The last meeting of this year held on 5 december was attended by 19 members. „Ikebana in white, red and green“ was the theme the President Eva Dungl had chosen in accordance with the pending festive season.
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She had prepared for the participants in advance one red Nerine, two Aspidistra leaves, a sheet of white drawing board (29,7cm x 42cm) and a small bottle of biodigreable synthetic material. In preparation for the workshop Mrs. Dungl had researched the literature on Japanese gift wrapping for flowers and was most generously willing to share her scripts with the attendees. After her introduction the members endeavoured to follow her instructions folding the paper in such a way as to create a container for the arrangement. Cutting or tearing the paper was not allowed and as fixation only double-faced adhesive tape should be used. As each participant had worked with exactly the same materials, it was very interesting to see how differently the members had tackled the challenge and how diverse and inspired the resulting arrangements in the folded containers were. The unanimous opinion of all members present was that folding one’s own paper-vase is an inexpensive, creative and last but not least sustainable way to do Ikebana. This motivating workshop finished with drinks and goodies. What better way to round off a year of exciting Ikebana.
18 November 2019 – Music Kyōgen „Scrooge“ (Sukuru-ji Ongaku-Kyōgen) in combination with an Ikebana-exhibition by Vienna Chapter, Museumsquartier
The music was composed by Walther Giger, performed by Kawamura Noriko (violin), Ota Tomomi (accordeon), and Shirato Fumio (double bass)
Libretto:
Ancient Japanese/jōdai nihongo by Koichi Nagaya based on the novella „A
Christmas Carol“ by Charles Dickens
read more by Eva Dungl and Susanne Wolf-Widmaier
Ms. Noriko Kawamura, violonist and initiator of the project, was pleased with the success of the first performance of the musical Ongaku-Kyōgen „Scrooge“ connecting European contemprorary music with the 650 years old Japanese dramatic art Kyōgen. „I am excited about Kyōgen, it conveys such a warmhearted feeling“ radiantly explained Ms. Kawamura. The spectators unanimously expressed the opinion that it was really fascinating to see Scrooge‘s transformation from an embittered, stingy man into a compassionate and caring human being. Particularly, the acting of Juro Zenchiku an his son Daijirō was impresssing. The stylised theater language of Kyōgen in combination with the beautiful music (violin, accordion, double bass) composed by Walther Giger provided an unforgettable synaesthetic experience for the audience.
In Vienna‘s former Imperial Stables built in the early 18th century, now transformed into a huge cultural complex, the performance took place in the middle of the oval hall with the spectators seated on both sides. As the stage was scarcely equipped and there were no requisites, it was left to the audience to imagine the missing props. The actors‘ onomatopoetic voices contributed to this imagination.
The ghost of Scrooge’s dead business partner Marley wearing the mask of „Usofuki“ announces the coming of three different ghosts, all of them played by Daijirō Zenchiku. Whenever the latter puts on a mask, he bows, adopts its character and finally puts it off, bowing with thanks.
With a dance, the ghost with the mask „Otafaku“, the mask of multiple fortune, leads Scrooge into Christmas of the past. Later, the appearance of the ghost of the present, wearing the mask „Kentuko“, bodes no good. He is aware of Scrooge’s burden, that already has left profound marks in his face. With the arrival of the ghost of the future the vision of shocking images is evoked. He wears the mask of „Nushi“, that originates in the story of a lacquerer who died of constant overwork. After having been visited by these impressive three ghosts, Scrooge, hovering between life and dead, develops the willpower to change his way of life in order to become a better man and save himself. Overjoyed, he breaks out into bursts of loud laughter coming from deep within himself.
In conjunction with the performance of „Scrooge“ the I.I. Vienna Chapter displayed in the entrance hall numerous flower arrangements under the theme „sanze“, that shows in a symbolic way the three phases of life. The past is symbolized by the fruit, the present by the open blossom and the future by the bud. The natural growing process of plants correponds to the human stages of life: birth – maturation – aging.
In their arrangements the 18 I.I. members from three Ikebana-schools strived to express this rythm of life as well as the concepts of „wabi“ and „sabi“. „Wabi“ stands for sparseness and impermanence. Withering or withered plants and dried leaves show this natural process of transformation. „Wabi“ is closely related to „sabi“, which is characterized by the deep appreciation of things which bear traces of age and patina. The Ikebana exhibits allowed the visitors to experience the feeling of „wabi“ and „sabi“.
5 – 7 July 2019 – Japanese Summer Festival, Ikebana-demonstration by Sumura Eikou at Weltmuseum Wien
To mark the 150th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Austria and Japan the Austrian-Japanese Society (ÖJG), together with the association „Weltmuseum Wien Friends“ and the Japanese Embassy organized a Japanese Summer Festival which took place from 5-7 July 2019. It included a concert of the Kitanodai Gagaku Ensemble, Kabuki-Ohayashi, koto music, songs by the Austro-Japanese friendship choir, Japanese dances, a bonsai exhibition and a demonstration of Japanese different handicraft techniques.
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The Vienna Chapter #223 was honored by being invited to take part in this very special event held in the imposing Hall of Columns at the Corps de Logis of the former Imperial Palace, which nowadays houses the „Weltmuseum Wien“ (Museum of Ethnology). In the Entrance Hall the visitors were welcomed by five arrangements from I.I. members of the two schools Ikenobo and Sogetsu. At the invitation of the Vienna Chapter, the Master Instructor of the Sogetsu School, Sumura Eikou gave a big Ikebana demonstration. Watched by no less than 200 guests, among them the Japanese ambassador to Austria, H.E. Mr. Kiyoshi Koinuma, accompanied by his wife, Mrs. Sumura created 5 arrangements and one large impressive four-part composition. Paying homage to Austria, Mrs. Sumura chose for her first arrangement as main component two champagne glasses designed by the famous Austrian architect and designer Josef Hoffmann in 1912. The particular highlight was the plant material generously donated by Japan Flowers and Plants Export Association, My Japan, Flower Auction Japan and Japan Flower & Communications – and specially flown in from Japan. Thus, the public had the opportunity to appreciate flowers and branches never seen in Vienna before. In addition to the wonderful Japanese plant material Mrs. Sumura used big branches and summer foliage from the gardens of two I.I. members. Her works could be seen on the following day along with the various arrangements created by sixteen I.I. members, who had enjoyed three exciting and eye-opening workshops under the gentle guidance of Mrs. Sumura, the days before. The very diversified three days program and the vast and magnificent venue proved to be ideal and brought an influx of visitors of all ages to the Japanese Summer Festival, which was highly appreciated and very favourably commented on.
