Shodaiji Temple (with 1200 years of history) x Sogetsu School: Sogetsu Ikebana Offers Giant Floral Tributes for the Work of Masatoshi Izumi, Isamu Noguchi's Right-Hand Man

Shodaiji Temple (Edogawa-ku, Tokyo), a Jodo Shinshu temple, and Showa Joen (Higashimatsuyama City, Saitama Prefecture; Funabashi City, Chiba Prefecture), which is managed and maintained by Shodaiji Temple, will hold an "Annual Memorial Service" to commemorate and honor those who passed away during the year.

At the Annual Memorial Service, with the full support of the Sogetsu School of Ikebana Headquarters, a memorial arrangement will be created by the Sogetsu School of Ikebana. (This will only take place at Shodaiji Temple's Edogawa Main Temple.)

The Sogetsu School is an Ikebana school characterized by free expression that respects individuality, based on the philosophy that "flowers become people when arranged." The Sogetsu Kaikan in Aoyama was built through the collaboration of architect Domon... and Isamu Noguchi. Sogetsu created the floral offerings for "Joen Sennenbo," a work by Masatoshi Izumi, who worked as Isamu Noguchi's right-hand man.

A work expressing "lotus flowers" using bamboo will be arranged at the Joen grave.

Furthermore, the Annual Memorial Service will also include "Hana Matsuri (Flower Festival, an event celebrating the birth of Buddha)", an important Buddhist event, and a Chigo Gyoretsu (children's procession) will be held as an opportunity for children to experience Buddhist culture.

During the Annual Memorial Service, monks will perform San-ge (scattering of flower petals) while walking through the temple grounds to the solemn melodies of Gagaku musicians.