Pop Japan

Ikebana is the traditional Japanese art of flower arrangement. But unlike other kinds of arrangement from other countries, the ikebana has a more philosophical purpose that merely just arranging flowers for a bouquet or as a gift.

The technique is all about the spiritual fusion of the creator, who is the human being, and the materials used, which are the flowers, plants and other natural materials. The ikebana artist's intentions are of optimum importance, that it affects the process in which the arrangement is done. Because of this, ikebana is actually an art for self-expression. Because of this, the techniques does not really focus on the aesthetics of the flowers but make use of stems, branches and leaves to better express the feelings of the ikebana artist.

Photo by Sorin Mazilu. Licensed under Creative Commons. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en)

Tags: ikebana, traditional japanese art, flower arrangement, philosophical purpose, creator, human being, materials, plants, fusion, self expression, aesthetics, feelings