Ikebana school welcomes the new year with grand ceremony

The famed Ikenobo school of flower arrangement held its centuries-old annual “Hatsuike” ceremony (first flower arrangement of the New Year) on the morning of Jan. 5.

About 810 Ikenobo students of the traditional art came from across Japan to the school’s dojo in Kyoto’s Nakagyo Ward. There, they skillfully arranged flower displays and vowed to devote themselves to the art.

This traditional New Year’s event is said to have started in the Muromachi Period (1336-1573).

At the dojo, Senko Ikenobo, the next headmaster of the school, instructed 34 students wearing colorful “furisode” (long-sleeved kimono) or “hakama” (traditional pants). She also presented her own work.