Can an Ikebana Container Have a Soul?

There are containers that merely hold flowers, doing their job with quiet dignity, and then there are containers that hold stories—tales steeped in history, mystery, and, occasionally, the stubborn refusal to reveal their secrets outright.

Wooden Box with the Container

The container arrived in a wooden box. It found its way to me through Marja, an ikebana friend and former branch manager of the Dutch Sogetsu Ikebana branch. Thank you Marja :-).

O-senbetsu - Farewell Gift from Matsushita Denki, now Panasonic

Before that, it belonged to someone who worked at Matsushita in Japan, a farewell gift from the 1960s or 70s, wrapped in its own wooden box, adorned with delicate, handwritten Japanese characters—mysterious, elusive.

The kind of script that makes you squint and wonder, like trying to decipher an ancient scroll by candlelight or, more challengingly, a doctor’s prescription after a particularly rushed appointment.

MimiTsuki | With Ears

Technology lent a hand, offering the possibility that this piece is Iga-ware, a style known for its rugged beauty and quiet resilience. Yet, the full truth remains just beyond reach, like a name on the tip of your tongue.

It is also mimitsuki, a term that carries a certain poetic charm, evoking something both sculptural and expressive—far more elegant than its literal English translation, "with ears." These small, sculptural details make the vessel feel almost alive, as if it is listening, carrying the echoes of past arrangements, silent witnesses to the beauty it has held before.

Ikebana Arrangement in the MimiTsuki Container

Creating in this container feels different—like conversing with an old storyteller who has seen it all and is quietly amused by my attempts. More mindful. More connected.

And so, this container continues its story, now in my hands, waiting for the next chapter—more well-traveled than most treasured objects, its journey continuing with each new hand that cares for it, carrying echoes of the past into the future.

Perhaps you, too, have a container with a past—something inherited, something found, something that feels like more than just an object. If so, I’d love to hear about it.

And if anyone happens to know more about the style or the maker, do let me know. The mystery is still unfolding.