In the period of rapid economical growth in 1960s and 70s, Ikebana became a brand and attracted many young women. My investigation revealed that Ikebana had two sales points at that time, as modern art and as training to become a good housewife.
We should note that the image women sought through the Ikebana brand was a reflection of what Japanese men wished for in a woman. They wished for women who could make a nice home and who were intelligent enough to understand Western art.
I wonder when Japanese men started to seek such women. They are often depicted in Japanese films and literature until the 1980s. That is another topic I would like to think about some other time.
However, since the late 1980s when it became possible for women to seek equal opportunity in the work place, women started to look for a more career oriented brand. What was the brand that could make people seem intelligent and be more useful for work?
It was probably English conversation. You may have noticed in the 1990s that more and more English conversation schools opened in your neighborhood, while more and more Ikebana schools closed. That was the end of the Ikebana boom. My discussion so far has only been an outline of the Ikebana boom and I’ll talk more about it in depth from the next issue.
Somehow many people don’t seem to realize that I teach Ikebana in Melbourne. If you are interested, see the details in my website and join our class. Also, free Ikebana calendars for 2014 are available to download from www.shoso.com.au
I would like to show my commercial work gain this month. This is a part of our home party package that consists of 1 medium arrangement like this one and the 2 table arrangements. I used a wire ball to fix the flower for this arrangement.
http://www.shoso.com.au
https://www.facebook.com/ikebanaaustralia
