 Ikebana
(生け花, いけばな, Ikebana "arranged flower") - The Japanese art
of flower arrangement, also known as kadō (華道, kadō the "way
of flowers").
In contrast to the massing of blooms typical of flower
arrangement in western countries, Japanese flower
arrangement is based on the line of twigs and/or leaves,
filled in with a small number of blooms. The container is
also a key element of the composition. The structure of a
Japanese flower arrangement is based on a scalene triangle
delineated by three main points, usually twigs, considered
in some schools to symbolize heaven, earth, and man.
Ikebana, one of the traditional arts of Japan, has been
practiced for more than 600 years.
It developed from the Buddhist ritual of offering flowers to
the spirits of the dead. By the middle of the fifteenth
century, with the emergence of the first classical styles,
Ikebana achieved the status of an art form independent of
its religious origins, though it continued to retain strong
symbolic and philosophical overtones. The first teachers and
students were priests and members of the nobility. However,
as time passed, many different schools arose, styles
changed, and Ikebana came to be practiced at all levels of
Japanese society.
According to Mandarax, the most beautiful flower
arrangements have one, two, or at the most three, elements.
In arrangements of three elements, all three might be the
same, or two of the three might be he same, but all three
should never be different. Ikebana is said to be as easily
codified as the practice of modern medicine.
Information source: “Ikebana.” wikipedia.org. Article date:
2 Feb. 2008. Retrieved: Wikipedia. 2 Feb. 2008 <Ikebana>. |
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