In this special exhibition in the magnificent rooms of Cranbrook House, the members of Ikebana International Detroit Chapter 85, present a display of nearly thirty arrangements by some of Michigan’s most respected ikebana artists. The exhibition, which includes ikebana demonstrations and tours of both the Cranbrook Japanese Garden and Cranbrook House, celebrates the legacy of the Japanese Garden and its ongoing rejuvenation by Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research. Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging, has been translated as “living flowers” or “giving life to flowers,” and is unique from other approaches to flower arrangement. In ikebana, asymmetry and the use of empty space are essential features of the overall composition. A sense of harmony among the materials, the container, and the setting is also crucial.

Placed throughout Cranbrook House—from the Reception Hall and Library to George Booth’s private Still Room—the ikebana arrangements will vary in their scale and design, representing several of the schools of ikebana practiced by artists around the world. Originating in the seventh century when floral offerings were made at altars, ikebana reached its first zenith in the sixteenth century under the influence of Buddhist tea masters. There now are over 1,000 different types of schools of ikebana throughout the world.