About Ikebana Flower Arrangements

History

• Ikebana is a revered Japanese cultural art dating back to the fifteenth century. Its name means "flowers kept alive" and the style of arrangement is truly dynamic, capturing the life force and exquisiteness of each stem. The original school of Ikebana is housed in a Kyoto temple and presided over by the forty-fifth generation master. Until the 1930s, Ikebana was only taught to the upper classes, particularly to priests and aristocrats. There are now about three thousand schools teaching Ikebana in Japan, where most practitioners are young women.

Styles

• Ikebana originated with rikko, which referred to standing flowers in seven branches representing natural forces such as hills, which were arranged formally. Shoka, a more modern form of rikko, employs only three main stems and emphasizes the intrinsic beauty of the plant with less attention to the traditional formalization. The nineteenth century saw the development of the Ohara style, which favored piled flowers in shallow containers. Jiyuka emerged in the 1920s as a less structured option with fewer rules for arrangement as a result of Western artistic influences.

Characteristics

• Ikebana emphasizes the use of all parts of the plant, not merely the blossoms. Stems, leaves and roots are important visual design elements. All parts of the arrangement must be natural to the plant itself. Rather than focusing on Westernized symmetry, Ikebana arrangements are often designed based on the scalene triangle which has three sides of unequal length. Twigs or branches may be used to create this outline in the arrangement.

Spirituality

• Ikebana practitioners value the meditative art of flower arranging as a structured and silent practice. The process focuses on the appreciation of nature and tolerance of differences and Ikebana is always created in total silence. Students of Ikebana learn patience and delicacy as they create organic masterpieces.