Arranging Japanese Irises
I went to my ikebana lesson on Tuesday.
The theme this time was "Japanese Iris".
*I explained the different types of iris family flowers in a previous article. Please take a look if you are interested.*
This time, I did an "isshu-ike" (single-species arrangement) of Japanese irises.
The style has a specific name called "Shakei Moribana Shiki Hon-i" (Landscape Moribana, Formal Style).
To put it simply, it feels like "a formal way of arranging that captures a landscape and piles it into a vase"...🙄
It is traditionally decided that while Japanese irises are treated in a masculine way, irises like the rabbit-ear iris (kakitsubata) are treated in a feminine way. If people from the LGBTQ+ community heard this, they might say "That's outrageous!", but that is how it is determined.
It is also said that "for kakitsubata, you show the leaves, and for Japanese irises, you show the flowers." While there are ways to show the leaves of the kakitsubata for every season, Japanese irises are only used in early summer when the flowers are beautiful.
Therefore, the Japanese iris is a precious flower that we can only practice with during this time of year.
This time, I practiced with a three-cluster arrangement of Japanese irises.
Basically, the number of clusters increases in odd numbers like five or seven, but since this was a lesson, I used three.
Just like the "kakitsubata" I practiced before, I performed "hagumi" (leaf arrangement) to combine the leaves. There are slight differences from the kakitsubata... which is a source of confusion💦
After struggling with the leaves, this is what I finished with.
I finished it with a clean, upright appearance.
Now, here is a quiz.
How does it differ from the leaf arrangement of the kakitsubata below?
The answer is...?
First, while Japanese irises have their leaves gathered neatly without spreading them too much, with only the tips slightly open, kakitsubata leaves are arranged to look relaxed and spread out. Since this example is a spring three-cluster arrangement, five leaves are used in the front on the left and right.
Furthermore, while the middle leaf is used low in the kakitsubata, the middle leaf of the three-leaf set is used high in the Japanese iris.
After the lesson, I went home... and I couldn't transform this anymore😅
So I arranged it as is... and a day passed...
The next evening, the flower in the back had bloomed beautifully🤗
Japanese irises are truly flowers meant to be displayed. I feel they have such a striking presence when they bloom.
This time, I compared examples of rabbit-ear irises and Japanese irises.
I don't often compare them like this myself, so it was a good learning experience(*´艸｀)
Thank you for watching again today(*ˊᵕˋ*)੭ ੈ