Wedding Flowers

A basic package for wedding flowers includes a hand tied bouquet (partially wired)  and buttonholes (wired).
My client asked me this time to combine white lilies and calla lilies. It was a challenging combination, but it turned out to be a wonderful naturalistic round bouquet with over 30 rose heads and a French double satin ribbon.
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Ikebana Today 12

We are investigating the Ikebana boom after the WWⅡ. It is a very complicated phenomena but one thing we can say is that most of the participants in the boom seemed to be young women. Although there are no reliable statistics about the number of Ikebana students, some estimates put it up at around thirty million between 1965 to 1975. After the period of rapid economic growth, the number gradually decreased but it was estimated to be more than ten million in 1990. It may be less than it used to be, yet it was a huge number! Why is it that Ikebana was so popular at that time?

My hypothesis is that Ikebana gained new status after the war. I have said before that Ikebana was a sign of status for a virtuous person in the Ikebana boom in the Edo period. What kind of status did Ikebana represent after the war? Certainly many women found it helpful in impressing future partners. Compared to good looks or a good academic record, being an Ikebana student is much easier and more economical. Nevertheless it had a strong effect. What was that?

To answer that question, we need to look at how the Sogetsu school promoted Ikebana after the war. It was founded in 1927 and it gained over one million members in only 30 years or so. If this was a new religious movement or some kind of social movements, there would certainly be much research into it. However, few researchers are interested in Ikebana. Anyway, the point is that Sofu, the founder of Sogetsu school gave a new meaning to Ikebana and lead the Ikebana boom after the war. I’ll talk more about that in the next issue.

This is a wedding bouquet I made for a client who wanted me to use so many different kinds of flowers. This is a good example of how I have to as a professional balance what a client wants and aesthetic effects. 

I’ll  give a talk about Hiroshi Teshigahara at Kyoto University on 1 June. Please come if you can. Contact International Society of Ikebana Studies (ISIS) for the details. http://ikebana-isis.org/  　 

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Mother's Day Flower

My client forgot Mother's Day!
All he can do was to send Shoso's flower next day.

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Ikebana Today 11

How can we interpret the Ikebana boom after the war? This is a very interesting topic which may shed light on one aspect of Japanese society. What I’ll do here is just propose some hypotheses. 

First, let’s consider who was involved in this boom. Ninety five percent of the Ikebana population is women. Some people may think Ikebana is just for women. But Ikebana was for men from its beginnings in the Muromachi period up until the Edo period. It gained popularity among women in the Edo period and became a "must have" skill for women after the Meiji period.

It is also interesting to note that male Ikebana practitioners, 5 % of the Ikebana population, are most likely to be teachers. We can probably assume that the majority of the people involved in the Ikebana boom after the war were young women who practiced Ikebana for a few years as a hobby.

Why did those women choose Ikebana? This is the biggest question. We need to carefully look at the Japanese society at that time. It was a male dominated society. Women were discriminated against in many, often subtle, ways. Since the equal employment opportunity law of 1985 the situation seems to be changing. 

Interestingly, Ikebana seems to be less popular since 1985. I don’t want to say categorically that the popularity of Ikebana is related to gender inequality. But this may be something we need to investigate further in considering the position of Ikebana in Japanese society - is there a link between the popularity of Ikebana and the role of women in society?

I made this display for a graduation ceremony at a TAFE college. This classy oriental lily, the Sorbonne, has a very clear pink at its centre. Look at it for one minute or so in the morning and you feel invigorated straight away.

Ikebana artists are good at this kind of display for events or parties. We should be promoting more how much impact floral displays can have on people. 


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Shoso in a Magazine

Australian Flower Industry Magazine published an article about Shoso Shimbo in their March issue in 2013.
www.australianflowerindustry.com.au

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Display for a Stand at a Trade Show

Fresh flowers can make your stand so impressive at any trade show or expo!

Nice feedback from the client: 

Hi Shoso, thanks for your beautiful installation on the stand.  It's fabulous.  Once again, thanks for helping our stand look so amazing.

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Shoso at International Conferences

Shoso Shimbo has been invited to present papers based on his Masters exegesis. Both papers will be published and will be available at some stage.  

1. "Ikebana to Contemporary Art: Cross Cultural Transformation in Rosalie Gascoigne" (English presentation)
The Asian Conference on Cultural Studies by The International Academic Forum 
When: 24-26 May 2013
Where: Osaka, Japan
http://www.accs.iafor.org


2. 下記の通り京都大学で勅使河原宏と現代芸術についての研究発表を行います。
日本語での発表になります。御都合がつきましたら是非お越し下さい。
詳細は国際生花学会まで。http://ikebana-isis.org/

"Hiroshi Teshigahara in the Expanded Field of Ikebana" (Japanese presentation)
The International Society of Ikebana Studies (ISIS) 
When: 1 June 2013
Where: Kyoto University
http://ikebana-isis.org/

Abstract

The field of free style Ikebana today has expanded to incorporate many themes in common with contemporary Western art, in particular with installation and assemblage. 
From 1980 to 2001 Hiroshi Teshigahara explored the possibilities of installation through his bamboo works. Focusing on his unique attitudes toward the natural materials and his creative strategies of repetition and accumulation, this paper agues that his site specific installations fall within the context of the contemporary Western art, moving beyond the underlying Japanese cultural and spiritual traditions.