18 – 19 May 2019 – Ichiyo Workshop with Corrie van der Meer-Fischer and Jeanne Rauwenhoff
For the third time I.I. Vienna Chapter invited the Master-Instructor and President
of Ichiyo Chapter Netherlands, President of I.I. Chapter Netherlands #215 Corrie
van der Meer-Fischer and her teacher Jeanne Rauwenhoff to hold a two-day workshop.
The participants came from Chapter Berlin #246, Chapter Germany-South #174, Ikenobo Tachibana-Kadokai, Ikenobo Ikebana Study Group Vienna, Sogetsu Vienna Study Group and last but not least from Chapter Vienna #223.
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Since the founding of Ichiyo-School it continuously contributed significant inputs of new ideas to the contemporary Ikebana. Linear movement of crossing lines is one of the most significant consideration where one is composing Ikebana.
The topics of the two-day workshops were :
No Kenzan Moribana Style – Using Nageire Techniques
When arranging cornus without leaves in a low container without
a kenzan it is nessesary to use techniques that usually apply to nageire.
The techniques for support and balance of flowers are the same.
Balance through Imbalance
One has to observe the characteristics of the mass of plants – is the mass (weight) heavy or airy, is the colour dark or light? Does the mass of plants belong to ”soft mass” or ”strong mass”? The vase can be brought into an inclined position of imbalance by different ways (put something under the vase). In this case the ikebana-artist has to create the balance by arranging two different plants with ”soft mass” and ”strong mass”.
Make your own container with
veneer
It is possible to form a kind of basket with strips of veneer. In the workshop the participants were asked to create a basket-like container with veneer together with cat-tail grasses, by paying particular attention to the harmony of the lines. This harmony is essential as there is no difference between material of basket or material of the arrangement. To achieve airy lightness, only a few flowers should be arranged in an upright style. The participants were deeply impressed by composing Ikebana under the guidance of Ms. Corrie van der Meer-Fischer and Ms. Jeanne Rauwenhoff. The master-instructors and their audience said unanimously that they had learned a lot from each other, and were greatly inspired and their awareness of flowers had intensified.
The 5th Japanese Spring Festival was opened on 27 April 2019 by H.E. Kiyoshi Koinuma, the Ambassador of Japan to Austria. A special progamm of Ikebana hands-on activities for the public and the I.I. exhibition entitled „Ikebana with bamboo“ were a major part of this very special event which included koto musisc, dances, songs, the sword art „Iaidō“, and a tea ceremony. The exhibition was set up by a group of 7 members of Vienna Chapter #223. More than twohundred guests visited the festival.
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On the previous day the ikebanists
had created a large variety of arrangements using green bamboo canes with a
diameter of 5 – 7cm where they had cut out (ichijugiri
or nijugiri), or had split the bamboo
into strips. Bamboo has to be worked on when its freshly cut, because otherwise
it looses elasticity and its typically green colour. It becomes sallow and
sometimes fissured. Along with fresh
green bamboo canes, the group utilized bamboo treated with heat and exposed to
sunlight in order to turn ochreous. Some of the bamboo containers they had brought
from Japan.
The bamboo stalks are hollow and
divided in segments. As they turn woody and very hard, but stay elastic, they
withstand strong winds and heavy snow load. Bamboo keeps its green leaves in
all seasons of the year. This stability and flexibility has always been
fascinating to people. As each segment
of the bamboo cane is closed off watertight by a knot or „nudus“, it can be
used as a vase. Inside it is void. This characteristic is synonymous for
emptiness, the important buddhist concept or the zen-buddhist „nothingness“,
„mu“ in Japanese. And how is the relationship between Ikebana, bamboo, „mu“ and
the Japanese Spring Festival?
„Friendship through flowers“, the
motto of Ikebana International, is an intercultural message which is today more
relevant than ever. The original goal of putting flowers in a vase for guests,
was to enjoy them. Bamboo highlighted in the I.I. exhibition as well as Ikebana
itself originate from Japan. Since the beginning of the Japanese Middle Ages
bamboo and Ikebana are closely related with the desire for peace and harmony because
of their joint appearance in the tea ceremony. In the „tokonoma“ of the
teahouse the philosophical background of the reunion – harmony, dignity, purity
and stillness – was originally expressed by the means of a calligraphy and the
flower arrangement in bamboo vases. With only one cup of tea passed around, the
host and his guests can experience the feeling of oneness and wholeness in the
spirit of harmony, dignitiy, purity and stillness.
The teamasters such as the famous
Sen no Rikyū prefered vases made of a short bamboo segment to expensive Chinese
bronze vessels. Even when vases were fissured, they were not discarded, but
kept like Rikyū’s bamboo vase „Onjōji“ exhibited today in the National Museum
of Tokyo. Apparently Rikyū took the name for his vase from the fissured bell of
the buddhist temple near the lake of Biwa.
Fissure due to the process of drying, was the element which made Rikyū’s vase unique. And this was more esteemed than perfection and material value. A fissure occurs without human involvement. When bamboo gets fissured, we have to accept this. Rikyū teaches us that esteem can not be diminished, as it does not depend on matter. In Buddhism „nothingness“ designates this open (not depending on anything) awareness. In Japan, it is called „mu“. The „nothingness“ or „void“ is dynamically filled with an open mind or our rich, not dicriminating „heart“ called „mu shin“. This open mind of „mu“ enables everyone to comprehend any artistic performance without any barriers of understanding or not-understanding. In this sense the joy provided by the flowers in the Ikebana compositions has no limits.
The presentation of Japanese scrolls in the tokonoma, the decorative alcove of traditional Japanese homes, has developed along with traditional Japanese architecture, ink painting and calligraphy. In the 21th century, in modern homes the scrolls and Ikebana arrangements became independent of the tokonoma. The modern scrolls became even a new form of art. Merely hanging a modern scroll can represent the impression of a whole tokonoma.
