GUARINI WINE JOURNEY
I OBSERVE / Art & Wine 2
Ikebana / Maria Domenica Castrì
In May 2013, in occasion of Cantine Aperte, the leading event of the Wine Tourism Movement, Maria Domenica Castrì, Master of the Tokyo Sogetsu School, has realized in the Guarini Winery in Scorrano an original demonstration of Ikebana, an ancient floral art from Japan, with the theme of the vine and the wine. She told the participants about the meaning of this practice, consisting of the arrangement of living flowers, starting from the traditional base techniques and reaching the most creative part. Ikebana stimulates love for nature in all its forms: not only for the flowers, but for the entire vegetable world, from the single leaf to the branch. It is a creative and decorative art that is deeply connected to inner meditation. We ask Maria Domenica to explain the meaning, symbolism and characteristics of the Sogetsu School she belongs to. www.artikebana.com

Interview with Maria Domenica Castrì

When was your passion for the East and the Ikebana born?
My passion for the Ikebana starts from the passion for the Oriental arts and especially for the Japanese culture, which I have studied at the “L’Orientale” University of Naples, but its roots are in my love for Nature.

What is the meaning of Ikebana?
The term “Ikebana” can be translated literally, but improperly, with “living flowers”. In fact, the word Ikebana is composed of two parts: IKE and BANA = HANA. IKE is the root of the IKEru verb that has various meanings, including keep alive and arrange (flowers). Hana, that is read bana in the union, means flower, but not limited to that, including in fact the whole NATURE, flowers, leaves, flower branches, quiescent branches, dried branches, even stones. Ikebana is the Japanese art of floral arrangement where Humanity and Nature are brought together. Like all the eastern arts is a “Path” like Karate-do, the Ju-do, so KA-DO, the Path of Flowers, is a way to enter in communion with Nature and to express and improve ourselves .

Are there several schools? Which are the most important?
Currently there are many Ikebana schools in the world, the most important ones, because of their history, are about ten, three of which have created and still do the history of Ikebana: the Ikenobo school, the oldest, the Ohara school and the Sogetsu School, of which I am a Master.

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