Melbourne Ikebana Festival, 29 and 30 August 2026ikebanafestival.com
Longing for AutumnShoso Shimbo's Solo Exhibition, Distilling Nature, Monash University, February 2013
Christmas Installation for the City of Ballarat, 2013An official servay found that Shoso's magical tunnel was the most popular among the people in the city.
BouquetsShoso's floral works are a special addition to your wedding or other special events.
Bridal BouquetsShoso specialises in fully wired bridal bouquets.

Wednesday, 19 September 2018

Monday, 17 September 2018

Special Ikebana Workshops

By 21:55

All of our instructors (many of them are newly qualified teachers) are ready to teach you. We spent a few weeks reviewing the basic styles and practicing demos. If you are interested in Ikebana but have not done it, this is a great opportunity to try it at a very reasonable rate.   

 Abbotsford Convent, 7 October 2018.
Book tickets for the workshops: http://bit.ly/IkebanaWorkshops
Note: Nine am session is only for men.     

 http://www.shoso.com.au 
https://www.facebook.com/ikebanaaustralia

Monday, 10 September 2018

Ikebana for a Medical Reception

By 23:17

Shoso Shimbo and his students will exhibit their works at Wa.
6 & 7 October 2018: Wa Ikebana Exhibition and Workshops.
https://www.facebook.com/wa.ikebana/


Sogetsu School
Origin 
The Sogetsu School of Ikebana was founded in 1927 by Sofu Teshigahara.
He felt that the strict rules of traditional Ikebana did not allow for individual expression, so after studying and mastering traditional Ikebana he broke away to develop his own school.
The underlying philosophy of the Sogetsu school is summed up in a famous saying by Sofu: ‘Sogetsu Ikebana can be done by anyone, anywhere, anytime, with any kind of material.’
This inclusive and innovative approach to the study allows us to express ourselves freely through our arrangements as we are not restricted by fixed styles, unlike the more traditional ikebana schools.
Sogetsu Ikebana incorporates a wide range of styles, from home arrangements and shop window displays, to large scale works in a variety of venues. Sogetsu styles stimulate us, provide us with beauty, and share the healing powers of plants.
Sofu Teshigahara was the first headmaster (Iemoto) of the Sogetsu Ikebana school.  His daughter Kasumi, a gifted artist, was the second headmaster from 1979 until she died in 1980 at the age of 47. Her elder brother, film director Hiroshi, took over. The current headmaster is Hiroshi’s second daughter and Sofu's granddaughter, Akane Teshigahara, who took over in 2001.
The Sogetsu school was one of the first to have English textbooks. There are currently 49 branches of Sogetsu in Japan (three in Tokyo) and 120 branches and study groups worldwide.

Shoso Shimbo
Dr Shoso Shimbo is a highly accomplished Ikebana artist, sculptor and teacher. He studied Ikebana under the third Sogetsu Head Master, Hiroshi Teshigahara and also has an MA in Japanese Studies, a Master of Fine Art and PhD in Education. Shoso is a qualified garden designer (Japan Horticultural Society), specialising in Japanese gardens. 

Shoso’s skills, expertise and mastery have been recognised in the many awards and acknowledgements he has received over the years. Winner of the Gold Award at the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show, he was also awarded the 2017 Arnold Bloch Leibler Prize in the Yarra Valley Arts/Yering Station Sculpture Awards. He was selected by Belle Magazine as one of Australia’s Top Floral Designers and is a finalist for the Yering Station Sculpture Awards 2018. 
Shoso was a featured presenter at the Asian Conference on Arts and Humanities 2018 in Kobe, Japan. He has won an artist residency in the Biennale of Australian Art (BOAA) for October 2018. 
His recent commissions include a public work of art for the 2015 Archibald Award Exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ballarat and the Wye River Project as part of the 2016 Lorne Sculpture Biennale.
Shoso is a director of the International Society of Ikebana Studies and the Ikebana Gallery Award. He teaches a short course in Japanese Aesthetics at Melbourne’s RMIT University, along with Sogetsu Ikebana courses with students throughout the year. He has written for Ikebana and contemporary art publications and is a regular contributor to the International Journal of Ikebana Studies.
Shoso Shimbo Group
Many of Shoso’s students have qualified as ikebana teachers and begun teaching and working as ikebana artists. His students are also well represented in ikebana awards and floral exhibitions. Akemi Suzuki and Shoan Lo each exhibited large works in the shop window competition at the 2018 Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, while Sophi Ye won first prize in the category of wedding table arrangement. 
Shoso’s students Shoen Loo, Elena Iampolski, Madeleine Duke, Kim Ta, Pulcheria Reeves and Aileen Duke have won Ikebana Gallery Awards, a prestigious international online competition for students of ikebana. 


Contact: Shoso Shimbo
E: shososhimbo@gmail.com
W: shoso.com.au
http://www.shoso.com.au 
https://www.facebook.com/ikebanaaustralia

Wednesday, 5 September 2018

Events Calendar

By 16:39

August 2018: The winners of Ikebana Gallery Award 2018 were announced. http://ikebanaaustralia.blogspot.com.au

6 & 7 September 2018 (to be confirmed): Shoso will create 7 arrangements including a large work for a display suite for a new development in Barenya Court, Kew. This is like a Shoso’s solo exhibition! Volunteer assistants welcome.