要旨

　明治維新以後、西洋芸術の強い影響下発展を続け、その領域を拡張してきた生花の中には、現代芸術、殊にインスタレーションとアセンブラージュとの共通の要素を持つものが出てきた。「生花における拡張領域」第１部ではインスタレーションとの関連で勅使河原宏を扱う。
　１９８０年以降、約２０年に渡って宏は竹を用いた生花作品を通じ、生花のインスタレーションとしての可能性を追求した。現代芸術史上のインスタレーション発生のモチーフは生花のひとつの重要な可能性を示すものとして宏にとって共感できるものであったろう。
　また、宏の自然観、自然素材に対する独特の態度、最後の作品群のグリッド構造（格子）は、いずれもモダニズムをはじめとする西洋芸術の影響を深い次元で受容した必然的な帰結だった。
　竹を割り、線と見なすということは、自然素材を分解し、その表層的属性から切断し、抽象的な単体にまで還元することであり、アセンブラージュ作成の初期段階における既存の関係性から素材を切断、抽出する作業に類似している。共に素材を浄化し、その本質に迫ることを可能にする。続く制作過程では反復と累積というミニマリズムにも共通するアプローチで生花的秩序を内包させた抽象的形態のインスタレーションを創造した。
　現代芸術におけるグリッドの重要性に関し、クラウスはその機能が構造主義が着目する神話の機能に類似していると指摘する。様々な二項対立の矛盾を解消することなく包摂し、精神性への可能性を示唆する。宏の最後の作品群についてはそのような可能性を認めることができよう。
　生花の領域をその極限まで拡大することで、表面上、過激で非生花的な作品でありながら、生花の伝統、精神性を保持し、同時に現代芸術の文脈にそれを位置づけることに成功した稀な例となった。
　「生花における拡張領域」第２部ではロザリー・ガスコインを扱う。現代芸術から生花に移行した宏に対し、生花から現代芸術に移行したガスコインは、宏と対照的な諸相を持ちながら、創造の核心ではある種の共通性を持つ。極端な形態ではあるが生花のアセンブラージュとしての可能性を追求した彫刻家と見なすことができよう。ほぼ同時期に活動した宏とガスコインを現代生花の拡張領域における対極として位置づけることで、新たな視野を得ることができる。

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Ikebana Today 10

The greatest Ikebana boom occurred after World War 2. Jiyu-bana, a free style Ikebana, contributed significantly to the boom. The Juyubana movement became popular between 1926 and 1934. It lead to the New Ikebana movement, avant-garde Ikebana movement, then on to the great Ikebana boom.

It was Suido Yamane who worked hard to establish Jiyubana. He was a very popular Ikebana artist at the time with many students. Because he insisted that there is no need to learn any rules in Ikebana forms, however, he was very unpopular among traditional Ikebana teachers. In one of his articles published after the war, he reported that he was “lynched” by other Ikebana teachers. Although we don’t know exactly what happened, we can assume he had a really hard time. Anyone trying to do something new inevitably has to have a difficult time in the traditional art world.

However, no one has ever been as unpopular as Sofu Teshigahara, who established the Sogetus School in 1927 at the age of 27. He had a traffic accident in 1936. When this news was passed on to some Ikebana teachers who were having a party, they drank a toast for his misfortune. His unpopularity seems to be related to the fact that he later became the most significant Ikebana artist in the 20th century (Kudo,1994). 

In coming issues, I’ll talk more about Jiyubana and its relationship to the Ikebana boom after the war.

This is one of the 12 works I exhibited at my solo exhibition at Monash University to complete my Master of Fine Art Degree. The show was a new beginning for me. Please visit my website to see a 3 min slide show of the show.

http://www.shoso.com.au

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News: Shoso at International Conferences
---------------------------------------------------------------
Shoso has been invited to present his papers based on his Masters exegesis. 

"Ikebana to Contemporary Art: Cross Cultural Transformation in Rosalie Gascoigne" (English presentation)

The Asian Conference on Cultural Studies by The International Academic Forum 

When: 24-26 May 2013

Where: Osaka, Japan

http://www.accs.iafor.org

"Hiroshi Teshigahara in the Expanded Field of Ikebana" (Japanese presentation)

The International Society of Ikebana Studies (ISIS) 

When: 1 June 2013

Where: Kyoto University 

http://ikebana-isis.org/

Both papers will be published and will be available at some stage.  

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Wreath

Flower for consolation.
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Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2013 - 2/2

Artist Statement - MIFGS 2013

From it's very beginnings, the relationship between people and the environment has been central issue in Ikebana. 

Ikebana arrangements are in a sense a symbolic representation of the harmony that can be achieved between people and nature. However it is becoming more and more clear that we cannot achieve harmony with nature without changing our behavior. 

