Ikebana - The Japanese Art Of Flower Arranging

Ikebana or popularly known as Kado is the Japanese art of flower arranging. It is a disciplined form of art in which humanity and nature are brought together. Its constituents are leaves, branches, blossoms and grasses and its true beauty is the result of its colour combinations, lines and shapes.

Ikebana has become highly acclaimed and respected in the west – the Japanese have a huge appreciation for nature and when visiting Tokyo it is not unusual to find taxi drivers have put a little vase with flower at the edge of their windshield. In addition it is very rare to see a Japanese house that does not feature some sort of floral arrangement.

Arrangers tend to use several different types of plants in a single arrangement and even when a single flower is used the arranger will ensure that an effort is made to bring out the full implications of nature. There is also a deep appreciation of the spiritual aspect of Ikebana. People who practice this very skillful art form feel as though it helps you “live in the moment” and experience a sense of deep appreciation of nature that would have seemed insignificant before.