The worlds of ikebana, washi paper & wax paper umbrellas

Contemporary ikebana from the heart of Japan! Learn more!

This blog post is divided into three main sections: the first is about the worlds of ikebana flower arrangement ; the second section takes us into the world of washi or Japanese handmade paper. And the final section is a long talk with a traditional Japanese wax umbrella craftsman. The links to all sections are below in the "index."

The worlds of ikebana flower arrangement
The world of washi Japanese paper
A chat with a wax paper umbrella craftsman

Content by Ian Martin Ropke, owner of Your Japan Private Tours (est. 1990). I have been planning, designing, and making custom Japan private tours on all five Japanese islands since the early 1990s. I work closely with Japan private tour clients and have worked for all kinds of families, companies, and individuals since 1990. Clients find me mostly via organic search, and I advertise my custom Japan private tours & travel services on www.japan-guide.com, which has the best all-Japan English content & maps in Japan! If you are going to Japan and you understand the advantages of private travel, consider my services for your next trip. And thank you for reading my content. I, Ian Martin Ropke (unique on Google Search), am also a serious nonfiction and fiction writer, a startup founder (NexussPlus.com), and a spiritual wood sculptor. Learn more!

The worlds of ikebana flower arrangement

Ikebana or flower arranging began as a form of temple offering. It developed into an organized Japanese art form in the 15th century, and by the end of the 19th century it had become a practice common among the middle classes. Many Japanese art forms involve very complex processes and difficult to obtain materials and tools. Basic ikebana, however, is something that everyone can do immediately. All one needs are flowers and an appreciation of how to use them to make a home or office more attractive, or to add a touch of nature or a sense of the season. Of course, ikebana is an art form and no one can learn the higher aspects of this art over night. But the simple principles of ikebana are easy enough for anyone to understand and apply. All ikebana is based on creating a triangular vertical arrangement that is asymmetrical, harmonious and expressive. Of the greatest importance are the main lines which covey strength of expression and a sense of movement. All parts of a plant or bush can be used, as well as stones and other complimentary, usually natural objects. Good ikebana is really nothing more than arranging flowers to create something that is beautiful, natural and suitable to the space it will fill. Most traditional Japanese flower arranging is exceptionally simple. Indeed, the idea that less is more also goes perfectly together with the fundamentals of ikebana, especially if you are a beginner. Learn more!

Ikebana is the representation of the Japanese love of nature, tranquility and perfection. The beauty of a flower arrangement lies in its asymmetrical balance, respect for the individual flower and harmony with nature as a whole.

The art of arranging flowers began in the 6th century at Rokkakudo Buddhist Temple in central Kyoto, where the Ikenobo headquarters are now located. One of the Rokkaku-san priests worked on offerings to the dead using flowers and branches found nearby. Other priests admired his work so much that he began teaching them. As these priests lived in a hut by the side of a pond, which in Japanese is 妬ke no bo,・the name became attached to the first school of Ikebana: Ikenobo.

By the fifteenth century, Ikebana had become a widely appreciated art form free of religious significance. However, it never lost its spiritual origins. To this day, Ikebana remains a philosophical art with rules dictating proper arrangements.

Today, there are hundreds of Ikebana schools that offer classes. Among them, the Ikenobo, Ohara and the Sogetsu schools are the most popular. However, many Kyoto-based schools such as the Saga-goryu are still taught all over Japan. This Eastern Kyoto school holds an important annual Ikebana exhibition in the temples in Arashiyama.

Each Ikebana school teaches one or more of the four main styles of Ikebana: Rikka, Nageire, Seika or Shoka style, and Moribana.

The Rikka style, which basically means standing flowers, was the first and the most formal style Ikebana. It originated in Kyoto and used local grown flowers and branches such as pine, cypresses and bamboo. The standing flowers, looking up towards heaven, symbolize faith. This style was created for formal ceremonies by the Ikenobo school. Although it is less popular today, it is the essence and inspiration of today's Ikebana schools.

As time went by, the styles became less strict and allowed more creative freedom. This gave way to the Nage-ire style, which allows the arranger to throw in branches and flowers to create a more natural landscape. The aim of this style is to show the natural beauty of each flower and branch used. As long as the nature of the flower is respected, the arranger is free to choose any material and can position the flowers at will. Nage-ire shows that there is beauty in every thing that is natural.

The Seika or Shoka style gave the artist even more freedom. It started as a simple arrangement with two main components: the positive and the negative. Perhaps in need of more asymmetrical balance, the style added a third component. The three came to represent heaven, the man and the earth which also summarize the principle of the art. Respect for Buddhist traditions of spirituality, humanity and love of the earth is the guide to a beautiful Ikebana creation.

Influenced by Western countries in the late 19th century, Ohara Unshin, a student of the Ikenobo school, created his own style called Moribana. Because it was refused by the Ikenobo school, the student started his own and called it the Ohara school. It allowed even more freedom and included western flowers. Modern schools of Ikebana are inspired by the Moribana style.

The principles of Ikebana are difficult to grasp in one lesson. However, the most important principle is that an arrangement must recreate natural growth while flowing along a pre-determined line.

