A Brief History of Ikebana

Ikebana or flower arranging is a traditional Japanese art that has crossed the borders and become loved and known by people all over the world. The pleasure of Ikebana is something that cannot only be enjoyed by Japanese, but anyone and anywhere. When one wishes to impress someone they have a deep affection for, a friend, or a customer they use Ikebana to express their individuality, also when they wish to impress the seasons upon people at an event they use Ikebana.

The Origin of Ikebana
The birth of Ikebana was during the Muromachi Period (1333-1573). Three factors lead to the birth of Ikebana. First is people used to use flowers as an offering to Buddha, the second is the influence of a practice where the Japanese would place a Tokiwagi Tree on an alter as a form of offering to summon the gods, and this type of pine tree is still used today as decoration during New Years to summon the gods. Lastly, during China’ s T’ang Dynasty’s, (618-907),So Period, Buddhist monks who studied in China to pursue their Buddhist training returned to Japan and told about the Chinese flower arranging influences.

Ikebana for Decoration
During the Muromachi Period (1333-1573) spaces constructed for the dwelling of the Samurai were made in the traditional Japanese style, they had special room for flower decorations, the concept of decorating flower was originally created to decorate these rooms. This early type of ikebana had a pattern where a symbol was created from two or three plants. This kind of flower decoration was called Tatebana because the flowers are placed standing in the upright position. The main flower was placed in the upright position with the smaller flowers surrounding it.

Standing 3-D Ikebana
After entering the Momoyama Yashi Period (1583-1602), the traditional Japanese style architecture was replaced with the construction of grandeur fortresses; this became the mainstream. After this standing ikebana was replaced with 3-D standing ikebana, and 3-D standing ikebana began to make its first appearances. When standing 3-D ikebana is compared to standing ikebana, it is enormous; it not only uses many more kinds of plants, but also not only standing, but comes from all sides to make it more 3-D.

Natural Ikebana
In the Momoyama Period they had a larger room for tea ceremony, however, entering into the Edo Period (1603-1868) the room became smaller and they had to change their technique of ikebana and use vases because it took up less space. Since the tea ceremony space became smaller they had to start producing ikebana to match the size of the room. The center of Standing Ikebana and 3-D Standing Ikebana was Kyoto, however, during the Edo Period the government and economic center became Edo, which is modern day Tokyo, therefore Natural Ikebana moved it’s center to Tokyo. Since Natural Ikebana has kept its Hananomoto shape without changing, it is called a free-style flower arrangement.

Today’s Ikebana
After the second half of 1970, the school of ikebana that broke limitations and crossed over into more modern arranging. Ikebana groups started holding exhibitions such as natural flower shapes, voluntarily donated arrangements, and outdoor exhibitions. This special school also started to separate from the use of the vase in an attempt to make the arrangement look more natural and there could be a greater link between the people and the plants. Ikebana from the time it was born to present day has over 600 years of history, as one of Japanese major traditional cultures it has established itself around the world, and is charming in many countries.