 Not satisfied with merely appreciating flowers in a vase, people in the early 16th century (the middle Muromachi period) tried to give deeper meaning to the thoughts accompanying the process of arranging flowers. In other words, they wished to arrange flowers (tateru, to arrange stems in an upright or standing manner), rather than simply placing them in a vase. An earlier attitude of passive appreciation developed into a more deeply considered approach. This approach forms the basis of what we call ikebana .
From the late Kamakura period to the Muromachi period (late 13th -16th century), large contests of flower arranging were held at the Imperial Court on the day of Tanabata (the Festival of the star Vega, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month). These contests were called Tanabata-e . Aristocrats and monks vied with each other in demonstrating their skills, offering flowers in honor of the Festival. According to a 15th century manuscript, the two finest arrangers of the time were the Ikenobo master Senkei and Ryu-ami, a tea master. The description in Hekizan Nichiroku (a diary of the monk Daikyoku, 15th century) of many people vying to see arrangements by Ikenobo Senkei is the first record of Ikenobo ikebana.
Ikenobo refers to the name of the buildings associated with the Shiunzan Chohoji or Rokkakudo Temple in Kyoto, as well as the name of the family which has served in succeeding generations as head priests of the temple. The Rokkakudo has been popular from ancient times as a place for the worship of Kannon (the Goddess of Mercy). The townspeople of Kyoto used this temple as a place for gatherings, at which times flower arrangements were placed in the temple.
 |
It was toward the end of the Muromachi period that the earlier simple way of setting flowers in a vase developed into tatehana (tateru, standing; hana, flowers), a more complex style of ikebana. It was also during this period that the oldest extant manuscript of ikebana ( Kao irai no Kadensho , 1486) and the famous manuscript about ikebana by Ikenobo Senno ( Senno Kuden , 1542) were written. Senno, the founder of Ikenobo kado, originated ikebana that was filled with meaning, and which was quite different from previous arrangements that had shown only the prettiness of flowers.
The Azuchi-Momoyama period (late 16th century) brought a renaissance in ikebana as well as a general renaissance in Japanese culture. At this time two Ikenobo masters named Senko completed the rikka style (also meaning standing flowers , but with more complexity than tatehana) and Ikenobo reached a high point of its early history. Paintings depicting the rikka of Senko II, a famous master of Ikenobo, are preserved at the Manshuin Temple (Kyoto), the Yomei-bunko library of the Ninnaji Temple (Kyoto) , the Tokyo National Museum and the library of the Ikenobo Headquarters (Kyoto). The arranging of rikka as a style with seven main parts (shin, shin-kakushi, soe, soe-uke, mikoshi, nagashi, and maeoki) was established at this time.
After Senko II died, rikka gradually became more complex and mannered. The birth of the shoka style of ikebana brought new interest into the world of ikebana.
|
