If you visited Spalding House between May 17 and 19, you would have been greeted by a black and silver structure, cradling a mass of red fibers and anthurium flowers. The installation was the work of “The 7th Demo Group by Sogetsu Ikebana.” Iemoto Akane Teshigahara, a Sogetsu master, worked with Maki Takushi, an Art School instructor and Sogetsu Hawaii Branch board member, to design and oversee the installation along the entry pathway into Spalding House. For many members of the Headmaster’s Demonstration Team, who worked on the installation, this was their first time visiting Hawai‘i. Before flying out, they collaborated remotely with Maki Takushi for over six months to design the arrangement, using photographs and sketches.
Iemoto Akane is the granddaughter of Sofu Teshigahara, the first Headmaster of Sogetsu Ikebana. In 1973, Teshigahara visited Hawai‘i and had a reception for his work at Spalding House. His work, Mukae Bana or The Welcome Flower Arrangement was the first Sogetsu Ikebana arrangement created in the U.S. Iemoto Akane and Maki Takushi worked with members of Sogetsu Hawaii and Japan to bring the museum’s relationship with the Sogetsu Ikebana tradition full circle.