The Embassy of Japan and Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) will hold an Ikebana Workshop (Japanese art of flower arrangement) for ladies here at the National Art Gallery on March 3. The event is being organised in co-ordination with the Pakistan-Japan Cultural Association, Islamabad, and the MEXT Alumni Association of Pakistan as a part of "Pakistan-Japan Friendship Fest 2010."
Ikebana, a centuries old art forum, which literally means 'flowers kept alive' is now practised all over the world, including Pakistan. The attention given to choice of plant material and container, the placement of the branches and the relationship of the branches to the container and surrounding space distinguished this art from purely decorative uses of flowers.
The fragrance of flowers and artistic skill with a creative approach gives spiritual as well as aesthetic pleasure to the viewer in this form of art. Then flowers do not look like flowers but a piece of art. Today, there are approximately 3,000 Ikebana schools in Japan, with 15 million to 20 million students, mostly women between the ages of 18 to 26. The most popular styles of flower arrangement in Japan are the Sogestu, Ikenobo and Ohara.
To promote the art of Ikebana in Pakistan, the Embassy of Japan in Pakistan has been holding Ikebana workshops regularly during the Spring season in Lahore and Islamabad for the last many years.