7 September 2018: Shoso will conduct a workshop at Holmsglen.

21 September to 6 November 2018: Biennale of Australian Art. Shoso was selected as one of the top 150 artists of the nation for the biennale. Shoso’s artist residency is form 13 to 19 October. http://www.boaa.net.au

6 & 7 October 2018: Wa Ikebana Exhibition and Workshops. https://www.facebook.com/wa.ikebana/
There is a workshop session only for men. Encourage your friend or family to join. http://bit.ly/IkebanaWorkshops

24 October 2018: A new term of Shoso’s course, From Ikebana to Contemporary Art at RMIT Short Courses will start. http://bit.ly/1IFmuyl

28 October 2018: Ikebana worksop at Kazari, Prahran. http://www.kazari.com.au/. A number of great Ikebana containers will be available on and after this day. Please visit Kazari.

28 October - 9 December 2018: Yarra Valley Arts / Yering Station Sculpture Exhibition and Awards 2018. Shoso Shimbo was selected as a finalist for the award. www.yering.com/artgallery 

http://www.shoso.com.au 
https://www.facebook.com/ikebanaaustralia

Friday, 3 August 2018

Events Calendar

By 22:17

August 2018: Finalists and the winner of Ikebana Gallery Award 2018 will be announced. http://ikebanaaustralia.blogspot.com.au 

15 August 2018: A new term of Shoso’s course, From Ikebana to Contemporary Art at RMIT Short Courses will start. http://bit.ly/1IFmuyl

16 & 17 August 2018: Shoso will create 7 arrangements including a large work for a display suite for a new development in Barenya Court, Kew. This is like a Shoso’s solo exhibition! Volunteer assistants welcome.

21 September to 6 November 2018: Biennale of Australian Art. Shoso was selected for the biennale. http://www.boaa.net.au

6 & 7 October 2018: Wa Ikebana Exhibition and Workshops. https://www.facebook.com/wa.ikebana/
There is a workshop session only for men. Encourage your friend or family to join. https://www.trybooking.com/book/event?embed&eid=404074

http://www.shoso.com.au
https://www.facebook.com/ikebanaaustralia

Wednesday, 1 August 2018

Sunday, 29 July 2018

Monday, 23 July 2018

Thursday, 19 July 2018

Saturday, 14 July 2018

Sunday, 1 July 2018

Monday, 25 June 2018

Sunday, 17 June 2018

Daily Meditation: Events Calendar

By 20:35


29 June 2018: Ikebana workshop at Star of the Sea Collage, Brighton. Ikebana in School Program: http://bit.ly/ikebana-in-schools

30 June 2018: Deadline for Ikebana Gallery Award 2018. http://ikebanaaustralia.blogspot.com.au

29 July 2018: Ikebana worksop at Kazari, Christmas arrangements, Prahran. http://www.kazari.com.au/

15 August 2018: A new term of Shoso’s course, From Ikebana to Contemporary Art at RMIT Short Courses will start. http://bit.ly/1IFmuyl

21 September to 6 November 2018: Biennale of Australian Art. Shoso was selected for the biennale. http://www.boaa.net.au

6 & 7 October 2018: Wa Ikebana Exhibition and Workshops. Shoso's students will run a number of ikebana workshops at a special price.  
https://www.facebook.com/wa.ikebana/

Friday, 8 June 2018

Monday, 4 June 2018

Ikebana & Competition

By 22:20

While we try to promote Ikebana Gallery Award (IGA), we sometimes hear the statements like “Our master said that Ikebana should not be judged,” “Why do we have to compete?” There is some truth in those statements. After all, everyone is allowed to have their own beliefs or philosophies. As long as they don’t harass us or act unethically online, we can just ignore them and ask them to leave us alone. If they are persistent, all we can do is to ask them to read the mission statements on our website.

However, there are some points to make about such a narrow view on judging and competition in ikebana.

1. All of the three major ikebana schools (Ikenobo, Ohara & Sogetsu) are running their own ikebana competitions today. They recognise the benefits of competitions in ikebana. But we have to note that they are “the winners” in the field of ikebana in which there are over 1000 schools. Some of the other schools may insist that those winners’ attitudes are not always right and may even develop a negative attitude to competitions in ikebana. Instead of attacking those large schools, some of them may attack us, as we are a small and easy target at the moment.


2. Historically, competitions have always existed in the development of ikebana. However, the concept of competition in ikebana is not the same as those in contemporary professional sports, for example, where winning is highly and sometimes overly valued. 

In principle, ikebana is an inner pursuit. Our main focus is internal growth rather than what expressed externally and therefore not comparable. Accordingly, even after Western Modernism influenced ikebana in 1920’s and 1930’s, competitions that followed the style of Western art were not always well perceived. Some competitions were totally unsuccessful. History of ikebana competitions is a fascinating research topic but I won’t go into more detail here. 

Seeing some ikebana competitions being managed properly and getting appropriate attention today, however, I personally feel that ikebana practitioners are mature enough (or Westernised enough) to enjoy friendly competitions. I am confident that IGA will present a positive case study and will prove to be historically significant as a researcher has already mentioned. Everyone is a winner in IGA.

3. Ikebana discourse overseas is sometimes different from those in Japan. I hear such statement as “ikebana should be this and that” just too often. Some overseas ikebana masters (and their followers) can be more authoritative than masters in Japan. They tend to mystify ikebana. They are often angry and prone to criticise others. In addition they hate competitions. We may need to keep away from those “masters”.

4. As to the benefits and necessities of IGA, please read the following writings. http://ikebanaaustralia.blogspot.com/p/faq.html

http://www.shoso.com.au
https://www.facebook.com/ikebanaaustralia

Search