After school on Wednesday, we were lucky enough to participate in a special after-school session. The teachers used a guiding text, written by Akane Teshigahara (the fourth Iemoto of the Sogetsu School), to introduce ikebana, the art of flower arrangements.

The flowers and plants chosen for us offered the perfect combination of texture, color, and seasonal flare.
Students learned the basic upright style, moribana, which begins with the shin, soe, and hikae elements. These foundational terms describe the architectural basis for the structure and form of traditional floral and plant arrangements.

Porter’s students listening to the sensei before the cutting and arranging began.
Children as young as 4 or 5 years old begin to practice this art form which combines height, width, and depth to create three-dimensional expressions of the heart and mind. Materials include flowers, branches, leaves, and other elements from the natural world (gourds, vegetables) that blend together in color, harmony, and design to reflect the feelings of the person who arranged the composition.
Here’s Elizabeth Davis on the experience…
“Today at Kichijo, we had the opportunity to take a flower arranging class! It was something that many people in our group, including myself, have wanted to do from the start.
In addition to the fun and excitement, the process was very surprising to me. There are so many considerations that go into flower arranging of which I was unaware. It is all so precise.

Flower arranging takes an eye for simple beauty. Here’s a Kichijo student quietly working on the angles in her kenzan.
Every piece is placed at a certain angle in order to have a strong and beautiful structure to the creation. We were also told that the outcome should portray its creator in some way, making all of the flowers different and beautiful in their own way. Even though we each had a slightly different arrangement at the end, they all looked wonderful.
This small exposure to such a surprising and different art form was definitely an incredible experience and I know we are all so grateful for it!”