This beautifully illustrated volume with open-spine binding in a handsome slipcase celebrates the Japanese art of arranging owers with reproductions of classical seventeenth-century artworks from the New York Public Library's Spencer Collection. Meticulous reproductions of sublime paintings showcase rikka, the oldest and most traditional form of ower arranging, which is linked to the Ikenobo school, Japan's rst and largest school of ikebana. The images presented here perfectly illustrate the main principles of ikebana harmonious juxtaposition of owers, balance between foliage (leaves, fronds, reeds, etc.) and branches, and naturalistic compositions for display. Several schools and styles of ikebana have evolved over the centuries. The rikka style is characterized by the use of erect branches and owers to display a marked verticality in order to express the beauty of a natural landscape in a single vase. The oral arrangements in this collection date back to the Ikenobo Grand Master of Kyoto's Rokkakudo Temple and his disciples from the Ashikaga Shogunate (1336 1573). These ower arrangements were o cially documented by Igai Sansaemon in 1673 in artworks printed xylographically and then hand-colored using the gansai watercolor technique. The reproductions are accompanied by authoritative text by one of the world's leading authorities on Japanese art. Today, ikebana remains one of Japan's most popular art forms, and it is increasingly embraced by ower arrangers around the world. It is a wonderfully meditative and contemplative form of creative and personal expression, allowing practitioners to ee their daily cares into a world of balance, order, serenity, and beauty.