Chicago Chapter #27 USA

November 14 2024
Chapter Meeting Zoom video watching event 　　
Budding Fortunes: Ikebana in Japan’s Postwar Recovery

We invited our members to watch a video on zoom. Our program chair chose the video from the Ikebana International North and Central American website from the Chapter Member Resources Page. The video is called Budding Fortunes: Ikebana in Japan’s Postwar Recovery. The 42-minute English-language video was produced in 2022 and the speaker is Professor Nancy Stalker of University of Hawai’i Manoa.
Professor Stalker talks about the growth of Ikebana in the 1950s to 1970s. She discusses how the three major Ikebana schools (Ikenobo, Ohara, Sogetsu) adapted business and marketing strategies to create an Ikebana boom. The Professor uses examples of arrangements, pictures of texts and personalities to illustrate how Ikebana grew along with Japan in the post-war era. A short discussion followed the presentation. This video presents an interesting perspective that Ikebana practitioners normally don’t see.

January 19 2025
New Year Celebration
Our chapter celebrated the New Year with a high tea at Skokie Country Club.
The Make & Share Program was a special event. Members were invited to bring small arrangements. Nine members at all levels participated. The arrangements were displayed during the event. The arranger talked about the arrangement. Then the arrangement, including flowers and containers, were raffled off. The arranger even included a box or bag to allow the arrangement to be transported safely. This event was very popular and the raffle was successful.

Almost sixty persons attended the tea, including some new students. The Japanese Consulate was represented by the new Director of the Japan Information Center, Mr. Yuya Murata and Mrs. Murata. Mr. Murata gave a very well-received opening speech.