Sogetsu Ikebana

The Ikebana classes are held once or twice a month. The students are guided step by step through the Sogetsu school program; each level is supported by a printed curriculum, originally from Japan, which illustrates the assignments in a progressive development, from the very simple to more complex floral arrangements. After one book is studied and well understood, the student obtains a Diploma, issued directly from the Sogetsu Headquarters in Tokyo, signed by the head master. There are four books for amateurs. After that student can continue to study for the teaching license recognized by the same forum. Included in the price are the plant materials. These are provided by the Institute. The tools are the student's responsibility; we assist in getting them. It is greatly relaxing to be able to express balance, harmony, beauty and tranquility using flowers, water and containers. It is another expression of self-discovery in our Mind-Body journey.

Master Chinda and Reiko Nakajima, our Ikebana Instructor at the Chinda Institute

History of Ikebana

Of all Japan's traditional arts, perhaps the most famed and actively practiced today is IKEBANA, the art of flower arrangement. While tracing its origins back for hundreds of years, it still exists as a vital element in the contemporary world of art. It has emerged from its historical setting within the "tokonoma" alcove of the Japanese house and entered the modern everyday world: the office window or the conference room, the hotel lobby or public square. In the same way, Ikebana is no longer the exclusive province of arrangers or artists in Japan, but counts among its devotees professional and amateur designers in all nations and walks of life.

With this added dimension to the use and meaning of Ikebana, the fundamentals of structure, space and naturalism, which have been developed and perfected over the centuries, have remained the same.

In basic form, an Ikebana arrangement follows a fixed pattern: a triangle of three points representing Heaven, Earth and Man. Emphasis is placed on linear perfection, color harmony, space and form. If commonplace branch material is arranged in a beautifully flowing line, it takes preference over a mass of blooms or blossoms, regardless of their beauty. Of equal importance is the sense of naturalism: an arrangement encompasses nature in all its aspects - from the tall stately pine to the lowliest blade of grass. Further, an Ikebana usually contains the foliage and flowers of the season at hand, used in their natural state except for the deft "cut" of the arranger's clippers which perfects the line of a branch or the shape of a bud.

There are numerous schools of Ikebana, each following a particular set of rules and arranging techniques, but without losing sight of the fundamentals of the art. And in keeping with the broader emphasis being given to Ikebana in its role in contemporary living, many of the schools seek expression in forms that reach beyond traditional styles.