I ‘d like to summarise what I have been writing about Ikebana and art. Their relationships became particularly interesting for me in studying the two periods: from 1920’s to 1950’s and current.
Ikebana has been influenced significantly by Western art in the birth of free style Ikebana in the 1920’s and its boom after the war. Generally Ikebana is regarded as a Japanese traditional art form, but it would not be what it is today without the influence of Western art. How the notion of Ikebana as Art influenced the creation of free style Ikebana and how it was perceived by Japanese during the Ikebana boom, which claimed Ikebana as art, are fascinating topics for further research. I’d like to welcome such research for our journal, International Journal of Ikebana Studies.
Also I’m interested in the relationship in pursuing my own art practice. How can I make Ikebana effective in the context of the contemporary art is a crucial issue for an Ikebana artist as well as a contemporary sculptor. An interesting artist for me is again Takashi Murakami, who made Manga effective as an art form in the context of contemporary art.
In this issue, I would like to show my table arrangement for the Victorian government. When they had a special dinner inviting Japanese guests, they chose my works. I asked Mr Hanashima to create 15 bamboo containers and used florist form to fix the flowers.
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