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“Scrolling up“ derives from the
technique of the PC, used when the whole text cannot be seen at once. The user
can view data scrolling it up and down, or to the left and right. One may use
Japanese scrolls like this if they are very long.
In our workshop „Scrolling up“ is a
metaphor referring to the Japanese art of scroll painting with a modern sense. „Scrolling
up“ means a dynamic process of information or art.
Our scrolls, made of cloth (about 40 x
70cm) fixed between two bamboo sticks, served as a background for an abstract
design in which net-like fabrics (for instance for fruits) had to be used. Particularly,
as the motive of the fishing net can be found in the various types of Japanese art
for a long time.
„Arrangement with Plants on the Wall“
is a subject of the Sogetsu Curriculum, but in this lesson the arranger has to
use just the plain wall as a background for the Ikebana composition. The freestyle
„Tapestry Arrangement“is a subject of the Ikenobo
Curriculum and has some common points with the topic of „Scrolling“.
Scrolls allowed us to work in a freestyle
manner by mainly using various kinds of nets. It was also possible to add dried
plant materials or fresh plants with tiny water containers hidden in the nets.
Mrs. Ilse Neumayer gave a very informative demonstration of her
numerous ideas concerning the technique of using nets in Ikebana.
Twenty-one participants creating a large variety of scrolls with nets, enjoyed visibly this evening with that very special topic.
14 February 2019 – How music can inspire Ikebanists: Tango Argentino, presented by Ingrid Truttmann
Keeping
with the theme „How music can inspire Ikebanists“ Ingrid Truttmann, a
long-standing I.I. Member and passionate practitioner of Tango, had prepared
for every participant of the February meeting a hand-out summarizing the most
important information on the Tango Argentino, such as history, instruments,
movements.
As Ingrid had invited her dance partner to come to the meeting, all members present had the opportunity to enjoy a live-performance of Tango, which was an unexpected and highly appreciated delight. Then under inspiring tango sounds the particpants set about creating their Ikebana, in which the elegant „Tango-colours“ red and black had to be used. Since every member had his or her own response to the theme, the results were very diverse. Creating Ikebana arrangements in connection with music was an interesting and enchanting experience for all who participated and reinforced the conviction how wonderful and rewarding Ikebana can be.
For the two first meetings in 2019 the President Eva Dungl had chosen the theme : music and Ikebana. At the January meeting she presented a fascinating introductory talk about the concept of Noh-Theatre, jo–ha-kyū which originated in the Bugaku, the imperial dance of masks of ancient times and was adopted in the classical Japanese Noh-Theatre.
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Jo–ha-kyū virtually dictates each element of Noh-Theatre including compiling of the programme of plays, structuring each play, the songs and the dances within the plays, and the basic rythm within each Noh-performance. Jo means introduction, ha development and kyū conclusion, in addition the concept indicates the gradually increasing tempo: the tempo starts slowly at yo, gets faster at ha and culminates in kyū. In Ikebana these three principles can be incorporated as follows:
jo indicates the initial
phase where the attention of the arranger is
drawn on the theme and the focus is put on the concentration
ha corresponds to the part where the arranger chooses the
materials and reflects on the materialization of his ideas
kyū correlates
with the final phase in which the arrangement is then quickly done, more or less in 20 minutes.
Besides the jo-ha-kyū principles, another
typically Japanese concept, ma, has
to be considered. In music ma means
the pauses between the notes and applied to the field of Ikebana, it indicates the
contrast between the void or negative space and the fullness of positive space.
Having this information in mind, the 17 members created a large variety of arrangements in which curved lines were the dominating element.
29 – 30 September 2018 – Wabi-Seminar in the Cselley Mühle Oslip
佗 wabi means the scanty, transitory. This important aesthetic term of Zen-Buddhism denominates the material emptiness full of heart-mind. Change can be observed everywhere in the world as traces of the vanishing (drying up) as well as evidence perceptible in the aged (a tree´s annual rings). Through Ikebana the beauty of wabi can be experienced.
The Seminar is led by Mag. Dr. Eva Dungl and Mag. Ingrid Truttmann.
The
associations « Weltmuseum Wien Friends » and « Austrian-Japanese
Society (ÖJG Österreichisch-Japanische Gesellschaft) » with the support of
« Nihonjinkai (Japanische Gesellschaft in Österreich) » invited to
the Japanese Summer Festival 2018. The Tanabata ‘Star Festival´ is one of the
traditional events in the series of Japanese Season Festivals held at the « Weltmuseum
(Museum of Ethnology) » in the historic center of Vienna. Demonstrations
and exibitions of Ikebana International Vienna Chapter are an integrative
component of these very popular events.
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The 2018 Tanabata Festival opened by H. E. Ambassador Koinuma Kiyoshi and his wife, was a great success. Hundreds of people streamed to the imposing rooms of the Weltmuseum on a wonderful summer day. The entrance hall was reserved only for Ikebana, where the 17 participants of I.I. Vienna Chapter and visitors could enjoy the silence while in the main hall the bustling presentations of Japanese arts like Soranbushi, Iaido, Taiko etc. took place. The magnificent Hall of Colums at the Corps de Logis of the Imperial Palace was the ideal venue for the display of 14 ikebana arrangements and one large group work. Next to the steps leading to this hall the past President Elisabeth Streubel presented a welcoming « Mukae-bana », a scupltural work made with polygonum stems, roses and hydrangeas while next to the steps leading to the exit the new President Eva Dungl had set up a large Ikebana creation expressing a farewell to the visitors. One I.I. member provided a big arrangement for the speaker’s desk, two others made an arrangement as stage decoration in the lecture hall. A special highlight of the exhibition was a Sogetsu teamwork composition, which showed a very modern interpretation of tsuribana, a style of hanging arrangements. For this purpose, during a special I.I. workshop some weeks before, three metres long white plastic pipes for electric cables were heated and transformed into interestingly shaped containers. The tsuribana of six participants were strung together by using asparagus fern and limonium of white and violet colour. Two members using their self-made plastic pipe containers composed a large arrangement with agapanthus and spirea as floral accent. It was placed on a marble bench covered by a rolled out black tissue. All participants drew inspiration from the spirit of tanabata emphazising particularly the mythology of the stars Wega and Altair. Their colourful free style compositions expressed imposingly the joy of the idea of fulfilled wishes. The I.I. Vienna Chapter is looking forward to participating again in the 2019 Tanabata festival, which will take place among the numerous celebrations commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Austria – Japan Diplomatic Relations.
