When you think of the beauty of nature, flowers always spring to mind. Yes, they send a message to everyone who sees them, even just in a drawing. Again, when you think of the art of flower arranging, the word ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging, springs to mind. More than simply putting flowers in a container, ikebana is a disciplined art form in which nature and humanity are brought together. Contrary to the idea of a floral arrangement as a collection of multicoloured arrangement of blooms, ikebana often emphasises other areas of the plant, such as its stems and leaves, and highlights shape, line and form. Ikenobo is the oldest school for ikebana in Japan, having been founded in the 15th century by the Buddhist monk Ikenobo Senno. The school is based in the Rokkakudo Temple in Kyoto. Additionally, it has various chapters around the world. An Egyptian society called the ‘Japanese Society for Culture and Arts', together with the Japan Inter-Culture Foundation, recently organised an ikebana demonstration in the Japanese Language Department in the Faculty of Alsun at Ain Shams University in northeastern Cairo. The purpose of the demonstration was to strengthen the cultural relations between Egypt and Japan. Japanese Professor Haruka Nishida, who teaches the origin of floral art at Ikenobo, said that though ikebana is a creative expression, it has certain rules governing its form. The main rule is that all the elements used in construction must be organic, be they branches, leaves, grasses or flowers. "Ikebana isn't really about making the flowers look as pretty as possible; it's more about expressing oneself as a communicative art form. Each arrangement should describe the arranger's emotions and character as well," he told attendees at the demonstration. Ikebana in the beginning was very simple, according to Nishida, with the arrangements constructed from only a very few stems of flowers and evergreen branches. This first form of ikebana was called Kuge. The styles of ikebana changed in the late 15th century and it was transformed into an art form with fixed instructions. It became a major part of traditional festivals and exhibitions were held occasionally. Then in the 16th century, the Rikka (standing flowers) style was developed as a Buddhist expression of the beauty of nature. It includes seven branches representing hills, waterfalls, valleys and other objects of nature, arranged in a specific way. The Shoka style appeared in the 18th or 19th century. It consists of only three main branches, known as heaven, earth and man. It is a simple style that is designed to show the beauty and uniqueness of the plant itself. In the 20th century, with the advent of modernism, the three schools of ikebana partially gave way to what is commonly known in Japan as ‘Free Style'. A number of students at Ain Shams University attended the demonstration, held in one of the lecture halls. They sat on their wooden benches, each with a vase in front of him or her, along with an ‘oasis', with pins stuck in it. The students listened carefully to the teacher, as he patiently explained technique after technique. They were fascinated by the way he talked so philosophically about the beauty of flowers and nature that you almost felt you'd been transported all the way to Japan. Nishida then chose a flower and started doing an arrangement. "Choose the most beautiful plant you can find. Make sure it's a tall one, ‘looking to the future'. "Then choose another plant to highlight the beauty of the first plant. It should be shorter. Make a space between them and ensure they're pointing in different directions," he said. In ikebana, the soul, not only the shape, is important. "Ikebana can inspire one to identify with beauty in all art forms. This is also the time when one feels closeness to nature, which provides relaxation for the mind, body and soul," Nishida added. The professor then distributed to the participants many beautiful flowers of different length and colours, in addition to special scissors for cutting the stalks. Every student arranged his flowers the way he felt comfortable with. Professor Nishida made a few changes to their ikebana, as he kept on saying, "It's nice to interact with the inaudible words of the plant and its silent movements, before arranging our flowers."
