is a school of ''

Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement. It is also known as . The tradition dates back to Heian period, when floral offerings were made at altars. Later, flower arrangements were instead used to adorn the (alcove) of a traditional Japan ...

'', or

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

floral art Floral design or flower arrangement is the art of using plant materials and flowers to create an eye-catching and balanced composition or display. Evidence of refined floristry is found as far back as the culture of ancient Egypt. Professionally ...

History

It was established by Mishōsai Ippo in 1807 in the late

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

. He established the defining

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and style of the school. At the time of its establishment, the culture of the townspeople was greatly developed, and many disciples gathered from there. Over the years that followed, there was a period of decline, but Mishō-ryū became known throughout western Japan with its activities mainly in the

Kinki region The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropolitan ...

. In the modern

Shōwa era The was the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Shōwa ( Hirohito) from December 25, 1926, until his death on January 7, 1989. It was preceded by the Taishō era. The pre-1945 and post-war Shōwa periods are almos ...

, the city was proud of its prosperity before the war, but was caught up in World War II and declined. After the war, it was a force to be reckoned with again. The founder Mishōsai Ippo initially practiced ''kadō'', and in doing so, he turned the religious ideas of

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of Philosophy, philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of China, Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmo ...

, and

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

into his fundamental ideas. In addition, the idea of finding peace of mind through flower arranging was integrated into the philosophy of the school.

Styles

The traditional style is called ''kakubana'' (格花), which is also known as ''

Seika is a form of ''ikebana''. Written with the same ''kanji'' characters, it is also pronounced and known as ''Shōka''. History The painter Sōami and the art patron and ''shōgun'' Ashikaga Yoshimasa were supporters of the style as early as ...

'' in other schools. The principle is to create an arrangement in the shape of a right-angled

isosceles triangle In geometry, an isosceles triangle () is a triangle that has two sides of equal length. Sometimes it is specified as having ''exactly'' two sides of equal length, and sometimes as having ''at least'' two sides of equal length, the latter versio ...

. The style is characterized by a sense of spirituality and an awareness of "Heaven, Earth, Human" (天地人 ''Tenchijin''), the three essential elements that make up the human universe. These are represented by various axis of the arrangement. ''Heika'' (瓶花) is taught based on the principles of '' Nageirebana''. Later the modern style developed which is called ''shin-ka'' (新花).

References

External links

* Kadō schools {{japan-org-stub