Like so many art forms that hail from Japan, ikebana, or the beautifully minimal art of flower arranging, has a sacred history.
It first found its way to Japan when Buddhism was introduced to the country from China and Korea. Back then, Buddhist floral offerings, called kuge, were placed on the altar of temples as a ritual offering to the spirits of the dead.
The offering consisted of three main stems gathered closely at the base and rising from the water as one. The three stems were used to represent the harmonious relationship between heaven, man and earth.
As the popularity of the pared-back floral arrangements grew, they found their way into aristocratic homes, being displayed alongside valuable artworks and hanging scrolls, and by the middle of the 15th century, ikebana was considered a cherished art form independent of its religious history.
Ikebana moved through many styles over the centuries, but it continued to retain strong symbolic and philosophical overtones.
The first teachers and students of ikebana were priests and members of the nobility. However, as time passed, several different schools arose, styles changed, and ikebana came to be practised at all levels of Japanese society. Once a domain of men only, by the turn of the 20th century it had become a popular pastime, almost a requisite for aristocratic Japanese women.
Ikebana is still alive and well, with more than 3,000 schools of the art form in Japan alone, and many more around the world. Heavily rooted in history, modern practitioners continue to take inspiration from centuries-old records detailing the classical ikebana styles.
That said, with so many modern iterations, the tradition, which has always reflected Japan's deep commune with nature, has evolved into a modern art form that continues to bring the beauty of nature's forms and colours to millions of people.
WATCH this video to learn the basics of ikebana
HOW TO CREATE A HANA-ISHO ARRANGEMENT
The Ohara School of Ikebana has a curriculum of arrangement styles that students work through. The first arrangement every student learns is the Hana-isho rising form, which emphasises an upward movement, towards the sun.
Cape Town-based florist Cynthia Fan give us guidelines to create a Hana-isho rising form arrangement.
WHAT YOU'll NEED:
• A kenzan (also known as a 'pin holder' or 'flower frog')
• A low, shallow bowl. The aesthetic of the bowl should influence the plant elements that you choose, as they should be complementary.
• Branches, flowers and greenery of your choice.
• A pair of secateurs
GET STARTED
Step 1: Place the flower frog in the bowl.
Step 2: The first element, known as the subject, can either be branch material with a strong upward movement or a tall flower.
The subject should be one-and-a-half times the height and diameter of the bowl and it should be inserted in the back of the kenzan.
Step 3: The second element, or the object, is most often a flower and should be a third of the subject in height.
The object is inserted in front of the subject and angled 45º forward from the vertical axis. This allows the object to face upwards, towards the sun.
Step 4: The third element can be of the same material as the subject and object, or it can be a new material, and is known as the filler.
The role of the filler is to accentuate the interaction between the subject and the object, through colour or movement. The filler is generally shorter than the subject and sometimes cascades over the lip of the shallow bowl.
When deciding where to place the filler remember that the negative space within the shallow bowl should always be considered and valued.
Step 5: Top up the bowl with water.
