Ikebana, one of the
traditional arts of Japan, is over 600 years old and emerged as an
independent art during the Muromachi Period (1333 – 1568 ). The origin
of this art was in the floral offerings to Buddha, arranged according to
certain rules of composition and meaning. This artistic act existed not
only in Japan but also in Ancient Egypt, in West Asia and in China.
The main Reason why
Japanese Flower Arrangement is unique and differs from the
decorative arrangements in other nations, although the origins are
similar, is that the art of Ikebana overcame the influences of the
period and the power of religion. Further-more, unlike floral art in
western countries which was developed with a commercial purpose, the art
of Japanese Flower Arrangement is a path of self enlightenment.
The ‘two sticks and a flower’ slur shows how little we understand the
wealth of symbolism behind the deceptively simple arrangements-Ikebana
(‘making flower live’). It is not possible, of course, to describe even
the fundamental principles in a few words, but we can create a simple
design by following the magical rule of three. Arrange three pieces of
line material with three different heights or centers of interest –
highest is Heaven, Man is central and Earth is lowest.
The significance
of Ikebana lies in giving everlasting artistic life to transient flowers
through the repeated act of arrangement. Ikebana is not only beautiful
to look at , but also inspiring. At an aesthetic level ikebana is
fantastic training for eye. It teaches to see in a new way and
appreciate simplicity.
If we look at the
history of Ikebana, we will realize that during the centuries of its
existence, Ikebana has gone through many changes and development . It
has been integrated in day-to-day life and express the life styles and
feelings of people and real life situations.
However, many factors
prepared the way for this development.
The most important
among this development was the natural setting and influence of western
culture. Japan is a nation of islands and mountains. Much of the country
is covered with dense green forests and laced with rivers, ponds and
lakes. The varied appearances of nature and the changing pageant of the
seasons have strongly affected the feelings of the Japanese people, and
those feelings eventually found expression in Ikebana .
There are some 3,000 or
5000 schools of Ikebana in Japan today. These numerous schools, however
, may be classified into four groups according to history of their
establishment.
First Group :
The Buddhist priests,
who were great artist in Rikka , established the oldest and
hereditary school of Japanese Flower Arrangement, called Ikenobo
School in Kyoto. During the 16th and early 17th
centuries, however, these talented artist could not wholeheartedly
accept the hereditary system and its traditional restrictions, so they
started to organize innovation of their own.
Second Group :
In the middle of 18th
and 19th centuries , the Seika style was established. The
peaceful existence caused by the government’s policy of national
isolation stimulated the popularity of Ikebana and produced several
off-shoots. From these off-shoots of the Ikenobo School and the
development of Seika, new schools were born such as Koryu, Mishoryu,
Senkeiryu and schools for so-called Bunjin-nageire(tall-vase
arrangement of the literati)
Third Group :
The
importation of western culture and the introduction of foreign flowers
gave great impetus to Ikebana and thus new styles were founded. The
existing ikbana did not provide enough room to display new variety of
flowers available in Japan at the end of 19th century.
Ohara School of Ikebana is pioneer in this regard. The beginning of
school itself represent a change in the then existing Ikebana. The
founder of Ohara School, Unshin Ohara introduced moribana (flat bowl
arrangement) or Jiyubana (Free-style arrangement)) to Ikebana world .
The schools which represent this generation are Ohara School, Saga
School and Adachi-shiki.
Fourth Group :
