Sogetsu - Basic Upright Style Moribana - 1

Basic Upright Moribana - 1

Basic Upright Moribana -1

A Sogetsu Exhibition - "Waiting for Spring"

A few arrangements from the "Waiting for Spring Exhibit" sponsored by Sogetsu New York at the Nippon Club in NYC.

The main "Waiting for Spring" Arrangement, by my teacher, Hazue Tamura-Rogers, and her teacher, Judith Hata.

Another beautiful arrangement - very natural

A Brief History of Kado and Ikebana

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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. *

Expanding My Horizons - A Sogetsu Class

Relatively recently, I decided to take classes in Sogetsu, a more "freestyle" Japanese style of flower arranging. This is because my Kado teacher, Marcia Shibata Wang, is only able to come to NYC a few times a year. I found a new teacher, Hazue Tamura-Rogers, who is certified at the highest level of the Sogetsu school of Ikebana, and who has exhibited in Japan, the US, and Australia. She has even exhibited at the Japanese Ambassador's house when one of the princes of Japan was visiting!

So far, Sogetsu class has been different from kado, in that the arrangement occurs more speedily. In my view, there is less of an emphasis on mindfulness, since it isn't a meditative practice, but rather more of a hobby. Due to that, there is more emphasis on the form (there seem to be more basic forms) but still a lot of emphasis on process (but less than in kado). I'm still working on my level 1 certification, which involves practicing moribana (the arrangements in the wide bowls that you've seen thus far) and nageire (in tall vases-- more of a balancing).