Aside from kenzan, choosing an appropriate container is essential to the practice of Ikebana. Most self-learners following step-by-step tutorials, despite doing so faithfully, could still find their final arrangements unable to resonate with the aesthetics of Ikebana. This happens easily when the arrangement was done with a regular vase or dish casually found at home.  

Ikebana is a very structured practice. There is a form of arrangement called freestyle but it is not free like a loose balloon, it is free while in agreement of the basic principles written out for the practice. It could be compared to Chinese calligraphy, a medium in which different sets of diction have to be used for respective forms of script. Both Ikebana and calligraphy are about expression but it has to be done through a common set of principles to demonstrate that one is fluent and capable in the medium. Perhaps we can also compare it to ballet, or poetry. Serious publications on the study of Ikebana almost always include the study of containers. Similarly, masters of Ikebana understand the use of their containers well. (Shoka arrangement by Prof. Hideo Shibata from the Ikenobo school below.)

Ikebana Containers & Vases

The common and also vague idea of an appropriate Ikebana "vase" is a relatively low, sometimes wide ceramic plate–which is just one kind of Ikebana containers and only appropriate when certain form is practiced. A vase is a functional object for containing flowers–it is often deep and wide, thus great for storing and conditioning flowers. An Ikebana container is an aesthetic object that completes the form of an Ikebana arrangement, and only the practice of Ikebana will fulfill the most of its purpose. It comes in various forms but mostly either tall and narrow or shallow and wide. Cha-bana containers are often bamboo baskets. You can have a whole house of Ikebana containers and find that you can barely use any to store your flower market purchases effectively. If that is making sense, it can be easily understood reversely that it is almost impossible to use a regular vase to make an Ikebana arrangement. There are of course vases or tableware out there that could be well-suited for Ikebana, but it is important to understand the designated form of containers for respective forms of arrangement.

The three basic categories of Ikebana are Shoka for upright arrangements, Moribana for "piled-up" or slanting style arrangements with a wider base and Nageire for "throw-in" style arrangements or arrangements done without a kenzan. Let's take these groupings for now, we will write more on each form in our upcoming posts. It is also important to note that sometimes different containers could be used within one category depending on the plant material used.

Shoka Containers

The Shoka container is usually tall with a curved silhouette and a wide opening, leading the ki or chi (breath; air [literal translation]) of the structure going upwards. Sometimes containers have straight contours, especially when they are made of bronze or other materials from ceramics. Their silhouette are usually marked by a pair of converging or diverging lines to stretch the container upwards, elongating the branches and lines pointing up.

Even though a tall, wide mouth container is usually used for Shoka arrangements, they can also be done on a wider, shallow Moribana container based on the specific design or plant material used.

Moribana Containers 

Moribana arrangements consider space in all dimensions. The emphasis is on creating a space guided by three points or a triangular plane that balance both mass and void. Since Shoka in particular emphasize height, moribana arrangements tend to be more slanting and wide. To bring attention to the length of branches on a horizontal scale and the focal point often located in the lower half of the arrangement, the Moribana container is wide and shallow. The overall weight of the arrangement is brought down and the Ikebanist work to balance the mass of the plant materials and the container.

Nageire Containers

Nageire is the ultimate test of balance. Not only the Ikebanist need to consider the balance of form but (s)he also need to control the physical balance of every stem. Also referred to as "throw-in"style, each stem is snapped partially and placed into a straight-walled container to sit on the edge instead of being inserted securely onto a kenzan. The stems then balance off and support each other to form a complete arrangement–a form of arrangement intended to appear more natural as the arranger has less control over the angles of stems. (The actual logic of Nageire will need more explaining in length.) Since the half-snapped bottom part of the stem will need to be pressed against the inside of the container, the upper portion of the container has to be straight or relatively straight. The Nageire container is also usually tall with a narrow base to put the center of balance (actual physical balance point) of the arrangement right in the middle of the entire form. The Shoka container is tall but often not as tall as the Nageire container as the emphasis of height is carried by the upright stems. The ratio of stem and container height for Shoka is often at 3:1 whereas the ratio of stem and container height for Nageire is often at more like 3:2, sometimes even at 1:1.

Balance

All being said, it is important to understand that Ikebana is not about rules, it is about how all elements come together to create balance and an expression of space. There are the basic principles but there are also endless possibilities. Outside of these standardized categories of Ikebana containers, there are also freestyle containers–a more sculptural category that we will introduce in a separate post.