They look real but...

This object is exhibited at the landing in Tokyo National Museum. It consists of pine, plum and camellia, tubaki in Japanese. All of them mean to celebrate a new year.

When I carefully look at them for a while, I feel something strange... You know why? Because the flowers of plum and camellia is not real ones!! They are artificial! They are well-made!!

Personally I prefer the real flowers. I think the flowers are beautiful all the more because the beauty doesn't last long. The imitation flowers are never used at Japanese tea ceremony because their beauty last long and one of the essence of the tea ceremony is the fleeting beauty.