Earliest Beginnings in Buddhism
ad 552–794: Asuka, Shinto, and Nara Periods of Japan
The beginning of ikebana can be traced to the sixth century introduction of Buddhism to the Japanese. Part of the worship involved the offering of flowers (kuge) on the altar in honor of Buddha. In India, the birthplace of Buddhism, the flowers were placed very informally, and sometimes only petals were strewn around. The offering of flowers to Buddha in Japan has been seen in scrolls dating back to the mid-sixth century.
Arrangements in Containers
794–1192: Heian Period of Japan
By the time of 10th century Japan, the Japanese were routinely presenting their offerings in containers. The altar offerings were the responsibility of the priests of the temple. The first teachers and students were priests and members of the nobility. But soon appreciation of flowers in a vase unrelated to religious worship became popular.
Influence of the Samurai
1192–1333: Kamakura Period of Japan
In the Kamakura period, the samurai, an elite warrior class, brought great lifestyle and fashion changes into the whole of Japanese society. At this time, it became fashionable to create a tokonoma, a small sacred alcove, in a zashiki or Japanese room. The tokonoma would contain a flower arrangement, incense and a candle. Because of the alcove space, the traditional styles of Ikebana were designed to be viewed only from the front.
A New Art Form is Born
1392-1573: Muromachi Period of Japan
By the end of the fifteenth century, ordinary people, not just the imperial family and its retainers, appreciated flowers in a vase.
At that time, a new attitude toward flower arrangements was also coming of age. Arrangers did not want to simply put flowers into a vase. Yoshimitsu Ashikaga, the Muromachi shogun, held hanaawase (arranging and viewing flowers) at Kitayama-dono Palace during the Star Festival.
A master arranger of that time was a priest from Rokkakudo Temple in Kyoto who specialized in altar arrangements that were filled with creative meaning instead of showing only the allure of flowers. He lived by the side of a lake, for which the Japanese word is ike. The word bo means priest. When combined with the possessive particle no, the master arranger became known as “priest of the lake,” or Ikenobo. Eventually, the name Ikenobo became attached to the priests at the temple who specialized in these altar arrangements. Soon, other priests sought them out for instruction. Thus began the development of an art form with fixed requirements. Today, Rokkakudo Temple is considered the birthplace of ikebana and Ikenobo its first and oldest school.
1603-1926: Edo to Taisho Periods of Japan
It was during the these periods that Ikebana truly grew into an essential part of the fabric of Japanese Culture. The term 'Kado" (meaning Way of Flowers) was used fo rthe first time. Many different Schools of Ikebana were founded and the title of Iemoto was first used. By 1899, Ikebana was included in the Girls' High School (optionally) as part of the Confucian Good Wife Good Mother education.