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

To hold her flowers in place, Leigh often uses a kenzan, an ikebana tool that resembles a spiked metal plate, or narrow vessels that provide support.

From New York Times • Mar. 15, 2024

Celebrate autumn at the Pacific Bonsai Museum’s Fall Foliage Festival featuring guided tours, ikebana demonstrations, a scavenger hunt for kids, food trucks and plant and gift shopping 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 20, 2022

This is also an ideal container for ikebana arrangements.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 4, 2021

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

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