Ikebana

Flowers were offered on Buddhist altars from the time Buddhism reached Japan in the sixth century. In the fifteenth century, arrangements displayed in the alcoves of warrior and aristocratic residences became an art in their own right. The priests of the Rokkakudō, a temple in the centre of Kyoto, were renowned for their skill; they lived in a hermitage by the pond, ike no bō, which gave the Ikenobō school its name.

Ikenobō Senkei is recorded in 1462 as arranging flowers admired by the Kyoto elite, and in the sixteenth century Ikenobō Sen'ō set down a theory of flower arrangement that treated it as a spiritual practice. The Ikenobō headmaster still traditionally serves as head priest of the Rokkakudō, and the school regards itself as the origin of ikebana.

Over five centuries ikebana developed from grand formal compositions to freer modern forms. Many schools teach several styles, from strict traditional forms to free expression.

From the late nineteenth century new schools responded to Westernisation and modern art. Ohara Unshin founded the Ohara school around the turn of the twentieth century, introducing the shallow moribana container. In 1927 Teshigahara Sōfū founded the Sōgetsu school, which declared that ikebana could be made 'anytime, anywhere, by anyone, with any material' and drew ikebana close to sculpture and avant-garde art.

After the Second World War, Ikebana International was founded in Tokyo in 1956 to promote the art abroad, and today schools hold exhibitions in department stores, museums and temples throughout the year.

Many styles are built on three main lines of different lengths, often interpreted as heaven, earth and humanity, and the names vary by school (for example shin, soe and hikae in Sōgetsu). The arrangement is asymmetrical and leaves space around and between the stems. Materials follow the season, and a branch in bud, in full flower and past its peak may appear together to suggest the passing of time.

Stems are fixed in a pin holder (kenzan) in shallow containers or held with cut twigs in tall vases. Special scissors cut stems, often under water to help them draw water.