Ikebana: Japanese Flower Arrangement [Hardcover]

Reiko Takenaka (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1995

A unique approach to creating flower arrangements that are inspired by and faithful to your own ideas, with substantial advice on how to make the most of ikebana in daily life. 92 arrangements are on this book with step-by-step photo instructions for beginners to understand.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

REIKO TAKENAKA has given many demonstrations, and has designed and arranged many displays for numerous events, including demonstrations before state guests. Now she plays an active apart in domestic and international scenes of cultural exchange as an ikebana artist, in such cities as New York, San Francisco, Hong Kong and Geneva.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 130 pages
• Publisher: Japan Publications Trading (September 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870409581
• ISBN-13: 978-0870409585
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #141,641 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great book for those who need English explanation of basics, December 28, 2001

By 

nekko1 "nekko1" (San Francisco Bay Area) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ikebana: Japanese Flower Arrangement (Hardcover)

This is a clearly written, well thought out explanation of the basics of Ikebana. The photographs demonstrating the combinations of materials, and their height relative to each other, are great as examples for beginners. Many ikebana teachers don't speak English well, so this book is useful for a cross reference for something you were taught in class. One problem - there are many schools of ikebana so the book has to be quite generic in its explanations, which is not necessarily how your particular school may approach a certain principle. But again, as a study supplement to a class, it works well.

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Modern Ikebana, August 11, 2000

By 

"arinip" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ikebana: Japanese Flower Arrangement (Hardcover)

Many ikebana books shows a very traditional way of arranging flower. This book, however, shows a simpler and more modern way arrangement with the result of nice and unusual looks of flower arrangement. The step-by-step is helpful and quite detailed. The book shows lots of different variations for cool vases or containers as well.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent how to, but lacks explanation of why, January 25, 2004

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ikebana: Japanese Flower Arrangement (Hardcover)

I got this book to go with Origami Flowers by Hiromi Hayashi. Reiko Takenaka does a good job explaining how to make an arrangement that looks like the pictures, with step by step instructions and clear diagrams. Some of the containers seem to clash with the flowers, and some of the special occasions arrangements are lost in translation for someone not intimately familiar with Japanese culture like me. My only real criticism, however, is that the book does not really explain any principles about why and how and what looks good - it's more a menu to find an arrangement that looks nice in the picture and repeat it.