Over the years the majority of my students have been westerners, most of whom had never been to Japan when they began studying ikebana. In my opinion when teaching westerners, the teacher needs to be prepared to provide some of the historical and cultural background that has led to the development of today’s ikebana. This is perhaps best done in small ‘doses’ as the classes progress. However, I think such background information is necessary for the student to develop the sensitivity to be able to make ikebana that has depth and is not just formulaic.
The oldest known manuscript, "Kaoirai no kadensho", that provided direction to the arrangement of flowers for specific festivals dates from around the 1460s. This document is regarded as the beginning of Ikebana as a codified art form; that is, an art form with clearly enunciated underlying principles.
At the last couple of classes with my Geelong students I have spent some time drawing their attention to these historical developments of ikebana.To this end we began by looking at the images of the late 16th century development of the Rikka style.
This example of Rikka was made by Yukako Braun for the 2016 Annual Exhibition of Ikebana International Melbourne. This elegant and complex design has nine principal lines, all of them arising from the water surface of the Usubata vessel as a single column. Rikka is described in the following way by the Iemoto, Sen'ei Ikenobo, "...in a small container the magnificent scope of Rikka expresses in a scene which depicts the grand spectacle of nature." ( Fujiwara, Y. "Rikka, The soul of Japanese Flower arrangement" p 8)
Approximately 150 years later a new style was developed called Seika. This refined style, in this case using only Aspidistra leaves, has five lines. To me it looks like an abstraction of the Rikka style, as though the pendulum has swung to the opposite direction from complex elaboration. I made this arrangement, to show my students, as part of my investigation into historical styles.
In November 2014 Shihosai Uematsu, the then Iemoto designate of Shogetsudokoryu, visited Melbourne. He conducted a workshop on the theme of Ryureika, a modern interpretation of the Seika form devised by his father who was the Iemoto at the time. In the new Ryureika form, each of the five lines is composed with a different material. I made the above Ryureika ikebana as the demonstration for my students. I have used New Zealand Flax Phorium, Dock weed Rumex, Aspidistra, Red Valerian Centranthus ruber, and Kangaroo Fern, Zealandia pustulata.
After my students completed this exercise I asked them what connections they saw between the Ryureika form and Sogetsu Ikebana which they now practise and study. Among other elements they mentioned were: the use of line, space, surface of the water, asymmetry of design and the proportions of the lines.
Below are the Ryureika ikebana arrangements made by my students.
Greetings from Christopher
20th November 2022
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