Kado
Ikebana
etiquette
inner self
better oneself
flower arrangement
aesthetics of addition
aesthetics of subtraction
preciousness of life
school
In Japan, we celebrate Hina-matsuri on March 3.
Hina-matsuri is a traditional and representative spring event in Japan.
In KADO, the appreciation of art involves placing flowers and plants from the four seasons into a vase.
The word “KADO” includes the Japanese character for path or “way”.
This “way” does not merely include improving the techniques necessary for following that way but also contains the concept of learning the necessary etiquette, enhancing your inner self and growing.
KADO goes beyond merely the arrangement of flowers, and the goal is to better yourself through the art.
In the same way as the Japanese arts of tea ceremony and calligraphy have the character for “way”, there is the same kind of goal with KADO.
In this way, in the past KADO was one of the arts learned by women before getting married.
KADO is very different from flower arrangement.
Flower arrangement uses large quantities of flowers and plants, and by filling space, is referred to as the “aesthetics of addition”.
In KADO, you create space by using the minimum number of flowers and plants, and the appreciation of beauty includes the space.
KADO, in contrast to flower arrangement, constitutes the “aesthetics of subtraction”.
Further, whereas in flower arrangement, there is volume and beautiful splendor, KADO represents the preciousness of life in addition to its splendor.
In KADO, there is also an etiquette to its appreciation.
Firstly, you kneel formally in front of the TOKONOMA(alcove) and bow once to the flowers before considering them.
When doing so, after looking at the overall structure, you appreciate the combination of flower ingredients, the vase, and stand.
After this appreciation, you finally bow to the person who arranged the flowers to express your gratitude.
There are more than 300 schools of KADO.
The oldest school is known as “IKENOBO”, and this has a history of more than 550 years.