phrases and numbers from 1 to 10 was displayed. Counting was easiest for the students:

“Ichi, ni, san, shi, go, roku, hichi, hachi, ku, ju,” they proudly repeated.

But, saying “you are welcome” was the hardest.

“One more time,” Davis said to the almost silent class. “Say doitashimashite.”

Brophy rescued the eager 9- and 10-year-olds by teaching them a trick to learn the phrase.

“Say, don’t touch my mustache,” she said, followed by snickers from the class.

She also reminded them never to say the mustache phrase in public, and that it is used only as a teaching method.

Brophy told the students that their Japanese counterparts carry expensive leather bags or backpacks, which are usually gifts from grandparents, to school. The bag is important because it rains a lot.

In the leather school bag, lunch is carried in a small box with a tight lid.

“There may be a sandwich and fruit, or rice and egg roll, chopsticks, and a small plastic container for soy sauce,” Davis said.

A baseball cap, red on one side and white on the other, was taken out of the bag. The color displayed tells which team a student is training with that day.

When Brophy told the class that children in Japan go to school six days a week, the response was underwhelming.

“Oh boy,” sighed one boy.

Davis then showed the class a first-grade picture book.

“In Japan, we start from the back and read from back to front, from top to bottom, and from left to right.”

A soroban, which looks like an abacus and is still used in Japan, was shown to the students.

“In America, we don’t let our children use calculators in class, but that’s all that is,” Schnaubelt said.

And most Japanese wear Western-style clothing, but traditional clothing is still worn for special occasions, such as weddings, house parties or festivals.

Marj Jain, a volunteer, explained to the class how to sit at a Japanese dinner table, which is the center of several activities.

“When it’s time for refreshments, or time to play games, the family and guests get on their knees, cross their big toes and sit on their legs,” Jain said.

“What foods do the Japanese people eat?” Brophy asked.

“Fish,” yelled one student.

“And why do you think they eat fish?” asked Brophy.

“Because we do,” answered another boy, ignoring the realities of Japan’s long coastline.

After the visit, the class turned around for a toy demonstration. The favorite toy seemed to be the daruma, which represents the head of a Buddhist priest without eyes. Each time Brophy knocked it over, it would bounce back upright. It symbolizes the tale of a Buddhist priest who supposedly meditated on his knees for nine years and lost his legs, Davis said.

The saying in Japan is, “No matter how many times you fall down, you get back up,” Davis continued. “The toy doesn’t have eyes because you paint the left eye in and make a wish. When the wish comes true, you paint in the other eye.”