Ikebana Today 22

Let’s consider the relationship between art and Ikebana. More specifically, did Ikebana really become a form of Western art during the Ikebana boom after the war?

We need to review briefly the historical background to answer this question. After the Meiji restoration, the concept of fine art was introduced to Japan. Some Ikebana artists tried to develop Ikebana into an art form. Note that there was a general trend to Westernize Japanese culture and society at that time. This trend became even more prominent after the war. The transformation of Ikebana into art was supported by a great many people and resulted in the great Ikebana boom.

As I mentioned before, this phenomenon is a really interesting case study in cultural transformation. Changes in Ikebana reflect the changes in Japanese society and culture including spiritual orientations. 

Before discussing further about the relationship between Ikebana and art, we need to clearly define Ikebana and art in this context. First, what is Ikebana? There are many definitions of Ikebana but most of them seem to be too personal or too abstract to be useful for critical thinking. I may need to present my own definition to be able to move forward. I’ll talk about what Ikebana is from the next issue.

This month I would like to show my work for the office opening event of Olympus Australia in February 2014. It was a great cultural event with many renowned Japanese artists and performers invited to entertain. With beautiful golden screen at the back, my work has to be strong.      

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Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show 2014

This work Frame is part of a larger interactive project, Showcase 2014, designed specifically for the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2014. Showcase has a physical element in this work here, and a virtual element on Facebook. 

Shoso invites you to complete the virtual element by uploading a photo of you and your friends with Frame as a background. To be part of Showcase 2014, stand outside the exhibit and take a photo using Frame as a backdrop. Then follow the instructions below to upload your best photo. Check the ShosoMIFGS Facebook page the next day to see your contribution to Showcase 2014. 

It took us three days to set up the work and many of Shoso's students volunteered to help set up and break down. Thank you Jo, Emalia, Angeline, Jennie, Risa & Akemi for your great help. Without your help, we could not complete the work in time.  

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Lorne Sculpture Biennale

Shoso Shimbo was one of the 20 artists selected for the Scupturescape in the Lorne Sculpture Biennale 2014.

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Ikebana Today 21

Now, let’s consider relationship between Ikebana and art. Our focus is Sofu’s statement, “Ikebana is Art”, that brought about the great Ikebana boom after the war. What did it really mean and what was the influence of that statement on Ikebana?

First, we have to think why Sofu had to make such a statement. We can easily assume that people in general did not think Ikebana was art at that time, therefore Sofu’s statement was controversial but meaningful. If everybody thought Ikebana was art, nobody would make such a statement. 

Sofu’s view is easy to understand and was widely accepted. Traditional Ikebana is not art because everybody makes similar arrangements. Ikebana as art should be free, allowing each person to express his or her individuality. As I said before, this idea is not his own original one and I just wanted to review the outline of Sofu’s argument this time.  

Almost 50 years have passed since the beginning of the great Ikebana boom. It is a good time to reconsider the relationship between Ikebana and art. In order to start such a discussion, it is necessary to define clearly what is Ikebana and what is art. We may start to talk about the definition of Ikebana in the next issue.        

This month I would like to show an Ikebana arrangement I made for delivery. Although it is quite an unusual concept for traditional Ikebana, I have to accept these kinds of orders as an Ikebana artist working outside Japan. I used down-sticks and florist foam to fix flowers. The container is to give away. As it is a delivery item, the size has to be easy to carry. To meet popular demand, I used a lot of flowers, although that is not really my style. Actually, I believe that commercial Ikebana is a new style that not many Ikebana schools are interested in developing. Maybe I should found a new Ikebana school to develop this commercial style!  

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Ikebana Today 20

This time I’d like to talk about Ikebana and Art. One of the driving forces for the Ikebana boom after the war was a slogan by Sofu Teshigahara that Ikebana is art. I have already talked about why the word “art” had such magical power at that time. So what happened to the slogan during the 1980’s when Ikebana was declining?

In 1960’s, the word “art” seemed to have a special attraction. It meant something intelligent and cultural. But it does not seem be so special for women in 1980’s. The key word “art” (as in Western art) no longer seemed to be so effective in promoting Ikebana among young women. My focus is on the changing perception of the word “art” among young women in Japan.    

Since the 1960s, there have been many more opportunities for them to experience authentic Western art and a wider variety of art activities. Ikebana is no longer unique as an artistic activity. 

My third hypothesis about the reason for the end of Ikebana boom is that the word “art” has comparatively lost its appeal for young women. 

     

However, the role the word “art” played in the Ikebana boom was actually rather superficial. What is important is that the movement to make Ikebana into art had a significant influence on the development of Ikebana after the war. I’ll talk more about this complicated topic from the next issue.  

I made this work for my client who wanted me to use three Christmas colors. It is a rather difficult request that requires careful calculation to find the right balance of colors and flower materials.

