HISTORY OF IKE-BANA
in Cha-no-yu was pretty certain to be also a follower of Ike-bana.
The style of Nageire, after a long, hard struggle for existence as a dependent of Rikkwa, branched off, became independent and very popular. It was welcomed by the people of the sixteenth century for its freedom of line and natural beauty. So that while these two branches both started in the Higashiyama Age, Rikkwa better represents the taste of that time, while Nageire gives us a truer idea of the taste of the Momoyama Age. In short, Rikkwa was slighted in the Momoyama period, but in the first part of the Tokugawa Age (1603-1668) it was revived and became more popular than ever before.
In the Higashiyama Age Rikkwa was used only as room decorations on ceremonial occasions, but it now was followed as a fine art and looked upon as an accomplishment and pastime of the upper classes.
It has always been considered a dignified accomplishment. All of Japan's most cele-
