Category Archives: Noh no Ikebana

I met Noh no Ikebana 12 years ago at one of the gatherings of female farmers in Hino city, Tokyo. The group, Michikusa-kai, invited a lecturer from a Noh no Ikebana club in Tokyo and I was so thrilled to know ordinary items like vegetables and flowers can be combined to make such an artistic presentation. It was also very happy to see my vegetables looking so beautiful in the arrangement. I currently work with 15 other members of a local Noh no Ikebana club, and exhibit arrangements at local events such as annual symposiums on urban farming held by Hino city. Events are where we can enjoy various outputs … Continue reading →

“My first encounter with Noh no Ikebana was an open class held regularly by Midori net–Akita, an Akita-based association that support local agricultural infrastructure development. The idea of making something artistic out of agricultural products moved me so much that I decided to joint the team and help it organize the open classes and promotional activities. Akita has an active agricultural industry, but not many of Akita people living in urban areas are interested in agriculture. Then, how can I make more people interested in agriculture? I have been thinking about it for a long time. So Noh no Ikebana is the best tool for communicating the charm of agriculture … Continue reading →

“It’s been over 20 years since I began Noh no Ikebana in one of the activities of our local agricultural cooperative. I was so impressed by the works of the senior members that I launched a Noh no Ikebana Group with my local friends. We exhibit our Ikebana, for example, at local agricultural fairs as well as parties for seniors. We also place our ikebana works at a farmers’ restaurant run by the group. First thing we do is to set the central theme, in many cases considering seasonal events and dishes. We always try to make it dynamic while using tools and materials as simple as possible. The theme … Continue reading →

Tokiko Shimizu, 75, from Ibaraki city, Ibaraki Prefecture, talked about the fun of Noh no Ikebana. “Overgrown vegetables are often thrown away, but with Noh no Ikebana, they can be excellent materials. I sometimes remove the leaves or hold them upside down to think about how I can arrange them. I enjoy doing so very much. I usually make my arrangement with seasonal agricultural products and flowers from my farmland and garden and put it in the entrance hall. As containers, I often chose thing like a wooden well bucket. They often catch the attention of my visitors and give us a fun topic to talk about. Some people said … Continue reading →