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Ikebana for a Special Dinner

My client, a designer asked me to make an Ikebana arrangement for her wedding reception. She initially rejected all of my proposed designs and requested not to make a "pretty " arrangement. I used a container by Hiroe Swen and created this dynamic arrangement using her favourite lilies. I received fantastic feedback.  

The venue was the RACV club, Melbourne. Their staff was so helpful. Thank you.

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Ikebana Today 19

I have presented two hypothesis regarding why the great Ikebana boom ended. First, a training to become good house wives has become less important. Second, the Japanese traditional spiritual vales have lost their integrating function in a wealthier society. As the second hypothesis was complicated, I give a supplemental information this time.  

I have written before that Ikebana can be popular again if we can prove the effectiveness of Ikebana as a spiritual training in contemporary society. However, my prediction may be too opportunistic. In particular, if the spiritual training in Ikebana is assumed to be based on the traditional values, it may not attract many people.

I’m not saying that the traditional values based on Shinto, Buddhism or Confucius are meaningless, but we may need to reevaluate these from more contemporary perspective. For instance, environmental issues are significant today. Shinto actually has a very interesting attitudes to nature that we may appreciate. Such attitudes are already inherent in Ikebana. All we have to do is just shift our focus to those aspects that had not received attentions that they deserve.

How about promoting Ikebana as a training to learn new spiritual values and environmental aesthetics that help us regain connection to nature? This may not work instantly, but I think that Ikebana has a potential to contribute to the creation of new spiritual values that the Japanese society is in need of. 

The International Society of Ikebana Studies (ISIS) would play an important role in such reevaluation of Ikebana. Please visit ISIS’s website to subscribe our annual journal.      

This work, “C is for Cat” has been selected as a finalist for the Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award 2013. I showed an aspect of Ikebana as contemporary art with a sense of humor.   

As part of Melbourne Now, I will present a collaborative work, Buto Ikebana with Yumi Umiumare at the National Gallery of Victoria. Please visit my site for the details. http://www.shoso.com.au

    

References

International Society of Ikebana Studies: http://ikebana-isis.org

Watters, A. W. et al. (2013) Occupational engagement and meaning: The experience of Ikebana practice. Journal of Occupational Science, Vol. 20, No.3, pp.262-277. 

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New Year's Display for Koko, the Crown Hotel, Melbourne

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Christmas Art in Ballarat

Shoso Shimbo was commissioned to create a Christmas art recycling old Christmas decorations. His work is open to public till 24 December 2013 in the CBD in Ballarat.  

Newspaper article: http://bit.ly/IRcRjP

This is the design proposal which was accepted. 

Using recycled materials is somehow similar to using natural materials. We need to prepare and transform an object to enhance its essence.

It took us four days to make this display. We worked in rain and hail.    

This photo was taken at the end of Day 2. Click the image to enlarge. 

The magical Christmas tunnel was ready at 5pm on Day 4. Thank you very much Risa Yoshimoto and Julie Collins for great help. Julie Collins is a well regarded sculptor and works for the city of Ballarat. Kate Partridge from the city of Ballarat's Community Events and the Art and Culture Unit also worked so hard for this project. Thank you very much.

We were pleased to see so many people walk through the tunnel with big smile. 

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Ikebana Today 18

Why did the Ikebana boom end in 1980s? My first hypothesis was that as more young women gained job opportunities they lost interest in a training to become a good house wife. My second hypothesis, which may surprise some people, is that Japanese have become too rich to be interested in Ikebana. 

Ikebana became popular because people assumed that Ikebana is an effective spiritual training which can make good house wives. Consider that assumption carefully. What do Japanese people mean by spiritual training? The basis of Japanese spirituality are positive values in Confucianism, Buddhism and Shinto. 

Questioning the common factors for those values, I suddenly realized that there is one presupposition for most of them. They presuppose that people are poor. Because people are poor, it is valuable to corporate each other harmoniously to gain maximum benefit for the community. Japanese spiritual values are extremely effective not only to overcome poverty but also to make poor people virtuous.   

Then, what happens once Japanese people have achieved wealth that they have never had after the period of rapid economic growth? Japanese spiritual values that do not teach what to overcome after poverty suddenly lose their appeal. Many Japanese people don’t know what to do with wealth. It is necessary to develop new spiritual values in rich society.      

Even if you promote Ikebana as a spiritual training, few Japanese may be interested in spiritual training itself. Generally it is called secularization of society. However, it can be a more serious problem in Japanese society than others. Declining the popularity of Ikebana could be a reflection of the spiritual crisis in Japan.

I would like to show you New Year’s decorations we made this year for Koko Japanese restaurant at crown. It’s a very simple design but there are many little inventions we created in details. We will install them again this year before Christmas.