17 March 2018 – Japanese Season Festival – Spring Festival at Baden
If Dr. Noriko Brandl, vice-president of cultural affairs
of the ÖJG (Austrian Japanese Society), summons her Japan friends, a Japanese
seasonal festival is not far off. The dedicated art historian has been awarded
the Cultural Prize 2017 by the Japanese Foreign Minister for the great success
of her organized events promoting Japanese culture. The last one took place at
Baden, a very nice town near Vienna, in spring 2018. This Chapter Report is a
great opportunity to publicize the beginning and tradition of season festivals
hold with Noriko Brandl in Vienna and Baden through an interview.
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Eva Dungl (I.I. Vienna Chapter): Ms. Noriko
Brandl, when and where
was the beginning of the Japanese Seasons Festivals where
the Ikebana exhibitions and Ikebana demonstrations of the I.I. Vienna Chapter
are an integrative component of?
Noriko Brandl: At the beginning of the
Japanese Seasons Festival, the anniversary year 2009 marked the celebration of
140 years of diplomatic relations between Japan and Austria. The annual program
“Japan for All Seasons” led four events through the anniversary year
in the Weltmuseum Wien (Museum of Ethnology). Due to
the great success, the festivals continued to take place with the participation
of the societies of Japanese cultural tradition based in Austria and the
Japanese School in Vienna. From then on, the various societies of Japanese art
and culture combined a dense network, which also included and maintained a
friendly relationship with the Japanese Embassy.
Eva Dungl (I.I. Vienna Chapter): What makes the success of these popular events?
Noriko Brandl: Our Japanese
seasonal festivals are for all people, adults and children. It should appeal to
the whole family and access to the arts in the hands-on program should not be
difficult. In the beginning, getting to know the arts is for everyone. The
festivals offer, because they take place again and again every new and getting
to know each other is deepened. Japanese culture is not shown from one side,
but from the perspective of the different arts. Hosts and guests meet again and
again during the repeated festivals, so they can learn from the artists, who
are also teachers.
For the Japanese Spring Festival 2018 in the
city of Baden near Vienna invited the ÖJG (Austrian Japanese Society) together
with the Cultural Office of the city of Baden. S. E. Ambassador Koinuma Kiyoshi
and his wife opened the festival and attended all performances of the Japanese
Arts. The Spring Festival took place in time for the 3rd of March (the third
day of the third month), where Japan celebrates hina matsuri, the Girls’ Festival or the Doll’s Festival. The
weather is gradually warming at this time of blooming nature and it is
especially dedicated to the girls. In Austria, getting to know the Japanese
arts and their performance in the context of the family party comes to the
fore. In Baden these included the performances of the music of the Koto,
Shamisen, Taiko drums and Japanese songs. There was an opportunity to
experience the sword art Iaidō up close and prepare a cup of tea in the tea
ceremony. The hands-on program included kimono dressing, origami folding and
calligraphy. The rooms of the theater were designed by the exhibitions of
Ikebana International Vienna Chapter and Bonsai Club Vienna.
What would a Japanese Spring Festival be without spring flowers? The pink flowering peach blossom, the yellow rapeseed blossom and the pink quince, which flourished in Japan at the time of the Girls’ Festival, are not yet blooming in Austria at this time. The Ikebana artists like to use other pink and yellow spring flowers to spread the atmosphere of young awakening nature with their pure, bright freshness. Eleven members of Ikebana International Vienna Chapter created a handsome exhibition of 37 arrangements. Part of the exhibition was dedicated to the narcissus and the special technique of putting this flower. Their diverse forms were expressed in a special, jointly arranged sequence of arrangements. This is a specialty called renka, designed by members of the Sogetsu School. Like the verses of a Japanese string poem (renga) composed by several participants, the individual arrangements should harmoniously relate to each other and form a unity.
12 – 14 October 2017 – “60 Years Ikebana International and 50 Years in Vienna” – “From Tradition to Modern Style”
In order to commemorate the founding of Ikebana International 60 years ago and to mark the 50th Anniversary of Ikebana in Vienna, an extensive exhibition entitled “From Tradition to Modern Style“ was put together by 21 members in the wonderful, light-flooded premises of the Viennese Cultural Center WUK.
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The Vienna Chapter was honored that the Japanese Ambassador to Austria, Mr. Kioshi Koinuma, accompanied by his wife and the Head of the Japanese Culture and Information Center, Mr. Kei Iwabuchi, not only took the time to view all the 55 arrangements displayed, but also made the opening address. In her welcoming speech the President, Mrs. Elisabeth Streubel, evoked the history of I.I. and in particular emphasized the motto that international friendship and good will can be fostered by flowers.
From 12th to 14th October visitors had the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the pleasure, richness and beauty of Ikebana. The exhibits, mirroring each individual ikebanist, ranged from gorgeous traditional Ikenobo compositions to eye-catching modern works done on a big scale.
Particularly interesting was the co-operation between several arrangers and artists, e.g. the painter Karim El Seroui providing a large abstract painting and the potter Justine Wohlmuth offering her big-sized genuinely looking ceramic containers.
Guests were able under guidance to have a go at creating a simple and enjoyable take-away Ikebana arrangement in vessels, which for this particular purpose had been produced beforehand in a special I.I. meeting. Two I.I. members conducted guided tours explaining the different arrangements from the three schools represented: Ichiyo, Ikenobo and Sogetsu. To everyone’s delight, the chosen venue proved to be ideal and brought an influx of visitors of all ages to the show, which was highly appreciated and very favorably commented on.
Mr. Oskar Streubel, the always supportive husband of the President and a specially trained photographer, shot beautiful pictures, which can be enjoyed on YouTube.
9 June 2017 – “Lange Nacht der Kirchen” – Ikebana in the Donaucity Church
In the Whitweek approximately 350.000 visitors – 150.000 of them in Vienna – participated at the thirteenth event “Lange Nacht der Kirchen.” The Donaucity-Church named “Christ, Hope of the World” was center of a rich program and flower arrangements. 15 members of Ikebana International Vienna exhibited 35 arrangements in the church, in the parish hall and the hallway. A psalm was theme of some arrangements, “Whitfire.”
