Ichiyo

Ichiyo was founded in 1937 by a brother and a sister, Meikof and Ichiyo Kasuya. Ichiyo means “One Leaf” in Japanese and is also the logo of the school. The concept of the Ichiyo school is to teach students to make arrangements that fit the environment in which it is displayed and to express the individual’s emotions and character. Imagination is considered as essential to creative designs as materials and containers. 

Arrangements in the manner of the Ichiyo School are intended to arouse our senses in a different way than from traditional ikebana, giving the viewer an experience with nature that is unexpected, stimulating and profound. Imagination and feeling are as important as creative design and the proper selection of materials and containers. It is not just flowers in a vase; it is an art of human communication.

The current Iemoto, Naohiro Kasuya, specializes in combining materials through a natural balance of their weight, rather than by fastening the materials down with a kenzan or komi. Through balancing the materials, he aims to bring materials and containers together into a mutually cooperative position.