From the Agency for Cultural Affairs. The table below shows its history step by step.
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| 14th century (mid) | A picture scroll, “Boki-e,” shows a pair of vases with plants standing in them at a poetry gathering. |
| 15th century | A record, “Yamashina-ke Raiki,” has words for placing plants in a vase, such as shin (the main branch) and shitakusa (the low plants). |
| 1559 | Date written in “Mon’ami Kadensho,” a book on decorating rooms, said to be left by Mon’ami, who served the shogun. |
| Early Edo period | The style called rikka (“standing flowers”) is set in order. |
| 1673 | “Rikka-zu narabi ni Sunamono” shows rikka by Ikenobo Senko II and others. |
| 1683 | “Kokon Rikka Taizen,” a book on how to make rikka, is published. |
| 1684 | “Nageire Kadensho,” a guide to nageire, a natural style, is published. |
| 1698 | “Rikka-zu,” pictures of rikka by the head priest Ikenobo of Chohoji temple and his pupils, is published. |
| 1769 | “Heika Gunsai” shows arrangements by many people. |
| Late Edo period | The style called seika is set in order. |
| Meiji period and after | Schools work together; styles such as moribana take shape. |
| 2024 | On October 18, the Council for Cultural Affairs recommends registering kado as an Intangible Cultural Property. |
In ikebana, the arranger chooses seasonal plants and flowers and a vase to suit a traditional style. With tools such as flower scissors, the arranger shapes the plants and places them in the vase using traditional techniques.
In this way a scene of nature and a feeling of the season are made again. Through the beauty and life of the plants themselves, the arranger shows the nature, season, spirit and sense of beauty that they have in mind.
Since ancient times, people in Japan have enjoyed plants and flowers as things to look at. In literature such as “The Tales of Ise,” there are scenes of cut branches and flowers placed in a vase.
After Buddhism came to Japan, temples began to offer plants and flowers standing in vases to decorate the Buddha and the temple hall. This is called kuge.
From the Muromachi period, flowers standing in vases, called tatebana, were used at events such as the Tanabata festival, and by nobles and samurai to decorate their homes. Over time, people worked out how to compose and place the plants.
As the ways of making tatebana were put in order, a style called rikka was set in the early Edo period. Books with pictures of rikka by Ikenobo and his pupils were published in 1673 and 1698.
While rikka was in fashion, people also grew interested in nageire, a way of placing flowers in a vase in their natural shape. It was welcomed by merchants and townspeople, and a guidebook was published in 1684.
From the middle of the Edo period, many people worked out new ways to shape plants and hold them in the vase. In the late Edo period, this led to the style called seika. A color print of 1862 shows a person bending a branch with their fingers.
In the Meiji period, Western culture changed how people lived and how they saw tradition. The ikebana schools formed groups across schools, worked together, and sorted out their styles. Styles such as moribana took shape.
A survey by the Agency for Cultural Affairs in 2020 found that fewer people have tried ikebana, as ways of life have changed.
On October 18, 2024, the Council for Cultural Affairs recommended to the Minister of Education that kado be registered as an Intangible Cultural Property, and that the Japan Ikebana Traditional Culture Association be recognized as the group that carries on its skills.
There is no single right answer. Talking it over with someone at home is a good way to learn.