Rare antique vase on a stand. Bronze, patina. Japan, twentieth century.

Ikebana is the ancient art of creating compositions from plants, flowers, and stones. This is the art of giving “a second life to flowers,” which is what the word “ikebana” (“ekibana”) means in translation. The Japanese, even before the commemoration of Buddhism as a religion, professed Shintoism. (Shintoism is the way of the gods, where the supreme goddess was the great sacred Amaterasu, “shining in the sky,” the sun goddess, the great mother of the imperial dynasty. It is often said that the flag of Japan is a symbol of Shinto. Each deity in Shintoism is independent and has its place in the hierarchy . This belief deifies the forces of nature, animals. The sky is the abode of Kami (gods). The gods inspire fear. Among them are often sacred animals - a tiger, a snake, a wolf; mountains, the emperor himself. The number of gods is about eight hundred million, and Japan often sounds like "Shinkoku" - the land of the deities.)