My sensei gifted me with tickets to the 106th Sogetsu Annual Ikebana Exhibition at the Takashimaya Department Store in Nihombashi, Tokyo. 『花は心』 ”Flowers Are The Heart”.
At the entrance was a huge bamboo installation created by Sogetsu Iemoto Akane Teshigahara. It was like a graceful dance of bamboo, showing speed of movement and yet still elegant.
Here are some more of the beautiful arrangements.
And… how lucky for me to meet Iemoto Akane Teshigara herself! It was an honour!
One of my students came back from the Annapolis Valley and brought these wonderful branches for me. We don’t know what they are. They have big, berry-like fruit and very long thorns!
I decided to use only these branches for an arrangement. The changing colours and slight curling of the leaves tell us that autumn is here! The glossy fruit give contrast to the fading hues.
I hope you like it. —Miyako
It was surprising to see the underside of this leaf turning purple!
I hope you like it! —Miyako
As summer ends, the ubiquitous Queen Anne’s Lace flowers have started to ball up into flowerheads. Yes, the plant is considered a weed but is still interesting to use for ikebana!
I hope you like it. —Miyako
We love our American friends. And it pains us to make this announcement.
Shipments to the U.S. are temporarily suspended, effective Aug 23rd, 2025.
“…the United States has suspended its duty-free “de minimis” threshold of US$800 for all countries, including Canada. Starting August 29, 2025, all shipments entering the U.S. must have duties prepaid before crossing the border - regardless of their value.
This change, mandated under U.S. Executive Order 14324, applies to all business shipments from Canada, whether sent through the postal system, a Canadian courier, freight provider, or any commercial channel….
Goods valued at US$800 or less that are shipped to the United States through the postal network will be subject to an ad valorem duty. This duty will be equal to the effective tariff rate applicable to the product’s country of origin under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). For Canada, the current IEEPA rate is 35% for most goods.”
The tariff will be required to be paid up front with new documentation including a “Declaration ID” to show that the tariff has been paid. We are not entirely sure how to go about this. We do not have the resources to dig deeper to get more clarity. On top of that, we really cannot afford to pay 35% more. To avoid jeopardizing any shipment, we have made the sad decision to suspend U.S. shipments for now.
We look forward to serving our U.S. customers again soon. Thank you for your kind understanding.
We had the opportunity to present an ikebana workshop to JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) Programme Canada alumni who gathered in Halifax for their annual convention.
As everyone had experience living in Japan, majority have heard about ikebana. They understood easily enough ikebana principles such as creation of negative space (“ma”), asymmetry, etc. And, we were able to intersperse some Japanese language instruction through the workshop as well!
It was a very enjoyable time! We hope the delegates from all over Canada had a fun time in Halifax!
When we did our exhibition at the LaHave Bookstore in the South Shore of Nova Scotia, we met pottery artist Vaughan Smith. His glazes of black, grey, blue, light blue, and foamy white certainly felt like they depicted the spectrum of colours inspired by the LaHave River.
As nageire vases were getting harder and harder to find in Japan, we asked him if he could make some for us and he kindly obliged. We even requested grooves around the mouth of the vases to help with the cross-bar fixtures. (See our online shop.)
Here is an arrangement with one of Vaughan’s nageire vases.
I hope you like it. —Miyako
A few days ago, we were invited by a company in Halifax to present ikebana as part of the firm’s recreation programs. The demonstration was also live-streamed to all their offices across Canada! Thank you very much for your interest in ikebana!
This year, it seems like our ikebana has a very strong connection with books! After an exhibition at the Sackville Public Library, where we used the shelves as ikebana platforms, we found ourselves at the LaHave River Books, a charming bookstore tucked behind the landmark LaHave Bakery on the South Shore of Nova Scotia.
Before anything, we would like to thank the wonderful people at LaHave River Books: Gael, Marion, Andra, Sylvia, Janet, and Charles. We hope we didn’t make too much of a mess. Your warm welcome made everything so much easier!
The bookstore is housed in an historic building, built in 1901 and originally housed a ship’s chandlery, a general merchant, and a fish processing plant. For a time, the building’s top floor was also home to a branch of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. In 1985, the LaHave Bakery was established. Not only did it provide delicious bread and pastries, but it has become a hub for the close-knit community to gather. The bookstore was opened later in 2016, taking over the space of a master boat builder after it closed shop.
Miyako and two of her senior students—Susan and Val—took on the challenge to create arrangements that would blend with this place full of memories of times past whilst showing the uniqueness of ikebana as well.
Arrangements by Susan R.
Arrangement with hyrdangeas using no kenzan, showing the beauty of water while viewed from above.
Arrangement to be viewed from above, placed on a low side table.
Using unconventional material: toilet paper rolls! This arrangement was nestled in books. We just moved the arrangement temporarily to the hallway to get a better photo.
This arrangement was created to fit in this narrow bookshelf, with thin driftwood seemingly trying to stretch itself towards the window, beyond the boundaries. Susan has been saving the driftwood just for an opportunity like this!
Arrangements by Val S
A book of Queen Victoria (whose reign ended in 1901, which incidentally was the year the building was constructed) atop a bookshelf, right beside a piece of whale jawbone. Val made it all come together!
The iconic sign of the old chandlery was set between this seemingly unrelated pair of arrangements to produce a unified whole.
Arrangements by Miyako
Miyako’s arrangements were placed on a long table. It was an original table (circa 1970’s) that sat at the Trinity College library in the University of Toronto! In keeping with the theme, she used old books as platforms for her work.
An arrangement using aloe and chili peppers!
Eggs were used for this one to remind us that it was the Easter weekend; whilst the light blue colour reminded us of the LaHave River waters outside.
Calla Lily, Monstera leaf and Wisteria vine.
The dried elephant ear leaf seemed to float lightly, like the wing of a bird.
Two tall arrangements: one in a bamboo basket and the other in a Sogetsu steel vase.
Live Demonstration by Miyako
We were so happy that the demonstration was very well attended. The community here in LaHave is really special. Thank you very much for coming!
Photo courtesy of Rene Saulnier. Thank you!
And here is a special guest: Becky. She is rumoured to be the real boss of LaHave Bakery.
Added on May 1st, 2025…
We made it to the South Shore Bulletin, Apr 30, 2025 print edition, page 19! Thank you!
The 27th Atlantic Canada Japanese Language Speech Contest was held at St. Mary'‘s University in Halifax last Mar 8th, 2025. We had the opportunity to put up some ikebana arrangements for the event!
Everyone did a great job! Congratulations to the winners!
