The Language of the Japanese Garden

WittSem 100, section 06

Dr. Amy Christiansen

Japanese flower arrangement is known as ikebana, or simply ohana, meaning “flowers.” The art of ikebana is traditionally considered a secret handed down directly, from master to student, and usually by example more than by verbal explanations. On Tuesday, November 14th, an  ikebana teacher, Tomiko Schumaier, whose master flower name is Soen, came to Wittenberg from Dayton with two of her students, Sue Sugimoto and Midori Kawanishi. Soen-sensei demonstrated the basic flower arrangement of the Sogetsu school of ikebana, to which she belongs. Then all the students in the class tried their hand at it—with brilliant results! Some even moved on to more advanced, free-style arrangements. One of each style sits on display in the FLLC.