Ikebana

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I have taken up the hobby of Ikebana, also known as Japanese Flower arranging. Twice a month at one of my schools, Habu Elementary, the teachers gather at 5p.m. for a quick lesson in ikebana. A teacher comes with beautiful bunches of flowers...and we arrive with our vases/bowls and clippers. We each make an arrangement and then the teacher criticizes and fixes our work. I haven't really been given a proper lesson on what the appropriate positions are for the flowers, because the teacher speaks only Japanese. So basically I try to copy what everyone else is doing around me. The teacher usually ends up coming over to my table, takes my arragement apart. put it together the correct way, and tells me to do it again! Even if I never learn how to do it properly, it's fun to go to and I get to take the flowers home with me!

Ikebana is quite different from flower arranging in western countries. We tend to make arrangments based on quantity and colour; however in Japan, the arragements are simple and linear. The tradition actually started in Buddhist temples, where the flowers were made to point up to heaven as an indication of faith. Women were actually schooled in ikebana in preparation for marriage (along with calligraphy and tea ceremony). It is considered one of the traditional arts in Japan.

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