A special J-Talk: Diggin’ Culture #03
“Ikebana and Tokyo Sky Tree”
[Speaker] Ms. Machiko Nakayama
[Date & Time]
Wednesday 12 September 2018
Neoclassical Ikebana Workshop 14:00 – 16:00 hrs.
J-Talk 18:00 -19:30 hrs.
[Venue] Classroom E, the Japan Foundation, Bangkok
[Admission] Free
[Languages] Japanese with Thai interpretations (No English available)
[Organized by] The Japan Foundation, Bangkok
[Participants] 33 (for Workshop) and 40 (for Talk)
[Media coverage]
https://www.bangkokpost.com/lifestyle/social-and-lifestyle/1537882/flower-power
Bangkok Post : Attachment N:2 AC Dept 1 Arts and Cultural ProjectsFY2018201809 Ikebana workshop9. ReportsClippings
The Japan Foundation, Bangkok was pleased to launch a special workshop on “Neoclassical Ikebana” and a talk on “Ikebana and Tokyo Sky Tree” as the third round of a series of casual talks on Japan called “J-Talk: Diggin’ Culture”, serving for Thai fans who would like to develop their knowledge and understanding on Japanese culture and society one step further.
This time, we invited Ms. Machiko Nakayama, one of the experts in Ikebana, particularly the Ohara method of flower arrangement as the resource person for both the workshop and the talk. She had been continuously researching and writing several books about Ikebana from her accumulated studies and extensive experiences. This J-Talk #03 was also relevant to the genesis of Ikebana derived from her latest work, “Sacred Trees: The Root of Ikebana” (2017).
Ikebana is one of the traditional Japanese art forms and could be traced back to its origin in the 15th century. The essence of Ikebana is how to enliven the flower arrangement by utilizing the natural trees, leaves and flowers. Importantly, the styles of Ikebana are various and we could fathom its different senses and meanings despite their similar patterns. Thus, Ikebana acts as the art of living which enables the search for the natural beauty.
Taking departure from Neoclassical Ikebana, meaning the way to revitalize the gist of traditional Ikebana in contemporary period, Ms. Machiko Nakayama held the Neoclassical Ikebana workshop to enable participants to experience their multi-faceted connections with plants before enlivening their own Ikebana. After that, she gave a talk to retrospect the root of Ikebana from historical progress of Japanese architecture in the background of beliefs in a huge tree as could be witnessed from the Tokyo Sky Tree nowadays.
We hope that her talk would render further more profound insights on Japan and at the same time inspire you to be more interested in cultural and social affairs of Japan.
Ms. Nakayama gave instructions how to start the Neoclassical Ikebana Workshop
Each participant learned about how to adjust the positions of Ikebana.
Group photo after Neoclassical Ikebana Workshop was finished.
Ms. Nakayama explained about the origin of beliefs about Ikebana.
The roots of Ikebana and its connection with Japanese architecture was elaborated to the audiences.
About the Speaker
Ms. Machiko Nakayama
Studied history of Western Art and Art Nouveau at the Seijo University in Tokyo. In 1976, she started practicing Ikebana in Japan and later in other countries. Studying the art through the Ohara method of flower arrangement, Ms. Machiko researched Ikebana through the Ikenobo, the oldest school of flower arrangement, starting with Rikka style.
For the past 25 years, Ms. Machiko had been delving into perspectives of Asian culture, especially Chinese and Japanese. She organized various Ikebana exhibitions and lectures in numerous Asian countries, demonstrating how natural leaves, branches and flowers from the locality of these countries could be utilized in making this Japanese art from vibrant.
Her main works on Ikebana included “Origins of Ikebana Philosophy” (1999), “500 Years of Ikebana” (2013) and “Sacred Trees: The Root of Ikebana” (2017)
The Japan Foundation, Bangkok
10th Fl. Serm-Mit Tower,
159 Asoke-Montori Road, Bangkok 10110
Tel: 02-260-8560~3
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jfbangkok/
Website: https://ba.jpf.go.jp/?lang=en