Members of Ikebana International Vienna took part in the Festival of the Österreichisch-Japanischen Gesellschaft (Austrian-Japanese Society) in Baden for the third time. Nine ladies and gentlemen of I.I. participated in the presentation in the “Theater am Steg”. A special honour was the visit of H.E. Kiyoshi Koinuma, Japanese Ambassador in Austria.
12 June 2016 – Exhibition on the occasion of the Japanese Family Festivity in the Wiener Hofburg
The festivities organized by the Österreichisch-Japanische Gesellschaft (Austrian-Japanese Society) in co-operation with Ikebana International Vienna Chapter in the Wiener Hofburg has a long tradition. Eleven members and a young guest artist created 18 flower arrangements.
6 March 2016 – Ikebana at the Japanese Spring Festival in Baden
For the second time the “Theater am Steg” in Baden near Vienna was the location of a Japanese Festival. Ikebana International Vienna was represented with 40 arrangements und with a workshop “Ikebana for children.” The numerous visitors had the possibility to enjoy other Japanese arts. Koto-music, choral singing, a Kimono-show, dance, sword fight, Bonsai, and a tea ceremony were part of the program. Furthermore, Origami and calligraphy workshops were offered.
15 October 2015 – 30 Years Ikebana International Chapter Vienna #223
On 15 October the exhibition entitled “From Love of Flowers to Friendship through Flowers” was opened. It took place precisely on the day and location of the founding of the Ikebana International Vienna Chapter #223 30 years ago.
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Following the opening address of the Chapter President Elisabeth Streubel, the guest of honour, Counsellor Suzuki Hideo, gave a very well prepared speech on the evolution of the Japanese society within the last 3 decades. He particularly emphasized the contribution of ikebana to the equal rights of women in Japan. Afterwards Helga Wolf, the daughter of the still active founding member Hilde Wolf, in her speech, put the focus on the origins and intentions of Ikebana International 60 years ago and gave a brief history of the Vienna Chapter. The young Austro-Japanese musician, Aseo Friesacher, provided the musical frame to the opening ceremony. Mr. Suzuki was given the honour of the ribbon cutting, which in this case was a ribbon of autumn flowers. On the following 3 days numerous visitors could appreciate more than 50 different arrangements including several large sculptural works. The event, in which 21 members from 3 Schools had participated, was a great success and many enthusiastic encouragements were received.
As the World Museum in Vienna is closed due to rebuild, this
year’s traditional “Japanese Summer Festival” took place in the “Theater am Steg”
in Baden near Vienna.
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Ikebana International Vienna Chapter presented the
arrangements in a large room together with Bonsai art. In front of the stage
for the performances there was a big arrangement by Vienna Chapter. Additionally,
the following performances were presented to the interested public.
Koto (Fuyuki Enokido)
Japanese songs (Surugadai-Chor)
Shamisen (Masanoshō Uno)
Iaidō (Seishinkan Dōjō)
Nihon Jūjutsu (Kokusai Budōin Austria)
Traditionell Japanese dance
Origami, Kalligraphy
tea ceremony (Seishinkan Dōjō)
Anesama-ningyo exhibition (Kazumi Nakayama)
Ikebana exhibition (Ikebana International)
Bonsai exhibition (Bonsaiclub Wien)
The audience enjoyed Japanese sushi and mochi.
The event was a big success and was visited by more than 300 people.
20 June 2015 – Japanese Cultural Day at Andromeda-Tower
Ikebana International Vienna was invited to participate at the „Japanese Cultural Day“, which was organized by Mrs. Noriko Brandl with the Permanent Mission of Japan to the International Organizations in Vienna. The Festival took place on the 24th floor of the Andromeda tower in the Vienna International Center where the scenery provided the background to the Ikebana arrangements. It was the first Japanese Cultural Day at this location. Traditional Arts were performed for the audience. Famous Japanese artists were invited to Austria. Fuyuki Enokido presented Koto, Tomoko Maeda – Violin, Masanoshō Uno – Shamisen, Iaidō – Seishinkan Dōjō and Seishinkan Dōjō – Tea Ceremony. It was a surprise that 180 visitors enjoyed the Japanese art forms.
29 – 30 May 2015 – Sogetsu Demonstration and Workshop held by Atsuko Bersma
At the last weekend of May the Vienna Chapter, in cooperation with the Vienna Sogetsu Study Group, supported an extraordinary Ikebana event: Mrs. Atsuko Bersma, a top-level Sogetsu teacher from Belgium, gave a wonderful demonstration of her art and skill. She created 8 refined arrangements which were highly appreciated by the audience. On the following day, Mrs. Bersma conducted two workshops. Due to her kind guidance, accurate evaluations, precise and easy instructions these workshops were a great success and a fruitful and inspiring experience for all 25 participants among them 12 I.I. members.
3 May 2015 Exhibition at the Japanese Family Day at Ephesos-Museum
Vienna Chapter was invited by the Japanese-Austrian Society to present Ikebana arrangements within the frame of the annual Family Day, which took place in the beautiful setting of the Ephesos Museum. This museum showes antique objects from ancient Greek times. The tension between old artefacts and the short-lived art of Ikebana was very interesting. Many visitors were attracted and complimented the exhibition, for which 10 Ikebana artists had set up 2 large scale arrangements and 15 smaller compositions.
24 – 25 May 2014 – Hanakago – Workshop by Corrie van der Meer-Fischer and Jeanne Rauwenhoff (Netherland)
Arranging
in Japanese flower baskets (hanakago)
is a specific interscholastic subject of Ikebana. Gentle wild flowers und grasses
give an impact of very fascinating naturalness und surprising facility.
Different “webbings” are useful for the creation of modern baskets.
I.I. Vienna
Chapter invited Ichiyo-Masters Corrie van der Meer-Fischer and Jeanne Rauwenhoff/I.I.
Netherland Chapter to give us a lecture about their experiences in arranging Japanese
flower baskets.
read more
Saturday, 24 May 2014
Ikebana demonstration by Corrie van der Meer-Fischer und Jeanne Rauwenhoff (I.I. Netherland Chapter).
Creation of a basket container
by webbing of the type „Wiener Geflecht“ („Viennese web“).
