Ikebana

 Ikebana is the Japanese expression for "the arrangement of living material in water." It is the ancient Japanese art of flower arrangement. Ikebana follows certain ancient rules that aim at achieving perfect harmony, beauty, and balance. Some describe Ikebana as sculpture with flowers. In Japan it has been practiced for fourteen hundred years. Buddhist monks in the sixth century practiced the art using pebbles, rock, and wood with plants and flowers. In Japan Ikebana was evolved and practiced exclusively by men-priests first, then warriors and noblemen. Today, of course, Ikebana is practiced by millions of women as well as men, although the great flower schools in Japan are mostly headed by men.
Ikebana is something that attracts a lot my attention since the first time I saw my mother doing this flowers arrangement. I find it simple and very original. It does not need a lot of materials in order to come up with a beautiful arrangement. I also tried to attend few years ago some sessions that were held by a Japanese women in Rabat to learn about the branches and the combinaison of the materials. This latter impressed me a lot and gave the opportunity to develop and valorise more my sense of appreciating the flowers.