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*''Other Names'': 華道、花道 ''(kadô)''
*''Japanese'': 生け花, 活け花 ''(ikebana)''

''Ikebana'', also known as ''kadô'' ("the way of flowers"), is a traditional Japanese art of flower arranging.

Ikebana is said to have had its start as a codified art form in the 15th century. For formal occasions, flowers were simply arranged standing up vertically in a Chinese [[celadon]] [[porcelain]] or bronze, or in some other form of vase, which was then displayed atop a [[lacquerware]] dish in the ''[[tokonoma]]'' (display alcove) of a ''shoin'' space. This was known as ''tatehana'' (standing flowers). Another style, known as ''nageiri-bana'' ("thrown-in flowers"), in which flowers were arranged somewhat more naturally, in a more relaxed manner, was used to create displays for more informal occasions.

Ikebana evolved in the 16th century, alongside [[tea ceremony]], into several more formal and codified styles for arranging flowers for display (e.g. for display in a tearoom, to be viewed and appreciated by guests at a tea gathering). A style known as ''rikka'' (using the same characters as for ''tatehana'' 立花), involving the careful arrangement of a variety of flowers into a formal composition, became perhaps the chief predecessor to the most formal and mainstream form of ikebana today. This style, associated with the consumption of ''[[matcha]]'' in formal tea ceremony emerged first in Kyoto, and then spread to Osaka and Edo. Meanwhile, the ''nagairi-bana'' style developed (especially among townspeople) into a style known as ''seika'', or "living flowers" (using the same characters as for ''ikebana'' 生花), and became particularly popular among drinkers of ''[[sencha]]''.

The use of bamboo baskets - and not only ceramic or bronze vases - also became a prominent element of flower arrangement and display in the 17th century.

One particularly prominent school of ''ikebana'', the [[Ikenobo|Ikenobô]] school, today based at a large and prominent headquarters near Karasuma-Sanjô in central Kyoto, traces its origins to a man named [[Ikenobo Senko|Ikenobô Senkô]] who demonstrated flower arranging before [[Emperor Go-Nara]] in [[1530]]. The school (and its founder) may take its name from the "monks' quarters by the pond" (''ike no bô'') at [[Rokkakudo|Rokkakudô]], a temple in Kyoto that claims to be the site of the origin of the art of ''ikebana'' itself, and which remains a major center of Ikenobô activity today.<ref>Plaques on-site at Rokkakudô.</ref>

The practice of ''ikebana'' spread and became quite popular in the Edo period as a refined cultural and social activity, alongside numerous other arts such as [[Noh]] chanting, [[shamisen]] music, poetry circles, and tea for amateur enthusiasts.<ref>Rebecca Corbett, ''Cultivating Femininity: Women and Tea Culture in Edo and Meiji Japan'', University of Hawaii Press (2018), 51.</ref>

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==References==
*Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere, ''Crafting Beauty in Modern Japan'', University of Washington Press (2007), 21.
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[[Category:Art and Architecture]]
[[Category:Sengoku Period]]
[[Category:Edo Period]]