Ikebana requires many years of study to master but it can be enjoyed by beginners. It lets one concentrate on something beautiful and meditate on nature. As part of training, Samurais learned Ikebana to practice concentration.

In the beginning, Ikebana was a man痴 past time and today most Ikebana teachers are still men. In the recent past, women in Kansai learned to hold tea ceremonies and do Ikebana before getting married because it was considered as an asset in a marriage.

Today, Ikebana isn't confined to the Japanese home. It has made its way to public eye and almost every building, hotel, company and train station exhibits an Ikebana arrangement. The flower arrangements that adorn many Japanese public bathrooms aren't random assortments of flowers but carefully follow the rules of Ikebana. Once you look for Ikebana, you will see it everywhere.

The decorative aspect isn't the main aim. The arrangements add a touch of nature to modern concrete facilities, to help people remember the real Japan. Many places in Kyoto offer flower arrangement classes in English and visitors are always welcomed. There are also small groups lessons usually taught in a home by a Japanese lady. This last option is for the more adventurous flower lovers who can take the opportunity to practice their Japanese conversational skills. Most of these ladies also hold tea ceremonies and teach classes so you might be lucky and witness two of Japan's most important traditions.

For your first Ikebana lesson, you will be taught the basic rules of cutting, positioning the flowers and the different zones of the arrangement. You will then watch your teacher arrange the flowers so naturally that you may think it's not so difficult after all. But once you undo her arrangement and create your own, you will understand why there are many rules in this art. In what some might call a Japanese moment, you will understand that harmony can only be achieved by following the rules. That's when your Ikebana experience really starts!

The worlds of ikebana flower arrangement
The world of washi Japanese paper
A chat with a wax paper umbrella craftsman

The world of washi Japanese paper

Japanese handmade paper, known as washi, is valued all over the world for its strength, flexibility, and beauty. Because of its durability, washi can last 1000 years. Not surprising, Japanese money is printed on washi. Washi also plays an important role in contemporary fine arts.

In Japan, handmade paper, or washi, is used for writing, drawing, and for doors, windows, fans and umbrellas. At the washi shops listed below, the paper craft selection is enormous. There is fine writing paper, post cards, origami paper, coasters, washi place mats, and large sheets of many types of washi.

Kyoto City, with its unusually high concentration of traditional crafts people and artists, remains the dominant center for the sale of washi products. Washi production is largely carried out in rural areas, where the bushes and plants used to make paper are found in abundance. Producing paper also depends on large amounts of clean water.

Both Kamiji Kakimoto and Morita Wagami, see below, sell washi for Japanese calligraphy, nihonga painting, and hanga printmaking. The price for a sheet of paper the size of a newspaper can range from as low as 100 yen to as much as 10,000 yen (USD 70; late 2024 rates)!

Places to learn about washi paper: Kurotani Paper Making Village (see below): Kurotani village (see below) is about 2 hours from Kyoto by Kyoto Kotsu bus. If your Japanese is not fluent asking a Japanese friend to accompany you is strongly recommended. For information call Kurotani, 0773-44-0213. Mr. Tsutomu Yamaguchi's Washi Classes: Mr. Yamaguchi, an avid amateur papermaker since high school, offers classes on Sundays. For information write to Mr. Yamaguchi: 32 Koyama-minami-kamifusa-cho, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603. Rakushikan Salon: one hour classes on Friday, and Saturday afternoons. Make a reservation 7 days in advance at Rakushikan Paper Store (see below) or call 251-0078, fax 231-0130.

Washi Shops in Kyoto: Morita Wagami: Carries over 800 kinds of handmade Japanese paper. Located two streets south of Shijo on Higashinotoin. Tel: 341-0123. Kamiji Kakimoto: Stocks a wide range of washi. On the east side of Teramachi, north of Nijo. Tel: 231-1544. Rakushikan: Carries mostly colored washi, and books about paper. In the Museum of Kyoto, corner of Sanjo and Takakura. Tel: 251-0078.

Kurodani village's 840-year-old washi tradition

Kurodani, near the town of Ayabe in central Kyoto prefecture, is world famous for its exceptionally fine washi. The tradition dates back to a member of the famous Taira clan who started paper making in this village nearly 800 years ago.

Kurodani is worth the trip: the surrounding countryside is stunning and the craft making process fascinating. If your Japanese is not fluent, asking a Japanese friend to accompany you is strongly recommended. Information on washi (limited English), paper making workshops, tours of the paper workshops and homes in the surrounding area is available at the Kurodani Washi Exhibition Hall. For information call Kurotani, 0773-44-0213. The village is less than 30 minutes by car from Ayabe Station on the JR line.

Mr Zenji: wax paper umbrella maker

Contemporary ikebana from the heart of Japan! Learn more!

One of the most colorful and appealing images of traditional Japan is the graceful paper umbrella. Forty years ago there were almost 10,000 artisans in Japan making umbrellas of oiled paper and bamboo; now the number can be counted on the fingers of two hands. In the small town of Obama, in Fukui Prefecture, there used to be thirty umbrella makers; today only Shigeta Zenji is left.

