Highest title of Ikebana
Cultural News, June 2007
Mme. Kazuko Shimbashi of Ikenobo Ikebana Society (Photo courtesy of the Wafukai of Los Angeles)
Mme. Kazuko Shimbashi, veteran ikebana (flower arrangement) master in Los Angeles, has been granted the highest rank of the Japan’s Ikenobo Ikebana Society in March 2007. The official announcement of Shimbashi’s commendation was made by the society’s 45th Headmaster Sen’ei Ikenobo during the 50th anniversary event of the Los Angeles chapter of the ikebana society on April 29 at Lakewood Sycamore Plaza near Los Angeles.
The Ikenobo Ikebana Society is the oldest ikebana school, tracing its origin 500 years ago in Kyoto, and is the largest ikebana organization worldwide with over one million members.
Shimbashi’s new title is the Karo, the highest title of the Ikenobo society, and it literally means a senior retainer for the headmaster. This most honorable title in the ikebana world is granted by the headmaster of Ikenobo to a few people who have devoted their lives to ikebana. Shimbashi is the first overseas resident to receive the Karo title.
In 2002, Shimbashi was bestowed the Jun Karo (Associate Karo) title to coincide with her commendation of the Japanese government award “The Order of the Sacred Treasure, Silver Rays” (Kun Rokuto Zuiho Sho), recognizing her contribution to U.S.-Japan cultural exchange.
Born in Osaka and raised in Kokubu, Kagoshima prefecture, Shimbashi began her ikebana training in 1945. Shimbashi married Shigeo Shimbashi in 1950 in Kagoshima prefecture and moved to Kobe when Shigeo was hired as a hotel manager by his aunt. At that time, Shigeo’s dream was to come to America. He eventually left Kobe for Los Angeles by himself.
From 1956 to 1963, while Kazuko Shimbashi and their two children were awaiting visas to join their husband and father, she worked as an ikebana instructor at public high schools and at a vocational school in Kagoshima prefecture.
During these years, she made a commitment to become a professional ikebana instructor. She graduated from the Ikenobo Institute of Ikebana Art and completed the advanced courses of the Ikenobo school. She was also admitted as a member of the Kado (The Way of Flower) Art Association before leaving Japan.
Upon arrival in Los Angeles in 1963, Shimbashi started to demonstrate and teach ikebana vigorously not only in the Japanese community but also at public places such as museums, art galleries, banks, department stores, and public schools.
In 1970, she became an ikebana instructor at the Kyodo System Japanese Language School in Los Angeles, where she continues to teach. From 1989 to 2001, she was the president of the Ikenobo Los Angeles Chapter.
Every year in spring and autumn, Shimbashi and her ikebana association “Wafukai” perform at demonstrations, workshops, and at times, tea ceremonies at California State University Long Beach’s Japanese garden. Shimbashi is also a veteran master of Urasenke Chado (the Way of Tea). She started her chado training in 1945 at the same time she began ikebana.
UCLA Extension Ikebana Class: A diversity of flowers, a diversity of people
Cultural News, July 2006
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During the final half hour of Ikebana class in the UCLA Extension, Kyoko Kassarjian, left, Sogetsu-style Ikebana instructor, comments on Scott Katz’s free style arrangement of hydrangeas while all the students gather around each arrangement. From left, Kassarjian, Katz of Los Angeles, Yumiko Kawasumi of Rancho Palos Verdes, Beatrice Barbakow of Marina del Rey, Shadi Yazdi of Brentwood, and Annette Pettit of Mission Viejo. (Cultural News Photo)
Ikebana, or flower arrangement, has over five centuries of history in Japan and is often understood to be one of the foremost expressions of Japanese art.
Line, space, mass, and color are all closely attended to when arranging the flowers, branches, and other materials in a particular vase.
Walking into the Ikebana class offered by UCLA Extension at Lindbrook Center in Westwood, one is immediately confronted with ten or so living and dynamic arrangements being slowly and carefully put together with an eye towards angle and negative space.
Kyoko Kassarjian of Sharman Oaks, who has been teaching a particular style of arranging flowers called Sogetsu, began instructing at the UCLA Extension in 2000 as a part of an ongoing effort to share Japanese culture with others.
“I want the students to learn how to express themselves through flowers,” she says as she moves easily from one arrangement to the next, giving a few helpful tips to each student in English or Japanese.
Comparing teaching in the U.S. to teaching in Japan, she said, “Here you give more detail than in Japan. In the U.S., people feel free to speak up and ask questions. They want explanations in order to understand Ikebana better.”
Another difference is that Ikebana classes are held almost weekly in Japan while students attending either quarter or semester sessions in the U.S. have fewer opportunities to learn and practice, given summer and other breaks in the school year. Yet, students at the UCLA Extensions are dedicated, coming from even as far as Orange County to attend each session.
Kassarjian, a Japanese native born in Kawaguchi in Saitama prefecture, teaches the popular Sogetsu, an ikebana school founded by Sofu Teshigahara that is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. This particular school is noted for its traditional and modern styles, emphasizing creativity and dynamism and the use of unusual materials in keeping with the time. Kassarjian holds the highest teacher’s rank, Riji, of the Sogetsu school.
Kassarjian’s Ikebana class was born in the summer of 1986 at the dining table in her home in Sherman Oaks. As the eager students increased in number, the dining table became too small. A room addition to the house did not solve the problem either.
For looking for more space, Kassarjian brought her Ikebana class to the Pierce College in 1993, then the Valley College, the Mission College in 1998 and eventually the UCLA Extension in Westwood.
In 1997, the number of Ikebana devotees under the leadership of Kasserjian grew to 20. The Sogetsu Foundation of Tokyo granted them study group status and they took the name Keila - “kei” from Kassarjian’s flower name Shunkei, and “la” for L.A.
In April 2005, the Keila Study Group, now with a membership of 65, was promoted to branch status and officially became the Sogetsu San Fernando Valley Branch. The majority of the members live in the San Fernando Valley, although members live far away as Orange and Ventura Counties. The ethnicities of the members are quite diverse and four are Japanese.
In the UCLA Extension, classes are held on five Saturdays each quarter for two hours. They begin with a short lecture and demonstration by Kassarjian, followed by the students doing their own arrangements. Some are beginners using the first of four Sogetsu booklets for instructions on basic style; others are intermediate or advanced and do both traditional and free style arrangements.
During the final half hour of class, all the students gather around each arrangement while Kassarjian reviews them one by one, offering suggestions for improvement, tips to remember for future work, and compliments for well designed creations.
Loretta M. Champion of Marina del Rey, who has taken several Extension flower arrangement classes, said, “Even though everyone works with the same materials, each person creates something different. It’s exciting to see their energy.”
Scott Katz of Los Angeles added, “I enjoy the challenge. The flowers have their own mind and here you have to work with them. You really learn flexibility.”
Galina Stolina, a Ukrainian native who has studied for several years, explained “Ikebana gives lessons on how to live. Today I learned not to be afraid to begin from the beginning. It’s an important lesson.”
The students had the highest praise for their teacher. Beatrice Barbakow of Marina del Rey and a native of Switzerland who would be returning home soon, approached Kassarjian after class and expressed her deep gratitude. “Thank you so much. I loved this class. It was my highlight. You made my life more beautiful.”
Kristin Surak is a Ph. D. student at UCLA Sociology Department studying the transformation of Chado (The Way of Tea) practice in the Meiji era. Shige Higashi is publisher/editor of Cultural News.