Arranging the Ikebana in the
webbing with typha leaves, hosta leaves, wicker and freesia.
Sunday, 25 May 2014
Lecture
and demonstration by Corrie van der Meer-Fischer and Jeanne Rauwenhoff about
the Japanese flower basket, hanakago: Types of baskets and basics for arranging
in Japanese flower baskets.
Arranging in traditional types of hanakago with flowers and grasses from nearby fields. The participants brought a variety of old, traditional and modern baskets with them. By using them they could study the parts of the basket’s body, different shapes and patterns with the view on their objects.
Before
leaving Vienna the wife of the former Ambassador of Japan in Austria, Yūko
IWATANI, presented her full set of Hina-dolls on an altar to the World Museum
Vienna. This was the reason for the first Hinamatsuri (Dolls Festival) in
Austria! The festival was organized by the Austrian Japanese Society (Dr.
Noriko Brandl) on 1st March 2014. The program included traditional
arts, origami and calligraphy workshop for the guests, chorus and dance
presentations, and the exhibition of Ikebana International Vienna Chapter. For
the Ikebana exhibition we chose the special topic: HAIR.
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In
former days Hinamatsuri was also called festival of woman (onna no sekku). The flowers and branches of our arrangements
emphasized hair curls and plaits, long open hair of a young girl or hair-style
of a woman. We gave them the titles „bijin – beauty“, „girl arranges her hair“,
„fragrant hair“, „hair in the wind of the spring“, „The famous poetess Ono no
Komachi“, „woman with fan“, „natural blond“ and so on.
6 – 9 June 2013 – Exhibition 初夏Shoka – „Early summer“: Ikebana and Haiku
The exhibition was opened by S.E. IWATANI Shigeo, ambassador of Japan in
Austria.
To make the essential idea of Ikebana and Haiku poems clear, the arts were demonstrated in a live performance. At the opening ceremony six members of the Austrian Haiku Association each stood next to an Ikebana arrangement of their own choice and in turn recited their own Haiku poems which expressed early summer 初夏 „shoka“: Paul Dinter, Mario Freingruber, Ingrid Hoffmann, Rosemarie Schulak, Petra Sela, and Traude Veran. The collection of poems, composed in the short form of Haiku poetry, were recited in both the German language and Viennese dialect. The use of dialect is surprisingly new but very up-to-date.
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Through the methodical meditative training in Ikebana
or Haiku one can take a closer look at one’s own everyday life and smaller aspects
of the surrounding world. With the mental development of close concentration,
feelings of bliss and happiness are evoked. In fact one visitor to the
exhibition said: “To look at all these Ikebana here was like a therapy for me“.
The chairlady of Austrian Haiku Association (Österreichische Haiku Gesellschaft) and authoress of numerous books, Petra Sela says: “Beyond each Haiku there is often the whole history of one’s own life. But the speaker of the poem avoids a statement in the first-person“. More than thirty Ikebana arrangements in Ikenobo and Sogetsu style told us: If plants of early summer grow, then it is early summer
16 – 17 June 2012 – Hana Kubari and Bamboo-fantasies
It was during the I.I. European Conference in Paris in October 2008 when Elisabeth Streubel (a member of the I.I. Chapter Vienna) and myself participated in a workshop given by Jeanne Rauwenhoff and Corrie van der Meer-Fischer. Since then we had the idea to ask Jeanne and Corrie to come to this beautiful city of Vienna and to give workshops to interested participants from the local Ikebana community.
read more by Iris Kuhn
It was a private initiative and luckily enough Eva Dungl, the current president of the I.I. Chapter Vienna, was also interested and offered to provide the rooms needed for this event. It may be interesting to note here that the workshop took place in the same building that was used as staging area during the Iemoto’s visit and demonstration at the Voelkerkunde-Museum in October of 2009. Also at that time Eva had provided the space.
We were lucky that Jeanne and Corrie accepted to go on this long trip. The general theme of the workshops was to work without Kenzan. The materials used were thick and thin bamboo and a hana kubari, using branches from a ‘Felsenbirne’ (Amelanchier) of our garden. The workshops were well received by 15 participants from three different schools. It was a successful event in the true spirit of ‘friendship through flowers’ and I would like to personally express my sincere thanks to Jeanne and Corrie. I also should express thanks in the name of the other participants – they were all excited and impressed by the way Jeanne and Corrie were teaching, maintaining a relaxed atmosphere.
24 May 2012 – The theory of yīn and yáng, the five elements and Ikebana of the Mishō-Schule 陰陽五行思想と華道
Mr. Azuma Shigeho from Misho ryu offered us to visit Vienna to hold a Demonstration. Mrs. Dungl our Vice President had arranged this event in cooperation with the Institute of Philosophy of the Vienna University. In connection with the demonstration it was planned to have also a discussion about the philosophical background of Misho ryu / school.
In advance Mr. Azuma Shigeho prepared a presentation which was translated into German by Univ.-Doz. Dr. MMag. HASHI Hisaki and she was so kind to read the text while the arrangements were created. Mr. Azuma Shigeho was assisted by four ladies working on different traditional arrangements.
She also led the discussion that followed. The auditorium was full during performance and discussion. Our members from other Ikebana schools and the general public got a good impression of the spirit of Misho ryu.
From 15-18th March, we were invited to the museum’s exhibition: ” Wald, Baum, Mensch”. At the Museum’s request, the Vienna Chapter held it’s fourth Exhibition in the Vienna Museum for Ethnology. The exhibition was opened by H.E. IWATANI Shigeo and the Chapter President Mrs. Sachiko Schmid.
read more
Ikebana International Vienna Chapter #223
proudly presented the commemorative publication „Ikebana International Vienna
Chapter – Die ersten 25 Jahre“ („First 25 Years“) at the opening ceremony of
the exhibition „Wald/Baum/Mensch“ (forest/tree/human) as an activity in the
„International year of forest“ proclaimed by United Nations.
Members of our board and other authors had worked together to create this
book on the history of Ikebana in Austria to celebrate the Vienna
Chapter’s 25th Anniversary. More than 150 people came to the opening.
The theme of the exhibition was interpreted by 15 members who took part,
in addition to a central group Sogetsu arrangement, based on birch trees. The
28 arrangements ranged in style from classic to modern, with representatives of
the Sogetsu, Ichiyo, Misho and Ikenobo schools. As in the past, there was great
interest from the general public on all three days.
