The true meaning of Ikebana-the traditional Japanese art of flower arrangement-is the ability to take a few beautiful flowers and plans and tastefully present them in very simple containers to decorate your home. Whether for Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, or a special birthday or anniversary-Japanese Ikebana for Every Season simplifies and demystifies this ancient art by presenting 53 elegantly simple arrangements that anyone can create at anytime at home. The key to good Ikebana arrangements is to understand a few very simple principles-like the idea of mitate-seeing old things with new eyes, as well as learning a few very easy techniques of flower stabilization and how to support plants and flowers inside a vase or container. Using simple, common flowers and plants from your garden, from a nearby field or forest, or from your local florist-you can easily create these lovely Ikebana in just a few minutes if you know how. Authors Rie Imai and Yuji Ueno explain how to select the flowers and the containers by simply using things that are already around you-and then they show you how to turn them into something special. The basic instructions in the book cover a wide range of styles that encourage readers to use their own creativity rather than copying traditional and highly technical Ikebana design concepts. No matter what time of year it is and regardless of your taste or budget-the arrangements in this book will lend a touch of Japanese elegance to your home!