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INTERIORS ARCHIVE: 529: Trend spotting Trina O'Hara takes us on a tour of international furniture fairs to find the top Japanese designers at work today. 521: Child's play Trina O'Hara checks out the design celebrities hatching playful furniture and accessories for kids. 517: Personal Effects In celebration of the centennial of his birth, Trina O'Hara looks at the life and enduring legacy of Japanese-American designer Isamu Noguchi. 513: Seeing the light Trina O'Hara ponders the latest interior design trend and finds the answer is clear. 505: Lights of fancy Trina O'Hara checks out the contemporary chandeliers and whimsical lighting sculptures fast becoming fine art across the city. 501: Natural causes 493: Living rooms Inspired by the diverse lifestyles of this teeming metropolis, design experts Kyoko Asakura and Jaume J. Nasple-Baulenas have compiled an intriguing look inside the city's private homes. Tama Miyake Lung talks to the authors of Tokyo Houses. 489: Living in the past Art editor John McGee reveals three Tokyo stores that specialize in finding the best of what's old in Japanese antiques. 485: Monochrome marvels Black and white are back in fashion and making their mark in the interior design scene. Martin Webb reports on how to get the look for less. 481: Cut and paste Scrapbooking has swept America, where it's big business, and now it's catching on in Japan. Chris Betros attends a "cropalong." 477: Moss cause A sprinkling of moss can transform any windowsill into a miniature Zen temple. Hanna Kite offers some tips for bringing a little tranquility home. 469: Ikebana for idiots With a plethora of rules and schools, Ikebana can be intimidating, not to mention time-consuming. But who says busy people have to miss out on this ancient art form? Georgia Jacobs gives you the basics on no-fuss flower-arrangement. 466: A dyeing breed Winning fans from New York to Tokyo, designer Akiyoshi Yaezawa is putting a traditional stamp on modern accessories using a 17th-century hand-dyeing and painting process. Krista Wilson reports. 457: Party of five Matt Wilce lays out five luscious looks for New Year. 449: Thought out Designers create spaces but they also like to inhabit them. SuperDeluxe offers a place to drink and think for the design community—and of course their friends 445: Design on Tokyo A trio of interior design events is on its way to bring style into our Tokyo living rooms 439: Setting pretty Matt Wilce lays the table with styles for summer. 435: Tropical haven Asian furnishings are finding their way to flats across the city 431: Wed white and blue Treasures of traditional Japanese design, blue and white are the perfect foil for Tokyo's sweltering summers 427: Have a ball Who says you need tickets to catch a piece of World Cup action? 423: Collection point Nishi-Ogikubo's 65 pre-loved furniture stores make up Tokyo's great antique oasis 419: Flower power Bring your gloomy flat back to life with seasonal flowers. 415: On the mend Tokyo's fix-it men can have your furniture back in form 411: Phone home Panasonic unveils the e-lifestyle of the near future 407: Launch Pad Sputnik Pad lands in Jingumae 399: Interiors Retrospective  395: Interiors Kitchenware flare 391: Interiors Ideé is one of Tokyo’s most established interiors stores 387: Inner sanctum The days of sitting on the tatami floor are over 383: Life in style Tokyo's embraces ultra-modern design 367: Wealthy workplaces Put feng shui to work at work 364: Healthy homes The ancient Chinese art of feng shui

Ikebana for idiots

With a plethora of rules and schools, Ikebana can be intimidating, not to mention time-consuming. But who says busy people have to miss out on this ancient art form? Georgia Jacobs gives you the basics on no-fuss flower-arrangement.

With izakaya mushrooming in London’s West End and takoyaki stands springing up in New York’s East Village, Nippon is basking in the international limelight. But who’d ’a thought the stuffy—if elegant—art of ikebana would find fame from Maine to California to the Continent. According to Ikebana International, over 170 chapters of their institution are thriving in 60 countries, with over 9,000 members adopting and adapting the practice. But for Tokyo’s foreign residents, surrounded by the fruits of experts—who are taught the age-old form in grammar school—ikebana can seem downright daunting. Add a hectic work schedule into the mix and the average gaijin is more likely to admire the craft touted to promote peace of mind and relaxation from afar. But ikebana-phobes can create decent arrangements without having to enroll in costly, time-consuming classes.

Flower power
The art of ikebana was brought over from China and Korea in the sixth century on the back of Buddhism, which included the practice of leaving flowers for monks on the shrine altar. One priest refined the custom, arranging blossoms so that they symbolized man, heaven and earth. Eventually, the art formalized, and many schools remain today. Each has its own emphasis and rules, but they all share some basic principles that are easy to apply.

Ikebana uses a variety of natural materials, from twigs and branches to grasses and leaves to buds and blooms that correspond to the season. Arrangements are usually designed to fit a particular area, and unlike its Western cousin, ikebana takes what designers might call “white space” into account, a sort of empty area between the two or three parts of the design to symbolically let the breeze pass through.

True ikebana places a lot of emphasis on the shape and texture of the receptacle, but for simplicity sake, many items from your cupboard, such as glasses, teacups, pasta plates, etc. will do. If you want your work to look authentic, you can purchase specially designed Japanese flat containers, known as suiban, or tall triangular vases. You also need a kenzan, which looks like sturdy pin cushion weighted down by a metal bottom. You can find them at Tokyu Hands or any other specialty store. The heavier the materials you use, the heavier the kenzan you’ll need.

Budding success

Kenzan

Most arrangements contain two or three basic lines or elements that vary in name from school to school. One is a vertical line that draws the eye upward, and at the base of that line is the focal point. A shorter, secondary vertical line can be put in, and filler flowers or leaves can be added to the focal flower keeping the same principal in mind. The trick is in finding the perfect length; different styles have varying lengths, as well as the degree of slant to the main vertical line. Generally, the long vertical section is the width of the container plus its depth, or for slanting styles, twice the length of the container. The focal flower is then, usually, a third of the length of the main line. If you add a secondary line, make it two thirds the length of the main one.

Modern Suiban

Cut thick sturdy elements at a slant and softer stems straight across. If you cut them under water, and add sake, vinegar or preserving solution to the water, they last longer. Easy arrangements fall into two basic categories: those with two elements and those with three. Starting out with two-element ikebana is best because it’s easy, and gives you a feel for the principles and the confidence to try more complicated versions. Keeping in mind that ikebana is usually viewed straight on, put the kenzan to one side of a suiban or in the middle of a bowl and place the main line towards the back. Then add your subsidiary line of the same plant (optional). Next, stick the focal point, which is generally a bright flower of some sort, to the middle or front of the kenzan (see examples). You may need to use hidden chicken wire or crossed twigs to give heavier items extra support.

Three-element arrangements add another plant type to the same formula. The extra plants then shoot up between the main and secondary line and the focal point and main line (see examples).

Like any art form, ikebana is a means of personal expression. Choose elements and flowers that represent your taste—although it’s probably a good idea to stick to seasonal color schemes. If you use similar or complementary shades of flowers, your ikebana will look pulled together.
Practice makes perfect, and a few successes at home or in the office may inspire you to further your understanding of this traditional Japanese art. If so, a plethora of books and information are out there, as well as classes in English. Whether or not you choose to pursue ikebana more seriously or are content to follow this pared down version, you’ll find a few flowers can add that extra something to your home, office and spirit.

Photo credit: Georgia Jacobs