Flower Arrangement
Ikebana demonstration
Ikebana demonstration in 2018 Festival

Ikebana is one of the most famed Japanese traditional arts, and traces its origin back hundreds of years. Ikebana was historically placed within the tokonoma alcove of the Japanese home. This art of flower arrangement is now practiced in most of the contemporary world as a seasonal design element placed throughout the home.

In its basic form, an Ikebana arrangement follows a fixed pattern: a triangle of three points representing Heaven, Earth, and Human. Many other guidelines are taught depending on the natural elements used, including the type of blossoms, flowers, branches, stems, and leaves. Ikebana usually contains the foliage and flowers of the season at hand, used in their natural state, except when arrangers enhance the beauty with trimmings. At a future in-person Festival, all demonstrations and displays will be held during the first festival weekend at the Issei Memorial Hall in the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California (JCCCNC/the Center).

2021 Virtual Festival Day 3: The Ikebana Teachers’ Federation presents demonstrations from the four largest schools of ikebana in the Bay Area: Ikenobo, Ohara, Sogetsu, and Wafu.

  • Ikenobo: Sandra Hatcher
  • Ohara: Yoshiko Suiyo Gilli
  • Sogetsu: Jane Suiei Naito
  • Wafu: Lena Hoku-o Pavlovskaia

The Ikebana Teachers’ Federation is a consortium of professional Ikebana teachers from the San Francisco Bay Area that provides a forum for collaboration and cooperation in a friendly atmosphere. It is dedicated to its teacher members and to sharing the Japanese cultural art of Ikebana to the community through exhibitions and demonstrations. We have been participating in the Cherry Blossom Festival from the beginning. We are currently meeting virtually, and our sister organization, Ikebana International San Francisco hosts an Ikebana in the Virtual Age series.

Read about our Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival Pioneers from Ikebana Teachers’ Federation.