Hanakago Exhibition – I.I. Portland Chapter 47

Exhibitions highlighting the artistic works and traditions of the Kyoto region are the focus of the Japanese Garden throughout 2018. The first Year of Kyoto exhibition, open from February 3 until April 1, is Hanakago: The Art of Bamboo and Flowers, The event involved our Ikebana Chapter and the Saga Goryu School, whose headquarters are in Kyoto. Each year the Garden will focus its programming on a different region of Japan, portending participation of other schools as the Garden’s exhibitions turn their attention to various cities and regions of Japan.

Private bamboo art collections on loan to the Garden provided the opportunity to showcase the complementary arts of hanakago (flower basket) and ikebana. Etsuho Kakihana, master teacher of the Saga Goryu School of Daikakuji, accompanied by Mitsuho Shima and Setsuho Horii, traveled from Kyoto for this event. They spent a busy week preparing for the exhibition. In addition to creating masterful arrangements for the Pavilion and the Tanabe Gallery for the opening weekend of Feb 2-4, they conducted a workshop for the local students of Saga Goryu. For Garden members, they performed two demonstrations in the Cultural Center’s Yanai Classroom.

Each weekend through the end of the exhibit, arrangements will be on display in the Tanabe Gallery and the Pavilion. The arrangements will be provided in turn by Chapter members Heida Bruce, Ikenobo; Hideko Hearn, Sogetsu; Julie Nakao, Saga Goryu; and David Komeiji, Saga Goryu. Click to see the Chapter photos in our Gallery.