Recently rediscovered a very old way to style minimalistic, simple flower arrangements at home. My mother as well as my grandmother used to do that a lot when I was a kid, they took many classes and now I got a lot of these beautiful handmade vases and materials from my grandmother so I have been trying out a lot of simple styles lately and I absolutely love it. Especially because it’s so easy.
So what is Ikebana? Let me give you some insights.
Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement. The word Ikebana means “arranging flowers” or “making flowers alive” in Japanese. The tradition has emerged already more than 800 years ago in Japan when floral offerings were made at altars. Many Japanese have practiced Ikebana over the past centuries finding that it’s calming their minds.
Contrary to the idea of a particolored or multicolored arrangement of blossoms, ikebana often emphasizes other areas of the plant, such as its stems and leaves, and puts emphasis on shape, line, and form. Sometimes the ikebana arrangement also imply an emotional meaning without using words. For example there are special arrangements for sad occasions. A flower arrangement made to mark a death is typically consisting of white flowers, with some dead leaves and branches, all arranged to express peace.
The spiritual aspect of ikebana is another key element. Some practitioners even find silence is needed while constructing a flower arrangement. Flower arranging is a time to appreciate aspects of nature commonly overlooked in daily life. It is believed that practice of flower arranging can help a person to become more patient and tolerant of differences in nature and in life, providing relaxation in mind, body and soul, and allowing a person to identify with beauty in all art forms.
I thought the concept as well as the ideas behind the art of Ikebana are quite beautiful and inspired me a lot so I wanted to share it.
So basically all you need is a metal kenzan where you can easily stuck the branches or flowers on and then some simple bowls where you can put it into.
You don’t need to get special Ikebana vases. I highly recommend to check on second hand platforms whether you can get these materials there.
