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Flower Arrangement

    In contrast to the purely decorative form of flower arranging popular in Western countries, the art of ikebana, or Japanese flower arrangement, seeks to create a harmony of linear construction, rhythm, and color. While Westerners tend to emphasize the quantity and colors of the flowers, devoting their attention mainly to the beauty of the blossoms, the Japanese emphasize the linear aspects of the arrangement and have developed the art to include the vase, stems, leaves, and branches, as well as the flowers. The entire structure of a Japanese flower arrangement is based on three main lines that symbolize heaven, earth, and humankind.

Classical arrangement

Ikebana is the art of arranging cut flowers.

    The origins of ikebana can be traced back to ritual flower offerings in Buddhist temples, which began in the sixth century. In these rather crude arrangements, both the flowers and the branches were made to point toward heaven as an indication of faith.
    A more sophisticated style of flower arrangement, called rikka (standing flowers), emerged in the fifteenth century. The rikka style, which seeks to reflect the magnificence of nature, stipulates that flowers should be arranged to depict Mount Sumeru, a mythical mountain of Buddhist cosmology and a symbol of the universe. This style involves much symbolism. For example, pine branches symbolize rocks and stones, and white chrysanthemums symbolize a river or small stream. The rikka style enjoyed its heyday in the seventeenth century. Today it is regarded as an antiquated form of flower arrangement. Once considered a suitable decoration for ceremonial and festive occasions, the rikka style has lost its hold on people and is rarely practiced anymore.

Naturalistic arrangement
    The most significant changes in the history of ikebana took place during the fifteenth century, when the Muromachi shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1436- 1490) ruled Japan. The large buildings and small houses that Yoshimasa had built expressed his love for simplicity. These small houses contained a tokonoma, or alcove, where people could place objects of art and flower arrangements. It was during this period that the rules of ikebana were simplified so that people of all classes could enjoy the art.
    Another major development took place in the late sixteenth century, when a more austere and simple style of flower arrangement called nageire (meaning to throw in or fling in) emerged as part and parcel of the tea ceremony. According to this style, flowers should be arranged in a vase as naturally as possible, no matter what the materials used may be.

Modern ikebana
    In the 1890s, shortly after the Meiji Restoration, which ushered in a period of modernization and Westernization in Japan, there developed a new style of ikebana called moribana (piled-up flowers). This style appeared in response partly to the introduction of Western flowers and partly to the Westernization of Japanese living. The moribana style, which inaugurated a new freedom in flower arranging, seeks to reproduce in miniature the appearance of a landscape or a garden scene. It is a style that can be enjoyed wherever it is displayed and can be adapted to both formal and informal situations.