Ikebana

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Introduction to Ikebana

Ikebana ("arranged flower") is the Japanese art of flower arranging. also known as kado the "way of flowers").

More than simply putting flowers in a container, Ikebana is a disciplined art form which is intended to elevate the practitioner during the act of creating the arrangement, as well as the viewer who enjoys looking at the arrangement. Unlike a great deal of Western, and especially, American floral arrangements which are comprised almost entirely of colorful blossoms, Ikebana often emphasizes other parts of the plant, such as its stems and leaves, and especially the relationships the form together in terms of shape, line and form.

Though Ikebana is a creative expression, it has certain rules governing its form and there are a variety of schools of the discipline of Ikebana which stress different aspects. Generally however, the art of Ikebana can be broken down as follows.

The two basic styles are the Moribana style, which employs a shallow dish, and the Nageire which uses an upright vessel. For both of these basic styles, there are three types of arrangements; the Keishin Kei, which is a slanting arrangement, the Risshin Kei which is upright and the Heishin Kei which is a horizontal arrangement. Traditionally, it is said to be best to first master the Keishin Kei (slanting) and the Risshin Kei (upright) arrangements in both the Moribana style and the Nageire style before attempting the more difficult horizontal style of Heishin Kei.

(You can see both Moribana and Nageire style vessels in our store.)

The Sogetsu School has developed 8 variations of each basic arrangement which gives 32 distinct arrangements available to the beginner; that is, 8 arrangements each for slanting and upright styles using both the Moribana (shallow dish) and the Nageire (upright vase). When proficiency in these are obtained, the practitioner can move on to the 16 varieties available in the Heishin Kei, or horizontal style.

There are very specific rules as to size shape and placement of the main elements in traditional Ikebana, however in more recent times many of the rules have been modified, relaxed or removed. For example, one of the main rules used to be that all the elements used in construction must be organic, be they branches, leaves, grasses, or flowers. In many of today's arrangements one finds glass, plastic and metal objects used within the arrangements.

The artist is not simply combining flowers and plants in a beautiful way but in a meaningful way as well, with a particular intention in mind. The artist's intention behind each arrangement is shown through a piece's color combinations, natural shapes and its lines, combining to give an implied meaning to the arrangement.

Today there are very many Ikebana Societies and organizations all over the world with over 40 in the United States alone. To find a society near you, try this link.

Ikebana Today
Originally and in many expressions of Ikebana today the discipline is governed by a dominating rule, or principle which says that there are three main lines that comprise an Ikebana arrangement and each must occupy a specific place in the arrangement. These lines, or placements represent heaven, man and earth. One branch or stem in the arrangement, in traditional Ikebana, is supposed to lean forward and to the left of the viewer and be 15 degrees off a perfect vertical line from the center of the arrangement. Another, of a different length is to be 45 degrees off vertical and the third, 75 degrees. Each of these three lines can have supporting elements such that the arrangement needn't be comprised of only three stems or branches.

The Japanese have a great love of rules (no doubt necessary when a large population occupies a small space) and most, if not all art forms in Japan are strictly governed by rules, however in more recent times there has developed a 'free style' of Ikebana which has given rise to some very different sorts of arrangements.

The primary concept to bear in mind, and the real aim of circumscribing an art form by rigid rules, is that the purpose of the art from is to, first, elevate the practitioner, and second, if she was successful, to elevate anyone who contemplates her work. In other words, the purpose of this and any art form is to help the individual rise to a higher level of experience, of consciousness, by 'realizing' real principles based in the order of our universe - by representing those principles within the art form. Something 'works', or it does not and it is not arbitrary whether or not it does. When an arrangement conforms to real, natural, not man-made principles it achieves a unified harmony and it is this unification and harmony which elevates us when we perceive it. This is what we call 'beautiful'.

There are infinite possibilities of expressing beauty, however, and one need not necessarily have a specific concept, such as heaven, man and earth, in mind to discover them. What one does need, though, is an attitude, an approach to the attempt to create beauty that is respectful of the art and appreciative of the possibilities, and that was the original purpose of insisting on specific rules. If one simply takes a bunch of branches or stems of flowers and tosses them into a bowl you can be pretty sure it will not only not be beautiful but will in fact be unsightly and disappointing. However if one proceeds with the idea of creating harmonious relationships between the various elements, relationships, it will be found should one care to investigate, which can be discovered throughout nature, one can create something truly beautiful. This is the real goal of Ikebana and of all true art. Curiously, attempting to work within the confines of a rigid set of rules can have the desired effect or it can have the opposite result and give rise to 'dead' works which though they may be mathematically precise, are not elevating.

This diagram shows the proper arrangement in traditional Ikebana for the upright style (on the top) and the slanting style, both in the Nageire, or tall vessel style. This is from the Sogetsu School. The round represents heaven, the square, man and the triangle earth and their respective angles from an imaginary vertical line are 10-15 for the tallest, in this case, heaven, 45 off vertical for the middle and 75 degrees off of the vertical for the shortest. They are also supposed to be of particular lengths in relation to one another and to the vessel. More on that later.

The diagram shows the nageire style, meaning that the vessel is tall. The moribana style uses a low vessel and is the recommended style to begin with as it is easier to place the branches and stems in the kensan (pin-frog) than it is to set them properly in a tall vase which does not use a kensan. Nevertheless, we'll take a brief glance at the nageire style before going into more detail with the moribana style.

These three branches shown represent the main lines of the arrangement but the arrangements often consist of many more elements which are supporting elements or filling elements called jushis.

The arrangement below is of this risshin-kei or basic upright style but as you can see, it is comprised of more branches than three. It follows the prescribed lines with additional elements filling in the gaps.

The Ikebana arrangement below is in the free-style and has no real container, only a base on which the Fatsia leaves and Agapantha flowers rest. Personally, I find it pretty, but not beautiful. You will notice though, that this arrangement does not conform to traditional lines, rather, it is a good example of a contemporary free style.

More to follow in our next newsletter.

A Free-form Ikebana Arrangement