Ikebana Vases: Containers for Flowers
In ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangement, the vessel is chosen as carefully as the flowers. Different schools and styles call for different containers, and over centuries a rich variety of vases, basins and baskets has developed. Many are works of art in bronze, ceramic and bamboo.
Bronze vessels
- Usubata. A bronze vase with a broad, thin, flat lip, used for formal arrangements. Its shape descends from altar vessels.
- Tall bronze vases. Often with relief decoration or inlay, made in centres such as Takaoka.
- Bronze basins. Shallow and broad, developing a fine patina with age.
Basins for landscapes
In the late nineteenth century, new schools of flower arrangement introduced arrangements built up in wide, shallow basins, suiban, with flowers held in place by a heavy pin holder, the kenzan. These arrangements suggest a landscape, and the basins themselves come in ceramic, bronze and lacquer.
Hanging vases and bamboo
Hanging vases, fixed to a pillar or wall, and vases cut from bamboo bring a lighter, more natural feeling. Bamboo vases with a carefully chosen node, sometimes made by tea masters, are among the most poetic flower vessels.
Flower vessels of the tea room
The tea ceremony uses simple arrangements, often a single flower, in vessels of unglazed stoneware such as Bizen, Shigaraki and Iga, or in bamboo. Old tea-room flower vases with good boxes and inscriptions are especially valued.
Woven bamboo baskets
Japan's bamboo craftsmen raised the flower basket, hanakago, to fine art. In the twentieth century several bamboo artists were designated Living National Treasures, and signed baskets by recognised makers, with their fitted boxes, are now collected internationally.
Condition and care
- Check bronze for cracks, especially around the lip and foot, and for later re-patination.
- Ceramic vessels should be checked for hairline cracks, which may leak.
- Bamboo dries and splits in low humidity. Keep baskets away from heaters and air conditioning.
- Use a separate liner in valuable baskets and bronzes rather than filling them directly with water.