Begin Japanology

Ikebana: the traditional Japanese art of flower arranging. Each elegant arrangement is made with seasonal flowers and plants cut to perfection. The idea of using flowers as decoration first came to Japan 1,500 years ago, along with Buddhism. Flower arrangements were given as offerings to the Buddha, and Buddhist priests formalized the techniques that would become known as ikebana. In time, flower arranging became deeply rooted in Japanese life. Today, Japan has more than 2,000 schools of ikebana. Inside the home, people arrange flowers in ways that embody the changing seasons. Ikebana has a saying: "The flowers are your soul." Like other traditional Japanese arts, ikebana attaches great importance to formal etiquette and self-reflection. But that doesn't mean modern ikebana artists aren't creating bold new arrangements. On this edition of BEGIN Japanology, our theme is ikebana. We'll trace ikebana's history and explore the Japanese aesthetic that comes to life in this art form.