Sogetsu School Seattle Branch

About Sogetsu

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From its primitive Shinto origins, the Japanese floral art of ikebana has evolved through the ages as a Buddhist monastic discipline, a samurai warrior discipline, and an abstract modern-day art form. “A different kind of ikebana for a different kind of age” were the words of Sofu Teshigahara, who founded the Sogetsu School of Ikebana in Tokyo, Japan, in 1927. Teshigahara believed that ikebana should be considered part of a lifestyle to be appreciated the world over, rather than an exclusive aspect of Japanese culture to be enjoyed by only a few. The fourth and current Iemoto of the Sogetsu School, Sofu Teshigahara’s granddaughter Akane Teshigahara, has been particularly active in programs teaching ikebana to children, and in stage presentations of ikebana as performance art. She continues to promote the Sogetsu philosophy that anyone can arrange ikebana anywhere, at any time, using any available materials.

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The basic techniques of Sogetsu ikebana are taught throughout the world by instructors aided by textbooks written in Japanese, English and several other languages. Basic styles and variations of moribana (shallow container) and nageire (tall container) arrangements are studied, followed by free style studies. Free style arrangements are often abstract and avant-garde, and are sometimes described as temporary sculptures that feature plant materials. Because people differ from each other, the Sogetsu School encourages students to be individual and imaginative. Regardless of the arrangement style, however, students are taught to always pay respect to relationships such as space, line, mass, depth, movement, color, form, and balance. Sogetsu ikebana arrangements are intended to bring beauty and discovery into the lives of those who create them, and into the lives of those who view them as well.