Melbourne-based Ikebana artist and Ikebana researcher, Dr Shoso Shimbo is the vice president of the International Society of Ikebana Research, having numerous publications on Ikebana and environmental art. Also qualified as a garden designer specializing in Japanese gardens, he is a garden designer at Tsubo Zen Gardens. He was teaching Japanese Aesthetics at RMIT University Short Courses.
Dr Shimbo compares Japanese style gardens to Western style gardens, in particular highlighting French and English styles. According to the qualified garden designer, Japanese gardens express the most idealised version of nature, whereas the approach of French style aims to control nature to harmonise with man-made abstract designs, contrary to the English style which intends to create gardens that are relatively untouched by humans, harmonising human intention to nature. He notes that he needs to spend well over an hour to explain about those differences in detail.
Having taught Ikebana in Australia for multiple decades, Dr Shimbo considered why teaching Ikebana in Australia is difficult. He found that in Japan there is a notion of Ikebana being Keiko, which Japanese people consider as long-time practice, as they come to the lessons after they set their mind on learning it for years. However, this idea is not prevalent in Australia, according to Dr Shimbo.
He says the role of Ikebana changes as society changes. He believes that it has the elements that we need in the modern society. Learning about how to view natural plants can help raise awareness towards environmental issues. He also thinks that aspects of meditation and relaxation in Ikebana can help address today’s mental health needs.
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