Ikebana Teacher’s Guild to display over 40 flower arrangements at Little Tokyo

Cultural News, August 2008

Ikebana Teacher’s Guild exhibition  Aug. 16 and 17 (Sat. and Sun), 10 AM to 5 PM   The North and South Galleries of the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, 244 S. San Pedro Street, Little Tokyo, Downtown Los Angeles  Admission Free

An ikebana display by Kado Kyoju Kai

    Over 70 years ago, ikebana teachers from various schools joined together for the first time to form a group called the Hokubei Kado Kyokai. With hopes of contributing toward closer relationships between neighbors and countries, they worked to introduce to the community their Japanese cultural art of flower arranging called ikebana. Various classes were held in many areas, even through the war years spent in different camps.

   In May of 1952, years after returning from the wartime internment camps, six teachers from different schools – Keika Honma, Seiyo Kawaguchi, Senka Okamoto (Ikenobo), Hoen Yazaki (Ohara), Koyuken Maruse (En-Shofu), Gasui Inada (Shofu) – joined together to reorganize themselves into the present Kado Kyoju Kai aka Ikebana Teacher’s Guild.

   The primary goal of the organization was not only to preserve the art of ikebana for younger generation but to also introduce and share this art with friends and neighbors outside the Japanese community. Today there are many individuals who are not Japanese teaching ikebana at city colleges, adult education classes, museums, arboretums and botanical gardens throughout Southern California.

    Through teaching and demonstrations, large exhibits and active participation in community events, many people are now aware that there are several schools of ikebana, each school specializing in a style of its own. The current Kado Kyoju Kai membership includes five of these schools: Ikenobo, Ohara, Sogetsu, Shofu and Misho.