As a student of the Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies (GSAPS), I joined several ICC activities. I like to get involved in different activities, to learn and to meet new international friends. I got a chance to participate in a few workshops, one of which is IKEBANA Workshop.
During my student life, I needed to take social studies classes in which we studied about different countries. One of them is Japan. I studied the different traditional and cultural elements of Japan like tea ceremony, rock gardens, Bonsai, and Ikebana. I imagined about that culture and later was able to see it on YouTube, but also I had keen interest in taking part in real life. This opportunity was fulfilled by the ICC.
(photo by author)
On June 29, the event took place at the Okuma Garden House on Waseda Campus. I was really excited though I had already been in the place during the Daruma event, which was very interesting and new to me.
When I went to the place, there were full of different flowers and branches with leaves, and flower vases of different shapes were also arranged on the table. It was like immersing myself in a garden with full of different glorious flowers. At first I was assigned to sit with other three international friends who are from Bangladesh, China and Spain. We had a short self-introduction.
Then Ms. Yoshino came, and she gave her introduction. She had been doing workshops in different parts of the world for a long period. Then she started to show the arrangement of the different flowers and leaves in different shaped vases.
(photo by author)
She started cutting the flower branches by putting them inside the water. One of the participants asked why we need to cut the branches inside water, and she replied with a smile saying that life starts from water so it is important for plants also. She also showed putting wire inside the branches. She explained that for Ikebana the arrangement is necessary in some quadrilateral form.
Then we were asked to pick flowers and leaves of our choice and arrange them in vases.
I picked the small and big flowers of red, pink, and purple color as I like multicolor. One of my Chinese friends arranged flowers in purple color only. I liked the arrangement, a nice experiment which I have never seen in my life with only one color.
I felt very relaxed by arranging flowers and also my childhood dream of attending the Ikebana was fulfilled. It was a very nice experience and every student should participate in these workshops, as this is one lifetime achievement. After our studies we become busy in our own work, so this time and achievement is really memorable and exciting in our life.
I am looking forward to participating in other interesting programs and also encouraging my other friends in GSAPS to participate.
Thanks to ICC once again.
