Dried Flowers

Rikka was the earliest style of arranging flowers in traditional Japanese Ikebana. It had its roots in the Muromachi period, and is said to be the basis of the Shoka, Moribana and Nageire style of floral arrangements.

The word Rikka means “standing flowers” and therefore it typically consisted of stems arranged in a tall vase to convey symbolism, asymmetry and spatial depth to represent the concepts of heaven, earth and man through the depiction of a landscape.

A rikka arrangement consists of three primary parts: the chief, the secondary and the ornamental stems, but their placements will differ according to the school of Ikebana. The primary stem is coaxed forward to around 70-degrees and then spread out on both sides in a 45-degree area. The placement of the secondary stem on the left rear of the primary stem gives depth to the arrangement. To the right of these two stems the ornamental stem spans out in a 30-degree area at an angle of 60-degrees. If the Rikka arrangement is done in a slanting manner the primary stem will be one and a half times as tall as the vase and the other two stems will reach up to half the length of the main branch.

A rikka arrangement will have nine symbolic elements, called the “Dogu” or “Yakueda”, which may or may not appear in every rikka arrangement. The nine parts, along with their functions is as follows:
· Shin: the primary part whose position and form will be central in determining those of the other parts.
· Shoshin: the centerpiece that holds the balance of the arrangement
· Soe: the chief supporting part of the Shin
· Uke: the part at the foreground that signifies space and width
· Nagashi: the lowest part of the arrangement which never bends below the mouth of the vase, this gives a sense of movement to the design
· Mikoshi: never arranged higher than the Shin and lower than the Shoshin, this gives a sense of depth to the arrangement
· Hikae: Placed under the soe, and higher than the Nagashi, this spreads out on the opposite side of the design from the Uke.
· Do: the basis of the design, and on which al other parts are based, it is placed before the Shoshin, and is lower than half the length of the Shoshin
· Maeoki: Spreads out on the front of the design and stabilizes the whole composition.

Rikka arrangements were done in the following methods:
· Shin: where the main stem (shin) and other stems were arranged in a tall container
· Gyo: where a wide, shallow vase is used to hold a low arrangement that is more wide than tall
· So: where flowers are arranged in a hanging container resembling a boat.

Rikka was further divided into Rikka Shofutai and the Rikka Shimputai forms. While the former was more traditional, the latter took on a more modern look.

Rikka Shofutai remains the most formal design principle and consists of the nine elements discussed above, along with very rigid rules for their placements. Additional stems, known as Ashirai may also be used to complete the composition. The vase used can vary between 20-30cms in height and has to flare out at the top, to form the Mizugiwa. The stems have to come out clearly from this and from the center of the kenzan (pin holder).

The more modern form of Rikka Shimputai was popularized by the presen headmaster of the Ikebono school. This form does not adhere to any strict rules, and is therefore considered to be more in line with creativity and expression. Unlike Shofutai, in this form there are not nine main eements, but two: Shu and Yo. These can be used in multiple combinations with the ashirai. The brightness as well as the relaxed appearance of the Rikka Shimputai makes it a very popular design philosophy.