目次 Succeeding the ”Iemoto” at age 6Ohara-ryu is a Japanese flower arrangement school that has been around since the 19th Century. We interviewed the 5th ”Iemoto” or head, Hirotaka Ohara, born in 1988, 10 years younger than Nakata. He succeeded the Iemoto at age 6 when his father passed away. He presented his works for exhibition for the first time when he was 10, and in March of 2012, his first solo exhibition took place at Takashimaya department store in Tokyo, where it attracted about 45,000 visitors over 6 days. |
Ohara-ryu Undergoing Change“The traditional style of Ohara-ryu was established by the first and second Iemoto,” the current Ohara Iemoto told us. One of the characteristics of Ohara-ryu ”ikebana” is “moribana”. Until then, ”ikebana” mostly had to do with linear lines, and thus ”moribana”, which uses a wide open vessel, arranging the flowers so that it can be enjoyed 3-dimensionally, was an Ohara-ryu invention. ”Moribana” made it possible to express the surface and the depth through ”ikebana”. |
Culture is Like Glue that Connects PeopleOhara arranged flowers while we watched. He cut the branches off and started to create his work. The key is “to figure out what to delete to emphasize something else.” Nakata seemed intrigued by the Iemoto’s movements, and commented, “This is totally beyond my realm of imagination. My hands would just freeze, not knowing what to do.” |