ikebana

American  

[ik-uh-bah-nuh, ee-ke-bah-nah] / ˌɪk əˈbɑ nə, ˈi kɛˈbɑ nɑ /

noun

1. the Japanese art of arranging flowers.

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ikebana British  

/ ˌiːkəˈbɑːnə /

noun

1. the Japanese decorative art of flower arrangement

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Etymology

Origin of ikebana

First recorded in 1900–05; from Japanese, equivalent to ike(y) “to make live,” causative of ik- “live” (from unattested ika-i ) + -bana combining form of hana “flower” (earlier fana, from unattested pana )

Explanation

Ikebana is the Japanese tradition of artfully arranging flowers. Practicing ikebana involves learning to create a beautiful, simple composition using blossoms and branches. Ikebana comes from the Japanese ikeru, "arrange" or "keep alive," and hana, "flower." It's defined as both "flower arranging" and "living flowers," and an important part of ikebana is trying to make the flowers look the way they do in nature. This includes using fewer stems than in a traditional Western flower arrangement. In ikebana, the space between the flowers is an important part of their beauty.

Example Sentences

Hooper Schneider, 40, was born in L.A. and studied ikebana when young, around the same time he developed a passion for death metal.

From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2023

He enrolled as an engineering student at Tokyo Denki University, but the pull of ikebana was too strong.

From New York Times • Apr. 28, 2020

Now he’s taken up the Japanese art of ikebana, an extremely minimal form of flower arranging which takes 20 years to master, and perhaps the antithesis of the maximalist aesthetic of his own paintings.

From The Guardian • Apr. 2, 2019

SAT Curbside take-out, 2-7 p.m.; dine-in, 4-7 p.m., meal, crafts and bake sale, ikebana floral displays, “Night in Japan” cultural program, 6:30 p.m.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 27, 2017

The same goes for Japanese flower arranging ikebana, where a single flower in a simple vase succinctly expresses the nature of Japanese aesthetics and worldview.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin