Like so many art forms that hail from Japan, ikebana, or the beautifully minimal art of flower arranging, has a sacred history.
It first found its way to Japan when Buddhism was introduced to the country from China and Korea. Back then, Buddhist floral offerings, called kuge, were placed on the altar of temples as a ritual offering to the spirits of the dead.
The offering consisted of three main stems gathered closely at the base and rising from the water as one. The three stems were used to represent the harmonious relationship between heaven, man and earth.
As the popularity of the pared-back floral arrangements grew, they found their way into aristocratic homes, being displayed alongside valuable artworks and hanging scrolls, and by the middle of the 15th century, ikebana was considered a cherished art form independent of its religious history.
Ikebana moved through many styles over the centuries, but it continued to retain strong symbolic and philosophical overtones.
The first teachers and students of ikebana were priests and members of the nobility. However, as time passed, several different schools arose, styles changed, and ikebana came to be practised at all levels of Japanese society. Once a domain of men only, by the turn of the 20th century it had become a popular pastime, almost a requisite for aristocratic Japanese women...