Description
Ikebana is the ancient art of flower arrangement, the foundation of Japanese culture, in the same way as the art of the tea ceremony. This treatise illustrates the teaching of ikebana, the technique of finding harmony between plant parts (various foliage, reeds, grasses, etc.), plants, flowers, branches and stumps through vase compositions. The custom of placing flowers on temple altars began in 538 AD when Chinese monks introduced Buddhism to Japan. Flower arrangements were made for religious rites and ceremonies, in a dedicated space. Originally practised by men for centuries, and held in high esteem by the samurai, the art of flower arranging reached its apogee in the 16th century. Priests, scholars, poets and artists, aristocrats and warriors, wealthy city dwellers escaping from everyday worries were fervent followers of this marvellous form of returning to oneself, combining aesthetics and spirituality.
Among the various rules and schools that have appeared in the history of ikebana, this section illustrates the traditional formal rikka style of the original ikenobo school, characterised by the presence of upright branches and flowers, with a marked verticality, and in which the beauty of a natural landscape is expressed in a single vase. These floral arrangements by the great masters of the Rokkaku-do school and their disciples [from the time of the Ashikaga shogunate (1336-1573)] were compiled and published by Igai Sansaemon in Kyoto in 1673; they are printed in xylographic form and hand-coloured using the watercolour technique known as gansai.
Characteristics
Author : Frédéric Girard
- Number of pages
- 136
- Publication date
- 10/04/2024
- Dimensions
- 22.5 cm x 34 cm
- Publisher
- Citadelles & Mazenod
- Categories
- Bookshop & Media, Arts