Visit the Sogetsu Ikebana Exhibition at the Embassy of Japan
By Elaine Sigler
Since its arrival on Embassy Row in Lowertown, the Embassy of Japan in Canada has regularly sponsored a variety of arts and cultural events, including martial arts, films and ikebana. On the weekend of June 23-24, the Embassy of Japan will once again host the Annual Ikebana Exhibition, presented by Sogetsu Ottawa, the local branch of one of the major ikebana schools of Japanese flower arranging. “Harmony”, the theme of this year’s exhibition, is open to visitors, who will experience breathtaking beauty, a unique photo opportunity and an assault on the senses that will both surprise and delight.
Ikebana is the common term used for a Japanese flower arranging. Over a thousand different schools of ikebana exist today and their disciplines are practiced in Japan and around the world. The two main groups practicing in the Outaouais region are the Ohara School, with its traditional approach, and the more avant-garde Sogetsu School.
The philosophy underlying ikebana recognizes that while plants and flowers are beautiful in their own right, they can be arrayed and displayed with people’s help to make them even more appreciated. Japanese flower arranging brightens, colors, and gives life to the environment in ways that vary with changing surroundings, seasons and placement. The Sogetsu School believes that anyone can do ikebana arrangements anywhere, with almost anything. It encourages Ikebana students to be individual and imaginative, as people are different from each other.
The Ottawa branch of the Sogetsu School, which was founded 1996, has exhibited annually at the Japanese Embassy for the past 15 years. This collaboration provides a venue for talented local Sogetsu ikebana artists to create unique floral arrangements, and gives the community an opportunity to see this amazing traditional Japanese floral art form.
If you are walking in Lowertown on Saturday June 23 or Sunday June 24, drop in to the Embassy of Japan, located at 255 Sussex Drive, to visit the Sogetsu Exhibit. The official opening of “Harmony” will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 23, 2018. The exhibition is free and open to the public. The hours are Saturday, June 23, from 10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and on Sunday, June 24, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. You will be amazed and awed by what Ottawa’s talented group of Sogetsu ikebana artists can create with floral material.