Melbourne Ikebana Festival, 29 and 30 August 2026ikebanafestival.com

Wednesday, 20 September 2023

How to Teach Ikebana (and Its Essence)


Application opens in November 2023. Book from our Schedule page. 

Visit our Curriculum page to find out why our one-year Ikebana Dojo program would help all ikebana students and teachers.  

We believe that there is a gap between basic styles and freestyles in many ikebana courses. After learning basic styles, students are encouraged to make freestyles such as "vertical arrangement" or "horizontal arrangement".  However, where is the connection between the basic and freestyles? The approach used in such courses can be called a style-based approach to freestyle ikebana. Such courses make many students confused, and will never teach the most important aspect of ikebana: Meditation. 

Unfortunately, many ikebana practitioners, in particular outside Japan, are learning freestyle ikebana using the style-based approach, copying good "designs"(or something visible), and producing ikebana-like works that lack vital energy. The style-based approach is useful in learning basic styles because you can usually follow diagrams to make a good ikebana. 

To make a good freestyle ikebana, however, you need to develop a different competence to see and actualise invisible principles through meditation. Those ikebana principles are not easily visible but recognizable if gazed at by a selfless mind. We call such an approach the principle-based approach, which we use in Ikebana Dojo. We are trying to teach ikebana as art not as design. 

Our courses intend to teach the true essence of ikebana. 


上記の英語をGoogleの翻訳機能で日本語に訳してみました。下記の通り驚くほど性能が向上していますね。


申し込みは 2023 年 11 月に開始されます。スケジュール ページからご予約ください。


私たちの 1 年間のいけばな道場プログラムがすべてのいけばな生徒と教師に役立つ理由を知るには、カリキュラム ページをご覧ください。


多くのいけばなコースでは、基本スタイルとフリースタイルの間にギャップがあると私たちは考えています。基本的なスタイルを学んだ後は、「縦配置」「横配置」など自由なスタイルを作っていきます。しかし、ベーシックとフリースタイルの関係はどこにあるのでしょうか?このような講座で行われるアプローチは、フリースタイルいけばなに対するスタイルベースのアプローチと言えます。このようなコースは多くの生徒を混乱させ、生け花の最も重要な側面を決して教えません。瞑想。


残念なことに、多くの生け花実践者は、特に日本国外で、スタイルベースのアプローチを使用してフリースタイル生け花を学び、優れた「デザイン」(または目に見えるもの)をコピーし、生命エネルギーに欠ける生け花のような作品を制作しています。スタイルベースのアプローチは、通常は図に従うことで優れた生け花を作成できるため、基本的なスタイルを学ぶのに役立ちます。


しかし、優れたフリースタイル生け花を作るには、瞑想を通じて目に見えない原理を理解し、実現するための別の能力を開発する必要があります。これらの生け花の原則は、簡単に目に見えるものではありませんが、無私な心で見つめれば認識できます。このようなアプローチを私たちは原則ベースのアプローチと呼び、いけばな道場ではそれを採用しています。


私たちのコースは生け花の真髄を教えることを目的としています。


https://www.shoso.com.au 

Wednesday, 13 September 2023

Hanadayori Night in Ho Chi Minh City


Message from Shoso Shimbo, PhD

9 September 2023

Thank you for coming to our performance tonight. 

This was a very challenging experience for me. I had to work with a new site, new materials, & new staff. I know the site, materials and staff are all great, but I was still anxious. All I could do was to do my best to actualise my new design. 

According to Japanese mythology, when the heavenly gods created Japan, they were so impressed with the living energy of the reeds in the wet lands that they decided to send their descendants to introduce rice farming and rule the nation. 

The god met a beautiful princess, konohananosakuyahime, in Kyushu, and they got married and their descendants became Japanese emperors. Sakihana, one of the Hanadayori perfumes comes from the name of this princess.    

I often wish I could express a living energy that would impress the heavenly gods in my work. I hope that my work this time has a small part of that sort of energy. 

I would like to thank so many people who made it possible to realise this special event. 
First, Yen and her team worked so hard for me. They were so kind and efficient. I feel so grateful that they have made this a very special event for me. 

Hanadayori was a small part of the Wa Melbourne Ikebana Festival. It asked ikebana artists around the world to create an ikebana work according to the request chosen for them. It aimed to promote ikebana and our ikebana festival. But Metascent became a sponsor of the Wa Melbourne Ikebana Festival and Yen took our Hanadayori project to the next level. 

To support the Wa Melbourne Ikebana Festival, Metascent has created a new set of perfumes inspired by Japanese culture. We are so excited with this collaboration. We hope many of you will appreciate the hanadayori perfumes and that you will have a chance to visit or exhibit at the  Wa Melbourne Ikebana Festival in September 2024. 

I am also grateful to Mr Duc Tri and his musicians. It is a great honour to be able to work with such talented and highly regarded musicians. 

Thank you also my flower sponsor, Dalat Hasfarm. Their high quality flowers were crucial for my work today. Thank you very much.

I am also thankful to the Gem centre and its team. It is great to show my work on such a world class stage. Thank you very much. 

https://www.shoso.com.au 


Tuesday, 12 September 2023