The centuries-old Japanese art of ikebana draws those seeking calm
[September 22, 2026]
By YURI KAGEYAMA
TOKYO (AP) — Ikebana, the Japanese art of arranging flowers, is a form
of expression that dates back more than 500 years. It continues to
blossom, quietly, not only with traditionalists but also with newcomers
who find its blend of creativity and mindfulness to be restorative.
Ikebana can be a bit like solving a puzzle, except there’s no fixed
answer. Because each flower, and human individual, is different, there
are multiple solutions.
“There’s a ‘detox’ purifying factor, and a healing,” says Hiroyuki
Okada, 40, who began taking lessons in ikebana about seven years ago. He
now teaches Ikenobo, the oldest of three major ikebana schools.
Okada, who also teaches backflips to anyone who wants to learn, usually
wears silver chains and jeans, but he wears a nice kimono when he
formally demonstrates his arrangements. He considers himself typical of
those drawn to ikebana today, people looking for joy, purpose, or solace
from the daily grind or pain of modern life.
“In arranging (flowers), you are dealing with the life that is there,
the beauty, of course, but you find what’s in your heart,” said Okada.
“You come face to face with yourself.”
The Kyoto-based Ikenobo school, which is rooted in Buddhism, now has
chapters around the world.
Okada's previous job at a nonprofit involved talking to people from
around the world, and he realized how different — and alike — people
were. When he switched to his current job, at a flower shop, he decided
to take up a pursuit that was Japanese, so he could explore that aspect
of himself, and one that could be done for a long time, alone.
Observing how flowers and plants grow is part of the art
Ikebana involves interacting with nature, although on a small scale —
usually in a little vase.
“It is about the relationship of the creator with the flowers,” said
Senko Ikenobo, headmaster-designate of the Ikenobo school.
Her family dates back generations to the originators of the art. Her
father is the current headmaster.
Jeannette Haviland-Jones, professor of social psychology at Rutgers
University, says studies have shown “that flowers and even flower scents
promote happiness in people. We suggested a coevolutionary theory for
this in which flowers became the ‘pets’ of the plant world.”
Besides a flower's beauty and fragrance, the feel of its petals and
leaves to the touch is crucial, like petting a kitten or a puppy,
according to Okada.
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This photo released by Hiroyuki Okada shows a free-style Ikenobo
ikebana arrangement in Tokyo on March 11, 2026. (Hiroyuki Okada via
AP)
 Ikebana can be for everyone
There are toddlers who do Ikenobo, copying their moms, and there are
devoted centenarians. The headmaster-designate says she has seen
ikebana help women who are juggling work and motherhood, or taking
care of aging parents.
Ikebana has a healing effect similar to that of yoga, meditation or
play, says Mayu Shimizu, who works for an online educational service
and has been taking lessons from Okada for about three years.
“I like this moment of nothingness when you are concentrating on the
flowers before you,” she says. “My mind feels clearer. I feel more
at peace, and gentle.”
Flowers portray the stages of human life and connect people
One traditional Ikenobo arrangement is shoka shofutai, which
attempts to arrange the flowers, leaves and branches as they might
look in nature, reaching toward sunlight or bending in the wind. The
vase, sometimes crafted from wood or pottery, also becomes part of
the arrangement's vision.
Yet the overall look is pure and simple, expressing the life cycle
of flowers — from blossoming through withering — through three main
elements:
— Shin, the tallest element, is arranged first, representing one's
core, reaching up toward the sky.
— Soe, which is trimmed to about two-thirds the height of the shin
and is placed at the side, expresses the flower’s individuality. The
leaves might be slightly faded, representing the later stages of
life.
— Tai, the third element, is the future. Choose a blossom or fresh
small leaves — things that are being born.
There are also freer, spinoff styles that look more like casual,
Western-style bouquets than the stoic, textbook-oriented shoka
shofutai. That may feel easier, and more fun, for beginners.
Just as ikebana connects a person with flowers, those who practice
the art say it’s also about the passing of the art over generations,
connecting people.
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