This work, Meditation on Nature, explores the idea of our changing relationship with nature. The abstract forms of the floating bamboo balls and the flowing split bamboo framing the beauty of the floral work suggest the possibility of a rethinking of our interaction with nature.

Sponsorship

Become a sponsor of Shoso to promote your business to over 100,000 visitors to the show. Please contact Shoso by October to discuss several options. Alternatively, you can just leave your advertising materials or business cards in front of our display. We will contact you later. But this is an expensive option.

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Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2013 - 1/2

Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2013 opened from 20 - 24 March. We worked from 8am to 7pm for 3 days to make a six-metre display. The first photo is taken at the end of day 1, and the second one at the end of day 2. The third one is the completed work on 20 March.

My students of Ikebana worked very hard for this project. Thank you Kaori Okui, Risa Yoshimoto, Angeline Lo and Jo Greenthaner. 

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Ikebana Today 9

A common factor in Japanese traditional art forms is the value placed on traditional forms. New creation is always based on tradition. 

Attitudes to tradition vary in Ikebana. Some schools are very strict about learning traditional forms, others encourage students to create free styles after learning basic forms. In general, however, Ikebana is, unlike the tea ceremony or noh theatre, a malleable art, allowing for change in form easily.

Historically, people who advocated new styles in Ikebana would be soundly criticised  Nevertheless, it is interesting to note that there have always been radical innovators who revitalize and make Ikebana bloom. 

In previous issues, I talked about the Ikebana boom in the Edo period. The most recent boom which occurred after the war was actually the greatest boom in Ikebana history. Ikebana became the most popular hobby among Japanese people. The socio-cultural backgrounds of the people taking up Ikebana in such numbers seem to be quite complicated and nobody has ever looked into the phenomena closely. To understand them, we may need to investigate the fundamental characters of Japanese culture. Such an investigation may suggest some insights into the current declining state of Ikebana. 

While the popularity of Ikebana in Edo period was related to the invention of Seika style, that in Showa period was probably related to Free style. Free style movement advocated to arrange flower freely without following traditional rules. 

 Suido Yamane (1893-1966) was the first to advocate free style Ikebana and Sofu Teshigahara (1900-79) established it and made it very popular. Both of them were radical renovators and consequently were criticised heavily. In the next issue, I’ll talk a bit about how much they were hated in Ikebana world. 

This is the work I made for our group exhibition at Kings Arcade, Armadale. Exhibiting Ikebana works in public is important in terms of promoting Ikebana and providing students with a great learning experience. I also hope to promote the kind of flower culture that we can find in Japan. Compared to Australia, there are so much more opportunities to see flower arrangements in Japan. I hope there will be more flower related events here. Please see our students’ exhibition on YouTube. There are links to the videos on my site. 

http://ikebanaaustralia.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/ikebana-exhibition-2012-by-shoso-shimbo.html

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Distilling Nature - Shoso's Exhibition - Feb 2013

Enjoy Shoso's solo exhibition in 3 min on You Tube.
Artist statement:
List of works:

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Ikebana Today 8

So far I have talked about how hard it is to do business with Ikebana. Since Ikebana can never promise financial rewards in the future, it can never be as popular as Western flower arrangements. Many TAFE colleges in Australia offer courses to become florists. But not many people know about Ikebana.

As to the display works, the market generally requires arrangements that are quick to install, cheap and colorfully attractive. I have to admit that the Western flowers are much better suited to such need. 

The clients for Ikebana are those who have a discerned taste and cannot not be satisfied with Western flowers. However, the number of them is rather limited, in particular outside Japan.

Generally Ikebana artists overseas are teaching a small number of students and their income from Ikebana does not reach the taxable amount. As far as I know, there are few truly professional Ikebana artists. 

Can we change Ikebana a bit so that it can adjust to the capitalistic society? I think that is possible and I do have some business plans. However, making Ikebana into business does not come to the top of my priority list at the moment. 

As one of a very few Ikebana artists who are registered as a professional artist under the Australian taxation law, there is one thing that I can say about Ikebana and business. That is there is a huge difference between commercial Ikebana works and Ikebana works as hobby. Not many people seem to realize the difference.

I happened to know probably the most famous and commercially successful Ikebana artist in Japan. I can appreciate his works only when I see them as commercial works. 

I have so far talked about anti-competitive and anti-capitalistic natures in Ikebana. The third characteristics of Ikebana I would like to focus is its malleability. Ikebana can change its form flexibly and it has been so in its five hundred years history.              

I created a naturalistic arrangement this month using Hydrangea and Jasmine from my garden. I used cross bar fixing method for this work.

My solo exhibition opens at Gallery D1.12, MADA, Monash University, Caulfield East between 10am to 4pm on 5, 6, 7 February 2013. Please come and see it.  

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Shoso Shimbo's Exhibition

Please come to Shoso's solo exhibition at Monash University. This is to complete his Master of Fine Arts Degree. Click the invitation to enlarge.

Enjoy the show in 3 min. in YouTube Video.
http://shososhimbo.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/distilling-nature-shoso-shimbo-feb-2013.html

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