Kado began in China as a Buddhist devotional practice, which later became a popular art form for the moneyed class. Japanese envoys to China, admiring the robust Chinese culture, brought the practice of flower-arranging to Japan, under the name "Ikebana."
The first school of Ikebana in Japan, founded in the 15th Century, was the Ikenobo school, which was based in Buddhist devotional practice by monks. The monks created very large flower arrangements, called rikka, as offerings to the altar. Nowadays, ikenobo is still considered the most traditional style of ikebana.
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| A traditional rikka style Ikenobo arrangement |
Later, other schools developed, such as the Ohara and Sogetsu schools. The Ohara school was founded in the 19th Century. It is distinctive for appearing more like a landscape that would appear in nature. Its focus is on expressing the feeling of a certain season and emphasizing the way flowers naturally grow.
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| An example of Ohara style |
And in the 20th Century, Sofu Teshigawara founded the Sogetsu school, the goal of which was to make Ikebana a widely-accessible practice, open to anyone who was interested in it. Thus, arrangements in the Sogetsu school tend to be less formalistic (and some say more imaginative) than those of the traditional Ikenobo school.
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| A Sogetsu style arrangment |
My teacher, Marcia Shibata, practices kado based on a style developed by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, the great Tibetan Buddhist teacher who helped bring the dharma to the West. Trungpa, inspired by the Sogetsu school, created his own school of flower arranging, kalapa, the purpose of which is to draw upon Nature's innate wisdom, as expressed by flowers, to teach and understand the true nature of reality.
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| Basic Upright Left by Marcia Wang Shibata Note that I photographed this arrangement incorrectly (the arrangement is meant to be viewed straight on) |
* All rights to the original photographers and artists, with appreciation for sharing their craft. *
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