Ryoanji in Kyoto is best known for its raked gravel, but the temple also has water, and it is the ponds rather than the stone garden that gave Lily Lotus its subject. The lotus rises clear of the surface on its own stem, which is part of why it carries the meanings it does in Japan, and the design keeps that lift. The flowers are held above their pads rather than floating among them.
The arrangement is choreographed rather than botanical. Flowers turn at different angles, some open and some still closed, and the pads run beneath them in a loose drift, so the pattern appears to move across the wall the way a plant colony spreads across water. There is a good deal of open ground, and it is used deliberately; the emptiness is part of the composition.
Printed on a non-woven base, it is a calm paper and it suits calm rooms. A bedroom, a bathroom, a landing with a window at one end will all take it, and it is among the few large florals that can be hung across four walls without the room closing in. It sits naturally with other designs from the same hand.
