Ikebana Celebrates 50 Years of Friendship Through Flowers

Naples Ikebana International #160, the local chapter of Ikebana supporters, celebrated 50 Years of Friendship Through Flowers at the Naples Botanical Garden. They featured designs in the schools of Ikenobo, Sogetsu, Sensho Ikenobo and Ohara.

Ikebana (ee-kay-bah-nah) is known as the art of Japanese flower arranging. A translation of “Ikebana” might be “living flowers” or perhaps “making flowers come alive.”

When you think of Ikebana, you think of minimalist floral arrangements - harmony, balance, nature and Zen. Ikebana was practiced by Buddhist monks in the early seventh century as part of their daily temple ritual. It started out as simple floral arrangements where the monks would place flowers before the statutes of the Buddha and over the course of centuries in Japan, it evolved into the art form of Ikebana. Today, it is practiced worldwide with several schools or disciplines each with their own approach or emphasis.

Ikenobo was the oldest and first school started in the 15th century and is considered the most strict and traditional among all the schools of Ikebana. At the exhibit I met Noriko Cakmak, who is a third-generation practitioner of the Ikenobo school of Ikebana. Her grandmother practiced Ikenobo along with her mother and now she is the third generation in the Ikenobo school.

Sogetsu school is about 95 years old and considered relatively “new” and modern and breaks with the traditional and classical approach. Sogetsu founder Sofu Teshigahara felt that the rules of Ikebana were too restrictive and did not allow for an individual’s freedom of expression. One of his favorite sayings has become the motto of the school: “Sogetsu Ikebana can be created anytime, anywhere, by anyone in any part of the world, and with any kind of material.” 

I met Marcia Connors, a practitioner of the Sogetsu School of Ikebana. To her, Sogetsu allows her more “freedom of expression and style.”

The Ohara school appeared in the 19th century when Japan was opening its doors to the world. It is an arrangement that is both traditional and modern with seasons and landscapes as their inspiration.

There is more to an artful Ikebana floral display than flowers, twigs, branches and containers. It is filled with subtitles and deeper meaning. Ikebana is arranging flowers with strict rules and tradition. This was my frustration in trying to learn Ikebana and it can be very intimidating. 

Most of our exposure to floral arrangement is the western style floral design. Also, as a gardener, I tend to be very liberal with my clippers trying to mimic the minimalist look of an Ikebana stem or a branch so it would stand elegantly in my container. As you look at a design, the tall parts are pointed to the sky; the middle is supposed to represent man and the lower layers are supposed to represent earth. Speaking to the professionals at the Ikebana Exhibit, it takes years to learn and many years more to “master.” 

Once a year, I look forward to the annual Naples Ikebana International #160 Exhibit at the Naples Botanical Garden, where in one room I can admire how these masters in an ancient Japanese art of floral arrangement can make something so sparse look so elegant, moving and meditative.

These are not bouquets of mass flowers arranged in the popular western style – there is beauty in the spaces between the branch, the flower and the container. You can almost feel the deep connection between the artist and her creation. 

The Naples Chapter of Ikebana supporters, experts and enthusiasts is one of the larger chapters in the United States with about 80 members. They meet the first Wednesday of the months of November through May at the Naples Botanical Garden and their meetings are open to the public.