Ikenobo Ikebana Society of Los Angeles celebrated the living artistry of ikebana at their annual luncheon held at the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center’s Doizaki Gallery on March 23.
Throughout the gallery were examples of their work, beautiful arrangements of flowers, stems, and branches. The Los Angeles Chapter celebrated its 65th anniversary in 2023.
Ikenobo considers not only an open flower but also a flower’s bud beautiful, for within the bud is the energy of life’s opening toward the future. Past, present, future … in each moment plants, and humans, respond to an ever-changing environment.
Together with plants, humans are vital parts of nature, and ikebana arrangements express this awareness.
Ginny Nishigaya served as emcee and welcomed chapter members and guests. President Izumi Minamitani expressed gratitude for the continued support of the organization, especially during its 65th anniversary.
Ikenobo instructors in attendance included: Kiyoko Arimura, Janet Arima, Mayumi Dennis, Kazumasa Kobayashi, Mitsuko Nagayama, Ginny Nishigaya, Li Pan, Jose Salcedo, Ritsuko Shinbashi, Akira Tabata, Jessica Tang, Jennifer Tsai, and Nancy Wong.
Congratulatory remarks were given by Consul General Kenko Sone and Haruo Takehana, president of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Southern California.
Ikenobo Ikebana has chapters throughout the world. Professor Emiko Suzuki traveled from North Carolina, where she is president of the Ikenobo Ikebana Blue Ridge Chapter.
Dressed in formal kimono, Suzuki, with crisp movements and humor, transformed the materials set before her into beautiful arrangements. She is from Hendersonville, N.C., and is a senior professor 3rd grade (Katoku #16) at the Ikenobo School of Ikebana in Kyoto.
She demonstrated arrangements that might have been in the home of a samurai or set for a tea ceremony.
Suzuki graduated from Western North Carolina University with a Master of Arts in Teaching in May 2011 and a Master of Fine Arts in 2014.
For her encore arrangement, Suzuki used fronds of a sago palm that she and Minamitani had found while driving in Los Angeles. She later explained that in North Carolina, her students often use native plants like azaleas, ferns, and rhododendrons.
The demonstration was met with appreciative applause from the gathering.
—Gwen Muranaka