"I'm working for my health," laughs Shigeta. "I thought about retiring when I turned eighty-three, but I start to feel all my aches and pains if I don't work."

A native of Obama, Shigeta says that he never wanted to make umbrellas. Being the oldest son, however, he had no choice but to follow in his father's footsteps. Today he still uses some tools his father made.

"I always used to envy salaried workers because of their steady incomes, but I guess you could say my work is now my hobby. Now I have the time to enjoy both working and talking with customers."

Hard times hide in those works. In the 1950's, when the market for traditional umbrellas all but disappeared, Shigeta watched as the number of active umbrella makers dwindled, forced into retirement or another line of work.

"It was hard, but I see it now as a kind of spiritual training. I couldn't have made it, though, without the support of my family. When I was at my peak, competition was fierce among the local makers as well as among makers in the rest of the country. That's all over now and I can take it easy, which is good at my age, I suppose. But I sometimes miss the stimulation."

Shigeta is unusual among umbrella makers in that he makes both the plain, sturdy bangasa and the colorful, slimmer and more elegant janomegasa. The name 'bangasa' evolved during the Edo period, when shopkeepers in Edo (present-day Tokyo) made it a practice to put a number (ban) on the umbrellas (kasa) they lent to customers caught in the rain. Janomegasa get their name from the umbrella's 'snake eye' design of concentric circles.

Bangasa were so common before World War II that each prefecture had its own color combination, and umbrella makers had to be careful not to confuse orders from different parts of the country.

Nowadays, most customers at Shigeta's sparsely furnished, tranquil shop buy the handmade umbrellas for nostalgic reasons or to use when wearing kimono, and janome are more popular.

Because bamboo and washi (handmade paper) are essential for making Japanese umbrellas, artisans traditionally lived near a good source of both. Obama, in the Wakasa area of Fukui, is blessed with both abundant bamboo stands and Wakasa washi, and it used to be famous for its umbrellas. About 200,000 umbrellas a year were shipped to the Tohoku region and Hokkaido, Shigeta recalls. Those from Gifu, often called the home of the Japanese umbrella, were usually sent to Kyoto.

The making of umbrella parts is still a cottage industry, and Shigeta now orders his ribs, nubs, and shanks from Gifu. Pointing to a pile of slender bamboo ribs, he sighs, "Next year they want a thirty percent increase for those, but I can't raise my prices."

Shigeta favors the locally made washi for its strength. In addition to plain and colored paper, he uses a paper patterned with Japanese umbrellas, a design which is peculiar to Wakasa washi.

Twelve steps go into making an umbrella. First, the handle is attached to the nub, then the ribs, notched with holes, are fitted into slots in the nub. Once the ribs are in place they must be threaded together with strong cotton thread. Next, the ribs are spread apart and the holes at the ends are threaded together before a strip of paper, folded double, is pasted along what will become the rim of the umbrella.

The fifth, and most important, step is fitting paper around the top so that rain cannot seep in. That done, strips of paper cut on the diagonal are pasted to every three ribs to give the umbrella a nicely rounded shape when furled.

The umbrella is then dampened and left overnight. The next day, the ribs are painted with a mixture of paint and a red paste called benigara, and the paper is oiled with linseed oil. Next the umbrella is dried in the sun, then lacquered.

How long does this process take? "That's hard to say because I usually work on fifty umbrellas at a time," says Shigeta, who adds that he was considered a full-fledged maker when he was able to finish one hundred umbrellas a month.

To dry the umbrellas Shigeta takes them to a flat area, opens them, and sticks the handles in the ground---the best way to secure them, he says. A field of sunning umbrellas is lovely image, but the capricious weather on the Japan Sea coast makes this the worst part of the process.

"Around noon it starts raining or a wind comes up or the wind direction suddenly changes. Now I dry twenty to fifty umbrellas at a time, but when I was at my peak it was over two hundred. Getting them out of the ground in a sudden rainstorm was hard work, but at least I could dry any that got wet.

The wind is the problem. It tilts them one way, then another, and sometimes the gusts are enough to blow them into telephone wires or trees. Out of a hundred umbrellas, five or six are beyond repair."

What is the best thing about using a bangasa or janome? The smooth yet warm feel of the bamboo handle? The sound of rain on the taut paper? The slight smell of lacquer and oil? The soft color of light filtered through paper? That two can fit cosily under one and be sure of staying dry?

Used with care, a bangasa or janome should last for about ten years. Use is essential because the paper gets stronger each time it is softened by rain and allowed to dry. Shigeta advises using the umbrella as often as possible, then making sure that it dries thoroughly. Store it in a well-ventilated place to avoid ruining the oiling. With these few simple precautions, a traditional Japanese umbrella should be a thing of beauty and use for years.

The Japan Sea-coast town of Obama, where Shigeta Zenji lives, is about a three-hour train ride north from Kyoto Station. However, bangasa and janome can be purchased in Kyoto at a number of traditional umbrella shops.

The worlds of ikebana flower arrangement
The world of washi Japanese paper
A chat with a wax paper umbrella craftsman