Ikebana is hospitality from the heart, using various plant materials. It is an art in which the force of life expressed in living plants and the spirit of the person arranging them speak deeply to each other and unite to create new beauty and form.This book has been produced to acquaint as many people as possible with the joy and delight of Ikebana. Reiko Takenaka shows the reader how new beauty can be created with originality when using only a small amount of floral material. - from the Foreword.