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Ikebana Today 17

I’d like to talk more about the great Ikebana boom during the rapid economic growth period in Japan. To summarise, what I have proposed so far is that the boom was strategically created by a group of people, in a similar way to the creation of a successful commercial brand.     

Of course, I think that the Ikebana boom is a fantastic cultural phenomenon and it could never happen anywhere else in the world. But why did it happen and why has it now faded? Very few people have investigated these difficult but fascinating questions.  

As I mentioned, Ikebana at that time had two sales points: as training to become a good house wife and as Western art. What we have to understand here is that these two points were contradictory. According to Mirei Shigemori who influenced many prominent Ikebana artists at that time, Ikebana had become Western art by denying its traditional spiritual aspects. Although the general public expected Ikebana to function as training for young women to learn its spiritual aspects and become good house wives, the new Ikebana in principle did not see the spiritual aspects as important.

Once the boom had passed its peak, it is natural that some people started to ask questions about the two sales points of Ikebana. I have already talked about the aspect of the training to become a good house wife. I’ll focus on the artistic aspect of Ikebana from the next issue.

The work for this month is a simple arrangement using anthuriums and iris leaves. Although it is a small work, it is an effective Ikebana work. I used this image for our new Facebook page, Ikebana Gallery. Please like it and enjoy Ikebana works from all over the world. https://www.facebook.com/IkebanaGallery    

November is a busy month for me. My work was selected as a finalist for the Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award and I will also be preparing a Christmas installation for the City of Ballarat. Please visit my site for the details. 

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Internet Ikebana Lesson

One of my students sent me following 2 works and asked for feedback. Please see e-learning page for my feedback. Anyone can now use our Internet Ikebana Lesson. We will soon make it much easier to use for people outside Australia. 

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Gift Ikebana Flowers

Ikebana flower delivery and display is available in Melbourne. Contact Shoso info@shoso.com.au

Price List: http://bit.ly/1l0qrzW
Web: http://www.shoso.com.au/shop_16.html





A: Small

B. Medium

C. Large

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Ikebana Today 16

In the period of rapid economical growth in 1960s and 70s, Ikebana became a brand and attracted many young women. My investigation revealed that Ikebana had two sales points at that time, as modern art and as training to become a good housewife. 

We should note that the image women sought through the Ikebana brand was a reflection of what Japanese men wished for in a woman. They wished for women who could make a nice home and who were intelligent enough to understand Western art. 

I wonder when Japanese men started to seek such women. They are often depicted in Japanese films and literature until the 1980s. That is another topic I would like to think about some other time. 

However, since the late 1980s when it became possible for women to seek equal opportunity in the work place, women started to look for a more career oriented brand. What was the brand that could make people seem intelligent and be more useful for work? 

It was probably English conversation. You may have noticed in the 1990s that more and more English conversation schools opened in your neighborhood, while more and more Ikebana schools closed. That was the end of the Ikebana boom. My discussion so far has only been an outline of the Ikebana boom and I’ll talk more about it in depth from the next issue. 

Somehow many people don’t seem to realize that I teach Ikebana in Melbourne. If you are interested, see the details in my website and join our class. Also, free Ikebana calendars for 2014 are available to download from www.shoso.com.au

I would like to show my commercial work gain this month. This is a part of our home party package that consists of 1 medium arrangement like this one and the 2 table arrangements. I used a wire ball to fix the flower for this arrangement.

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Ikebana Exhibition 2013

Ikebana Exhibition 2013

Postponed! Sorry for any inconveniences. Instead, we will take part in the opening of the White Ribbon Day Art Exhibition at Laurel Lodge, Dandenong on 22 November. http://bit.ly/H2w7tV

Shoso Shimbo and his students present an exhibition of contemporary Japanese flower arrangements.
When: Postponed.
Where: Kings Arcade, 974-978 High Street, Armadale, Vic Australia
Free Admission

EXHIBITION WELCOME

Welcome to the Ikebana exhibition by Shoso Shimbo and his students. The aim of this exhibition is to introduce the Japanese art of Ikebana to people who may not know much about this art form and to give Shoso’s students a chance to show their works.

Ikebana developed as floral displays for the residences of the samurai class in around the 15th century. In the 16th century it was defined as an art form representing nature and as a way of spiritual training. It has played an essential role in the history of Japanese art in which there were several Ikebana booms. 

It is still one of the most popular artistic activities in Japan today. People have come to appreciate the creative and therapeutic properties of this contemplative art, not just in Japan but all over the world. Ikebana can offer a rare but easily accessible opportunity to connect with nature and people.

We are very grateful to many shops in Kings Arcade for hosting our exhibition.

Shoso Shimbo, PhD

Shihan - Sogetsu School of Ikebana

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