what is ikebana

The practice of Ikebana started hundreds of years ago in the temples of Japan. The placing of offerings at temple altars had been a practice in Japan since very ancient times in both the Shinto and Buddhist traditions. This included the offering of flowers to honor and please the Gods, Saints, Ancestors and Spirits. Eventually the monks and priests making these offerings began to arrange them in ways which they felt were both pleasing and that represented the beauty of the natural world. 

Over time this became the practice of Ikebana, spreading from temples to the homes of nobles and wealthy merchants eventually coming to be enjoyed by people from all walks of life in Japan as we know it today. Over this time a number of different styles and approaches to ikebana have become formalized into specific schools each with their own particular practical skills, aesthetic sensitivities and tools. Sogetsu Ikebana is one of these and is the school of ikebana that I have been studying for many years. 

 In 1927, when everybody believed practicing ikebana meant following established forms, Sofu Teshigahara recognized ikebana as a creative art and founded the Sogetsu School. Anyone can enjoy Sogetsu Ikebana anytime, anywhere, using any material. You can place Sogetsu Ikebana at your foyer, in you living room or on your kitchen table... Sogetsu Ikebana enhances any hotel lobby or banquet rooms, shop windows and huge public spaces. It will suit any kind of space, occasions, Japanese or Western and enrich its atmosphere.

The Japanese art of flowers is attracting unexpected attention in the world. In order to meet such an expectation, Sogetsu school has created Sogetsu textbooks to help people around the world learning Sogetsu Ikebana. The textbooks are available in both English and Japanese. These are the textbooks my curriculum are based on. 

I began studying ikebana in 1998 in Silicon Valley as a personal practice to quiet the mind amid a demanding professional life. What began as meditation through flowers gradually became a lifelong artistic exploration of form, space, movement, and the expressive natures. Through ikebana, I seek to reveal the quiet presence and individual voice of each material, allowing flowers to exist beyond decoration and into expression.

My artistic foundation is rooted in Sogetsu Ikebana, whose contemporary spirit and openness deeply resonate with me. I have pursued advanced study through private instruction and workshops at the Sogetsu School Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, and had the honor of studying with Headmaster Akane Teshigahara during my visits to Japan. I became a certified teacher of the Sogetsu Ikebana School in 2019. As a teacher, I encourage each student to develop their own sensibility and relationship with materials, honoring both the Sogetsu tradition and the freedom of individual expression. I teach, exhibit, and create site-responsive arrangements for exhibitions, businesses, and personal spaces, bringing the evolving nature of Sogetsu Ikebana into contemporary life.