Ikebana - The art of flower arranging

August 26, 2023

Ikebana 生け花 is the Japanese art of arranging flowers. We took a beginners lesson at Ohara School of Ikebana, where we learned the basics of Tateru-katachi たてるかたち (Rising Form).

Ikebana School - Entrance — The school is located in a very trendy looking neighborhood

The subject branches, often the most attractive and impressive, are called the Shu-shi 主枝. The object branches used to balance and unify the arrangement are called the Kyaku-shi 客枝. The filler branches are called Chukan-shi 中間枝.

Ikebana School - Initial — Looks ok, right? This did not pass.

Rules of the Rising Form:

The Shu-shi should not be longer than twice the dimensions of the vessel that the arrangement will sit in.
The Shu-shi is positioned upright in the center and can slant 20 degrees in any direction.
The Kyaku-shi should be one third the length of the Shu-shi and is positioned in front of the Shu-shi.
The Kyaku-shi slants forward 45 degrees in front of the Shu-shi and can slant within 20 degrees to the left or right.

The Chukan-shi (filler) has no set rules, though it should cover the kenzan 剣山/shippo 七宝 (heavy metal plates used to hold the branches upright) and should complement the rest of the arrangement.

Ikebana School - Getting closer — Getting closer! There isn’t enough of a vertical path from the top to the bottom

We were not very good at arranging and our teacher made several edits to our pieces before he was satisfied with them.