ikebana　生け花

KEY WORD :　 art history / general terms

Lit. to keep flowers alive. Flower arrangements. Originated in Buddhist flower offerings kuge 供花 from the 6c, but by the 15c had begun to develop and diversify as an art form with styles and schools of its own. The earliest arrangements were part of the three elements offering, mitsugusoku 三具足 wherein flowers were placed on one side of an incense burner and a candlestick on the other. Three flowers were placed symmetrically in a tall metal container with the central stem approximately one and a half times the height of the container. This style is known as tatebana 立花 (standing flowers). The next important development in flower arrangement is the rikka 立花 style, also meaning 'standing flowers' and it is from this that all subsequent styles have developed. The originator is thought to be Senkei 専慶 of the Ikenobou 池坊 School in Kyoto, who created an arrangement in a golden vase on February 25, 1462. The idea was to create an asymmetrical form which through a series of symbols depicts the mythical Mt. Sumeru (Jp: *Shumisen 須弥山) which is at the heart of Buddhist cosmology and thus also the Buddhist Universe. The original seven branches of rikka arrangements are symbols of natural features: 1. ryou 嶺 : a peak. 2. gaku 岳 : a hill below it. 3. rou 滝 : a waterfall on 2. 4. shi 市 : a town where people gather by the water. 5. bi 尾 : a valley behind the mountain. 6. you 陽 : represents the sunlit and positive side of the scene. 7. in 陰 : represents the shady and negative side. The characters used for six and seven are those in Chinese representing Yin and Yang. With the emergence of the tea ceremony *chanoyu 茶湯 as a cultural force in the late 16c, a new form of ikebana also emerged to complement it. This is called chabana 茶花 meaning tea flowers. Sen Rikyuu 千利休 (1522-91) is considered the originator of this. The style most suited to the rigours of the tea ceremony is called nageire 投入れ (to throw into). This is an austere form sometimes using only one flower, but by its free and fluid style it expresses natural beauty rather than any intellectual symbolism. It is also called heika 瓶花 (vase flowers). The styles of rikka number 29, each of which was developed by a succession of masters of the Ikenobou school, from Senkei himself (fl. 1462-72) through to Senkou 3 専好 (fl. 1708-34). During the Momoyama period ikebana showed itself an ideal accompaniment to the splendid interiors of private residences fashionable at the time. The decorative alcove *tokonoma 床の間 used to display art works became the usual setting for domestic ikebana. Although originally a priestly and aristocratic pursuit, by the 17c, a golden age for rikka, the desire to pursue the art spread to the samurai 侍 class, and although the Ikenobou school remained pre-eminent, other schools were founded. The wide range of possibilities for ikebana is shown in the RIKKA IMAYOUSUGATA 立花今様姿 (Styles of current day Rikka :1688). Important schools of rikka other than Ikenobou include that founded by Daijuuin Ishin 大住院以信 (1607-97) : he was expelled from Ikenobou by Senyou in 1665 and moved to Edo where he set up on his own. The end of the 17c was a time of a flourishing mercantile class, and this coincided with a new form, simpler than the complex rikka styles combined with nageire to produce shouka 生花 (living flowers), which reflected a desire to show the essence of the plant in its natural form. The basic style is of three branches arranged in an asymmetric triangle. The three are usually called shin 真 primary, soe 副 secondary and tai 体 tertiary. Shouka flourished throughout the 18-19c.

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