On Friday and Saturday Mrs. Eva Dungl did two interesting guided tours
on the meaning of “sky-human-earth” in the art of Ikebana for the general
public.
On Saturday and Sunday two introductory Sogetsu courses were held by Mrs. Sachiko Schmid assisted by our members. Both were fully booked, with 15 and 14 participants, showing a growing interest in Japanese culture, and Ikebana in particular, among the Viennese public.
1 May 2011 – Benefit performance in favour of Japan in the Museum für Völkerkunde Wien
Ten members of Ikebana International Vienna performed a flower arrangement in the chain-form called “Ikebana-renga.”
Hiroshi Teshigahara, Iemoto of the Sogetsu-School, had the idea of this ikebana artform involving several artists in a special way. Ikebana-renga is a completely new ikebana style shown for the first time by Hiroshi Teshigahara at the 8th World Conference of Ikebana International in 2001. Akane Teshigahara, Iemoto of the present time, says, `As Renga is arranged by several artists, ikebana accordingly gets several forms of expression. In order to create harmony amongst them, every participant is acting retentively considering the previous and following arrangement.´ The clear profit of this event was granted the inhabitants of Futaba, who had to be evacuated after the earth quake, the tsunami and the nuclear disaster.
16 – 19 June 2011 – Exhibition to celebrate the 25th anniversary of I.I. Chapter Vienna
To
celebrate the 25th anniversary of the II Chapter 223 we were invited
by Mrs. Chunah Urban-Chao, also member of our chapter, to hold an exhibition in
her Chinese restaurant Sichuan. In the preparation meetings we decided to use
the ante-room to present the 5 participating schools through classic and modern
arrangements and to use an extra room for several arrangements and a “renga”-styled
Ikebana of six participants. One arrangement was created by Mrs. Chao and our
Vice-president Eva Dungl in the main room of the restaurant. We were also invited
to use the surrounding Chinese garden where we created installations of various
sizes. We worked to make our arrangements fit to the furniture and the
surroundings – inside the restaurant as well as outside.
The
exhibition was opened by the director of the Japanese Center
for Information and Culture Mr. Tanaka Kenichiro on a pleasant summer evening. Every
visitor of the restaurant had a chance to look at the arrangements and the
installations and was enchanted by the beautiful surroundings enhanced by Ikebana.
Specifically
Mrs. Dungl presented Ikebana to a group of visiting pupils who were so inspired
by her lecture that they created an installation in the garden themselves.
This was already the third successful exhibition on this location.
18 – 20 June 2010 – Ikebana Exhibition to calligraphies of Yu Feng and Bonsai
Three Asian Arts – Bonsai, Ikebana and Calligraphy – were presented at the theatre hall of a health resort at the 10th garden-festival in this region. The exhibition was organized by Ikebana International Vienna Chapter 223, Bonsai-Club Wien and the Chinese Master of Calligraphy, Yu Feng, emphasizing the topic „water“.
read more
If one compares Bonsai and Ikebana one can find common
characteristics or differences like transience of beauty in nature.
On the other hand the traditional connection between ikebana and calligraphy was presented in the harmony of a special layout of a modern „Gesamtkunstwerk“, textile movable walls with the Chinese images on it and ikebana in front of these walls. Yu Feng, lector of the University, wrote the Chinese letters for mountains, waters and their sounds directly on the blue cotton using archaic characters, tensho, shinsho and sôsho. “To hear the rain” and other topics on the sound of nature means to understand (the nature). That’s why in Asia painters wanted to express the hearing of sounds in pictures and characters until the Tang dynasty. Thirteen members of Ikebana International Vienna Chapter presenting Ikenobo-, Misho- and Sogetsu-School emphasized the expression of these texts in their arrangements. The Sogetsu arrangements were free styled, Ikenobo-School was presented by a very beautyful rikka shinputai and landscape shoka, and three Misho arrangements were made in the aesthetic system of shin – gyô – sô.
9 October 2009 – Ikebana–Demonstration of Iemoto Akihiro Kasuya
LOCATION: Museum für Völkerkunde (Museum of Ethnology) at the Hofburg, Heldenplatz, 1010 Vienna, Columned Hall of the museum
9 Oct 2009: Demonstration of Iemoto Akihiro Kasuya and opening ceremony
10 Oct 2009: Ichiyo-workshop with Iemoto Akihiro Kasuya, open for visitors
10-11 Oct 2009: Ikebana exhibition
On
this special year of the 140th Anniversary of diplomatic relations between
Japan and Austria, Ikebana International Headquarters sent one of the leading
ikebana headmasters of Japan and the Vienna Chapter proudly presented him:
Iemoto Akihiro Kasuya.
Ikebana
International was honoured by Ambassador Akio Tanaka who held the speech for
the opening ceremony in which he appreciated ikebana as a highly regarded art.
He especially elaborated on the life of the flowers and why we should avoid the
word “arrangement” for ikebana.
The President of Ikebana International, Mrs. Itsuko Nakayama was right in announcing the aim of this special event:
“We sincerely hope that we will be able to promote friendship and understanding between the people of both countries.”
In
cooperation, the delegation of the board members of Ikebana International
Headquarters and the members of the Vienna Chapter created the harmonious
atmosphere of traditional Japanese art showing the beauty of life in one of the
most beautiful places in the heart of historic Vienna. The pure tenderness of
blossoms, curved lines of autumn grasses and branches awoke the pattern of
marble preserved in stone to life. The ambiance of common joy supported the
Ikebana artists in creating their works.
read more
In
the centre of the flower exhibition in the marvellous Columned Hall the Ikebana
of the demonstration of Iemoto Kasuya was the absolute highlight. Iemoto Kasuya
liked to work with the bamboo organized by the members of Vienna Chapter. He
used it as material, container and furniture.
A
very special interior decoration construction made by the Iemoto was presented
to the Austrian people for the first time at a demonstration “hana kazari”: a
rack-like stand for ikebana which is rooting in the room display diagram of the
formal reception room of the residences. All containers in the hana kazari were
made of fresh green bamboo: a vase, lying bamboo, lying double container,
hanging container with a bamboo ring and the use of the bamboo that is part of
the rack as vase. After arranging the various ikebana the Iemoto placed them in
the hana kazari emphasizing the space between them.
