Mon | Apr 20, 2026

The art of Ikebana

Published:Sunday | June 2, 2013 | 12:00 AM
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Audrey Anderson Ichiyo arrangement.
Jean Scott Ichiyo arrangement.
Beverly Chen Ohara arrangement.
An arrangement by the Sogetsu school.
Helen Chen Sogetsu arrangement.
Cicely Tobisch Sogetsu arrangement.
Beverley Makenley Ohara arrangement at the Ikebana Exhibition at PCJ Auditorium on Trafalgar Road in Kingston on Saturday, May 25.-Rudolph Brown/Photographer
The arrangement by the Ohara school.
The grand piece by the Ichiyo school.
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IT WAS all about the beauty of lines. Branches, leaves, blooms and the beautiful lines they form in harmony with nature. This is what Ikebana - the Japanese art of floral arrangement - is all about. For two days (May 25 and 26), flower enthusiasts gathered at the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica for the Ikebana Flower Show put on by the St Andrew chapter of Ikebana International. With headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, the worldwide organisation was founded in 1956, the Jamaican chapter in 1975.

Ikebana is all about being in harmony with nature - designs can be small, exquisite, theatrical or massive. Most schools focus on the combination of heaven, earth and man to make a triangle. There are numerous Ikebana schools with their own techniques and rules. There are currently three schools operating in Jamaica - Ichiyo, Ohara and Sogetsu. Here are the highlights.