Every religion has had a great influence on different fields of arts and cultures of the concerned society. During earlier days artists worked on religious thinkings and offered tributes in worships in various ways. The Japanese arts, in particular, were greatly influenced by Buddhism during the 6th and 7th centuries. Buddhism transferred from India to China and Japan during these periods.
Ikebana was such a religious art of flower decoration or floral arrangement in Japan when flowers were placed as offerings in Buddhist temples. Ikebana was first introduced in Japan by Buddhist monks from China. They formalized the ritual of offerings.
It is said that in the 7th century, Ono Imoko, the then Japanese ambassador to China prescribed the rules of arrangement and founded the first school of Ikebana in Japan named as Ikenobo. It was based on a harmony of simple decoration and appreciation of the charming beauty of flowers. The individual styles of Ikebana were divided into different artistic compositions. Among them Rikka and Shoka are famous for classical floral arts. These traditional arts were established in the Rokkaku-ji in Kyoto, during the 15th and 16th centuries as an important part of rituals. During these periods Ikebana became a favourite culture of the Nobility in the Japanese society.
Gradually, it transformed into an industry of floral arts. After the beginning of the 20th century, the artistic floral arrangements have been taken up by the women folk of Japan.
It has become very popular in Japan and also in others parts of the world as a fine art of traditional floral decoration.