Reviving traditional Japanese flower art
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E-mail CNTV, March 19, 2015
Ikebana is the traditional Japanese art of flower arranging, culturally as important as calligraphy or the tea ceremony. Now this dying art is being celebrated at an exhibition in Tokyo's Meguro Gajoen historic community complex.
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Ikebana is the traditional Japanese art of flower arranging -- culturally as important as calligraphy or the tea ceremony. |
The large main display at the entrance is the work of Master Kassyu Yoshimura.
Yoshimura was originally an architect and says he tries to incorporate that knowledge when preparing large Ikebana displays. He says Ikebana has an image problem: the image of being expensive and out of reach for most people.
"People often think of Ikebana as something they cannot easily relate to. In Japan it also has the image of being expensive but that's not true. I believe anyone can easily start learning the art of Ikebana and what it means culturally. It can bring a lot of fulfillment in one's life," he said.
Fumie Meikyo is a 78 year-old Ikebana master.
"I always think how to show the beauty of the branches and stems. They all have their unique quirks and there are various techniques for manipulating the shape of the branches and it's fun to explore ways to manipulate them," she said.
Shinnosuke Mochizuki is 36-years-old and has been groomed all his life to become a Ikebana master.
He will eventually become a master once he takes over from his father and has been studying Ikebana, with his father as his teacher, since he was six years old.
"The arrangement I prepared today is a minimalistic style of Ikebana, because it's not a big piece and I wanted to show the beauty of the lines of the branches. I composed this Ikebana after carefully considering the material I had at my disposal today," Mochizuki said.
Visitors to the exhibition are impressed with the subtle arrangements and serene atmosphere.
"It's amazing to think of all the effort that was put into preparing all these flower arrangements. It's not something that can be done easily," said a visitor named Miyoko Sasaki.
The exhibition will last two months and showcases the works of 54 Ikebana masters and artists. A new display will be unveiled each week.
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