Ikebana for Dummies

Tonight I went to my third ikebana class. I now know that I am studying under a sensei of the Enshu school which is famous for traditional arrangements which tend to exaggerate the natural curves of branches.

However, I am focusing on moribana style arrangements. Moribana is thankfully the simplest of the ikebana styles and therefore the most suitable for beginners like me.

In moribana, you use a shallow bowl and a kenzan instead of a tall cylindrical container like my Enshu focused classmates. I also get to use way more flowers and many fewer tree branches. Yay!

Today, I tried my hand at arranging some yellow chrysanthemums (きく), daisies, and purple & white "Toruko Kikyo"(トルコききょう) which translates to "Lisianthus Eustoma Russelianum." Good grief! The Japanese name is easier! The best part about these flowers is that they (apparently) are native to Texas. That's news to me.

Some things I learned: Ikebana has a lot of rules. I do not know many of them. My ikebana-sensei loves Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas". That, sadly, is not a crucial rule and won't be on the test.

Ikebana Class

Yesterday, I went to my first ikebana (flower arranging) class with my landlord's wife, Tanaka-san. The class was held for just the two of us at the ikebana headmaster's apartment, who just happens to live on our block.

My first attempt at arranging was completely wrong. The teacher politely and slowly removed each flower and tree branch and replaced them in more of an ikebana accepted aesthetic manner. She said she knew what I "meant to do." Then, I got to dismantle the whole thing and try again. My second attempt was apparently really good. The only down side is... I have no idea what I did differently. :)

My third attempt was my homework after class. This is the version you see above. I'm pretty sure it does not properly delineate the space. Maybe it is just less impressive looking because we don't have a tokonoma (special alcove in traditional Japanese homes especially for displaying flower arrangements) in our apartment.

The teacher does not speak any English and unless we are planning to discuss basic salutations, ordering food, counting, or telling the time and date... I am useless in Japanese. So, that was interesting. Tanaka-san basically had to translate in both directions. She was amazing!

It is also important to note that chestnuts are well protected by spikes. One shouldn't squeeze them. Seriously.

On a similar note, kenzan are metallic Japanese versions of American flower arranging "frogs". These have sharp spikes which help firmly fix the flowers and branches in place. They also should not be pressed with delicate fingertips.

But, it was a lot of fun. I am looking forward to next class.