Ikebana - Japanese Flower Art

https://japanahome.com/journal/how-to-ikebana-the-japanese-art-of-flower-arranging/ Having now researched and considered a variety of environmental holidays, an online class with my tutor Eleni pointed me in the direction of looking into Ikebana, a traditional Japanese art of flower arranging. Typing this into Pinterest provided me the results shown below.

I instantly recognised and admired the visual arrangement - working with various flowers, colours, heights and widths, it is clear to understand how much thought and consideration goes into producing these beautiful arrangements. The similarities in the examples above are more than clear, so I wanted to research further into what techniques make Ikebana arrangement the way that it is...

- 'Ikebana, which means “living flowers” is the Japanese art of flower arrangement. From ‘ikuru’ – to live and ‘hana’ – flowers: literally ‘living flowers.'

- 'A single stem never dies – goes the message from the Japanese floral philosophy of Ikebana.' - 'Japanese Shinto priests – Japan’s indigenous religion – offered evergreen branches to the spirits for centuries to try to capture natural beauty.' - 'Then when buddhism came along in the sixth Century, Buddhist monks evolved these Shinto offerings into beautiful arrangements: the art of ikebana was born.'

- 'The tradition dates back to the 7th century when floral offerings were made at altars.' - 'In contrast to the western habits of casually placing flowers in a vase, ikebana aims to bring out the inner qualities of flowers and other live materials within certain rules of construction and ultimately – express emotion.'

- ' Its materials are living branches, leaves, grasses, and blossoms.' - 'Its heart is the beauty resulting from colour combinations, natural shapes, graceful lines, and the meaning latent in the total form of the arrangement.'

- 'It is a disciplined art form in which the arrangement is a living thing where nature and humanity are brought together.'

- 'It is steeped in the philosophy of developing closeness with nature.'

- 'Ikebana is a way of arranging flowers according to ancient principles.'

- 'Branches and flowers are placed at specific angles to represent ten (heaven), chi (earth), and jin (man). The way they’re placed represents the strength, delicacy, and ephemerality of living flowers.'

The Ikebana Principles:

• Less is more - 'Where western-style arrangements go for flowers in a vase on mass to make an impact, ikebana goes for structure, space, and minimalism.'

• Asymmetrical balance - 'It’s common to see tall branches balanced precariously in ikebana. That’s because it uses a 30/70 balance ratio, rather than the normal 50/50.'

• It’s much more than just decoration - 'The art of creating an arrangement leads to self awareness (and happiness!).'

• In and Yo - 'Japanese Yin and Yang is about opposites completing one another.'

• Ephemerality - 'Ikebana aims to capture the fleeting beauty of things. A lot of ikebana arrangements feature a bud to represent the promise of hope.'

• Space - 'Not just emptiness, but an important part of the design as a whole.'