What the origin of IKEBANA is.

the start is buddhism alter

The origins of IKEBANA, the Japanese way of flower arrangement, is generally from KUGE of Buddhism, which are flower offerings for buddhist altar, or also from YORISHIRO, the Japanese old custom, ancestors stood evergreens to invite spirits of gods. Anyway, we Japanese have a unique way of thinking for the greens and flowers and it led us to inherit and develop the IKEBANA culture.

much traditional culture made in Muromachi era

IKEBANA surely appears in the literature and reports from Muromachi era – the end of the fourteenth century to the middle of the fifteenth century- . In this era, the people created and developed a lot of Japanese original culture like Shoin-Zukuri (the traditional style of Japanese residential architecture), Teien (the traditional style of Japanese gardens), the Renga (a linked poem), Nougaku (the traditional theatrical art), Chanoyu (a tea ceremony), and so on. The samurais gained power and led these cultures instead of court nobles. The main leads were called Douhoshuwho served the Shogun families and influential Daimyo, the Japanese feudal lords, and they created the new arts and techniques. Some of them were skillful at the flowers and by them, the techniques of Tatebana, putting the branch on the center of the flower bows, were created. The good Ikebana artists, Senkei who was a Kyoto-Rokkakudo monk and the founder of Ikebou effected the people. Therefore IKEBANA spreaded from the samurai class to feudal lords.

In 16th century, samurai class improving the way

In Azuchi and Momoyama era, the end of 16th century, Senno Rikyu completed Chanoyu (the tea ceremony) and it became popular especially among samurai class, then Chibana (flowers for tea ceremony) were created. In the tea ceremonies rules, Senno Rikyu explained to the people that “Arrange flowers as they are in a field.”
For the style of Chabana is very simple and highly symbolic, and also in contrast to decorative Tatebana, it effects a lot to IKEBANA culture.