Ornamental Horticulture

Ikebana

Definition / Concept:

• Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement
• It’s also known as the ‘Eastern style of flower arrangement’.
• Ikebana is more than simply putting flowers in a container.
• It is a disciplined art form in which the arrangement is a living thing in which nature and humanity are brought together.
• Ikebana = Ike+bana; Ike = to live, bana = flower; it signifies life and freshness

History:

• Ikebana is an art with a recorded history.
• It originated in the 6th century in Japan as a religious offering at Buddhist temples.
• However history says that the actual origin of Ikebana is China from where it is believed to have spread to India and then Japan.
• Ikebana is believed to have been introduced/ conceived by a Buddhist Monk ‘Semmu’.
• In Japan, Ikebana was popular among the aristocracy and the samurai class.
• To reach a state of peace of mind and a state of concentration before going to battle, the samurai would perform both Ikebana and Tea Ceremony, which helped to purify their heart and mind.
• By the 16th century, Ikebana had become a Zen practice.

Principles:
Spiritual basis of Ikebana:

1. Ikebana involves spiritual significance
2. Closely associated to all aspects of life
3. It is associated with the philosophy of developing closeness with nature.
4. One becomes quiet when one practices Ikebana.
5. One becomes more patient and tolerant of differences, not only in nature, but also more generally in other people.
6. It helps to “live in the moment” and to appreciate things in nature that previously had seemed insignificant.
Rules of construction of Ikebana:

1. Its materials are living branches, leaves, grasses, and blossoms, anything can be used and even a small weed can be given an important place in an arrangement.
2. Its heart is the beauty resulting from colour combinations, natural shapes, graceful lines, and the meaning latent in the total form of the arrangement.
3. The three main components of Ikebana: Heaven, Man and Earth.
4. In Ikebana empty space plays an essential part of the arrangement. The elements placed asymmetrically, are given emphasis by the spaces.
5. Thus, the totality of a well-done arrangement brings about a state of serenity and peace to the viewer.

Ikebana arrangement represents nature in the following way:

1. A single flower symbolizes nature
2. Bamboo symbolizes integrity since it does not bend
3. Evergreen pine represents the abode of deity