Akihiro
Kasuya, whose speciality is combining materials through a natural balance of
their weights, showed willow branches standing in a piece of bamboo. The
Viennese public was amazed by the hanging hana kago as well as by the bamboo
umbrellas which return to mind empress “Sisi” and the companion she favoured on
her walks. Through balancing the three umbrellas with vases they gave the
impression of not being bound by gravity in contrast to the heavy columns
between which they were hanging.
In
the middle of the Columned Hall surrounded by over two hundred guests Iemoto
Kasuya aided throughout the whole demonstration by his assistant Kasumi Saito
placed a huge ikebana within a construction made of bamboo and wood. The public
very attentively watched the great demonstration accompanied by calm sounds of
nature and melodies for over two hours.
The
workshop on 10 October was a big success with many participants – there were
forty people interested in learning Ichiyo-Ikebana. Iemoto Akihiro Kasuya
assisted by Kasumi Saito showed all participants (from beginners to teachers)
the fundamental techniques and school forms using branches and flowers as well as
working creatively with bamboo. The participants could use a wide range of
branches like willow, hazel-tree and bamboo as well as different
chrysanthemums, lilies and other flowers which had been prepared by the Vienna
team-members. Iemoto Akihiro Kasuya personally discussed all works with the
respective creator.
Mrs. Sachiko Schmid in her kind and lively
manner worked as a translator and helped with the explanations. During the
workshop visitors were also allowed to watch the participants. The exhibition
was complemented by many works created during the workshop.
After these three days all participants were very happy to have experienced this great event. We will always remember the good cooperation during the preparation, the demonstration, the exhibition and the workshop by the Japanese and Austrian members – a true example of the motto of Ikebana International “Friendship through Flowers”.
10 – 11 October 2009 – Ikebana exhibition at Museum für Völkerkunde
The
Ikebana exhibition was arranged by 11 Japanese members of the board of Ikebana
International and by 14 members of the Vienna chapter. The participants from
Japan showed works in Ichiyo, Ohara, and Sogetsu style and additionally Ikenobo
was arranged by one of the Austrian participants.
29 – 31 May 2009 – ”spring at the beginning of summer”
To honor the 140th anniversary of friendly relations between Japan and Austria I.I. chapter 223 held an exhibition in the column hall of the “Museum für Völkerkunde”.
read more
In
addition to the theme the participants tried to create arrangements fitting to
the material (marble) and colours of the beautiful surroundings. 17
participants from 5 different schools (Ichiyo,
Ikenobo, Ohara, Misho, Sogetsu) took part in the exhibition. In addition to the free-style
arrangements, each school was represented with a typical school-form and a
descriptive text. A great variety of traditional as well as modern arrangements
were presented to the public. The museum put on display a number of traditional
containers, baskets and diverse fastenings used by the different schools from
its own large Japanese collection. In the center of the hall the Sogetsu
participants jointly created a bamboo installation fitting to the colors and
shapes of the floor.
On
Friday evening the exhibition was ceremoniously opened by the Director of the
Japanese Center for Information and Culture (also First Secretary of the
Embassy) Mr. Tomonobu Hori. The audience was also addressed by the organisator
of the exhibition “Made in Japan”, Mrs. Mag. Renate Noda and the president of
I.I. Austria Mrs. Eva Dungl.
On Saturday and Sunday there were guided tours where visitors were informed about the specific characteristics of each school. Additionally demonstrations of Ikenobo and Sogetsu were held on both days. Delegates from a Misho school exhibition which took place in the Japanese culture center visited our exhibition as well.
7 – 8 June 2008 – Ikebana-Weekend at Schloss Fischau with Atsuko Bersma
I.I. Vienna organized a two day Sogetsu workshop
followed by an exhibition in a beautiful castle of Bad Fischau, a small village
to the south of Vienna.
It was a great pleasure that Ms. Atsuko Bersma,who
lives in Brussels/Belgium, accepted our Invitation to hold the workshop. The first
theme was „Arranging Mass with Straight Lines“.
On the second day of the workshop the theme was „Lines
sen and Space yohaku in Balance tsuriai“. There the
participants had to create their ikebana in such a way that they fitted within
the frames prepared by Ms. Bersma to emphasize the empty space (yohaku).
read more
We were pleased to welcome also participants from Graz
and Bratislawa, in total over 30 people attended.
On late Saturday afternoon Atsuko Bersma held a demonstration where she prepared 5 Ikebana in free style fitting to the themes. After that the exhibition of the Ikebana of the two days was opened to the public by the director oft he Cultural Institute of the Japanese Embassy in Vienna, Mr. Hajime Senoo and I.I. Vienna President, Ms. Helga Komaz. The exhibition showed Ikebana within the beautiful rooms of the castle as well as outside in the scenic garden and mor than 250 people came to see them. In addition to Sogetsu also members of I.I. Vienna of the schools Ikenobo and Ichiyo were represented and the lively engaged discussions demonstrated the motto „Friendship through Flowers“.
April 2007 – 40 years of I.I. Vienna Chapter exhibition at Schloss Neugebäude
The Renaissance-palace Neugebebäude is a
mannerist palace commissioned by Emperor Maximilian II. at Vienna, Simmering.
According to legend, it was built on the site where the tent of Sultan Suleyman stood during the first Turkish siege in 1529 in Vienna. From the 17th century, parts of the palace were dismantled or relocated, and the palace and gardens, which were even used as an ammunition depot from 1744, were destroyed. After 1945 it was used variously as a depot and factory building. In the 1970s Schloss Neugebäude was listed as a historical monument and finally after 2000 partially renovated.
For the anniversary “40 years of Ikebana International in Vienna”, a large exhibition was held in the Schloss Neugebäude. The exhibition was opened by Mr. Hajime Senoo, Director of the Japanese Information and Culture Center of the Japanese Embassy in Vienna and District Director Ms. Renate Angerer. During the three-day exhibition, excellently organized by Helga Komaz, over 3000 visitors enjoyed Ikebana.
To honor the 140th anniversary of friendly relations between Japan and Austria I.I. chapter 223 held an exhibition in the column hall of the “Museum für Völkerkunde”.