Ikebana: Traditional Japanese Flower Arrangements
Nov 05, 2012 (Mon.)
To celebrate the opening of the International Communication Center (ICC), many events are and have been organized to introduce Japanese culture in an educational yet fun way to the international students. One of these events was the ikebana event, to let students learn the exciting art of the ikebana (lit. living flowers).
The flower arrangement club from Kansai Gaidai came with 8 of their members to help the CIE Student Assistants run the event. The leaders of the flower arrangement club started out with their explanation and the steps to follow, entirely in English. After that the students were ready to make the most beautiful flower arrangement they had ever made in their life.
It took some time for some of the students to fully grasp the steps of the ikebana way. There is a specific order used for placing the flowers in the container. If that order is not followed correctly, the ikebana arrangements might fail, at least if someone is doing it for the first time.
In the end everybody was happily chatting while cutting their flowers under the supervision of the flower arrangement club. The students made pictures of their arrangement and were given the chance to bring their flowers home with them. The flower arrangement club members gave the participating students also a tasty cookie as token of their appreciation.
One of the participating students describes the event as a beautiful cultural experience, one that she will treasure dearly for the rest of her stay in Kansai Gaidai University.