New Year Ikebana in Kyoto: Pine, Bamboo, Plum

2025 has been such a journey and adventure for HanaYou. As this year comes to a close, I want to say thank you for being here.

The end of the year in Japan is famously busy. December is called Shiwasu, which literally means “the month when even Buddhist monks run.” It reflects how hectic this season can be.

This December, I truly felt that meaning again. I never experienced this level of busyness in the U.S., but being back in Japan, I’m slowly remembering just how intense and meaningful this season can be.

Looking back, this year was full of movement, change, and learning for me and for HanaYou. Through it all, flowers reminded me to slow down, observe, and appreciate what’s already in front of us. Some parts of this year were truly challenging, but I believe those moments help make us stronger and create growth.

I’m especially grateful for the wonderful people around us, including readers of this newsletter. Your kindness and encouragement have meant more than you know.

Thank you for reading, supporting, and sharing this space with me. I’m quietly preparing new ikebana how-tos and stories for the coming year, and I look forward to welcoming you then.

Wishing you a calm and beautiful end of the year.

HanaYou featured by Kyoto, in Sound

I want to give a special shoutout to Kyoto, in Sound for including HanaYou in "The Kyoto List: A Living Map of Creative Corners and Kind Humans". It's exciting to be included alongside some fascinating small businesses in Kyoto, including our neighborhood coffee roaster.

Kyoto, in Sound is a podcast and local experience run by our friend Simon James French. Simon takes guests on "sound tours" of Kyoto and he publishes a podcast of sounds and stories based on those tours.

It's a truly unique listening experience unlike any other podcast I've heard. You can find out where to get the podcast or even book your own sound tour with Simon on the Kyoto, in Sound website.

Pine, Bamboo, and Plum: Symbols of Celebration

In Japan, we have long-standing customs to celebrate important moments such as weddings, engagements, and birthdays. Among them all, New Year is the most significant celebration in Japanese culture.

New Year is a time of deep preparation. People prepare special foods, gifts, and decorations well in advance. Before welcoming the New Year, we thoroughly clean our homes. This cleaning is both physical and symbolic: we reset our environment, our work, our clothing, and even our personal mindset, so we can welcome the coming year with clarity and intention.

Once everything is cleaned, we begin preparing for the coming New Year. Traditional New Year dishes (お節料理; osechi ryōri) require specific ingredients, and they are prepared in large quantities to last for several days. At the same time, homes are decorated with seasonal arrangements in Kyoto, traditional Japanese wreaths, and flowers to welcome both the New Year and the family who will gather.

Because New Year is the biggest celebration of the year, people spend considerable time, energy, and money during this season. For this important occasion, three plants are traditionally used in decorations: pine, bamboo, and plum, together known as Shō-Chiku-Bai (松竹梅).

• Pine represents longevity and resilience. Even in the harsh cold of winter, pine remains green, symbolizing strength and endurance.

• Bamboo grows straight and tall, never bending easily. It represents integrity, growth, and prosperity, and is also associated with blessings for family and future generations.

• Plum trees blossom in early spring, often while snow is still on the ground. It symbolizes the power of life, patience, and quiet nobility.

Continue below for an ikebana how-to video that shows how I made my own New Year’s ikebana. In the arrangement, I use pine and bamboo, along with false pepper (Chloranthus), which symbolizes abundance, business growth, and family prosperity.

I also included mizuhiki, a decorative cord that represents protection from evil and a connection to good fortune.

Continue on to watch how I use them together!

New Year’s Ikebana Arrangement

I created this arrangement in a very straightforward way. When plants grow tall, I keep them tall in the vase. When they grow straight, I place them straight. And when they grow to the side or in an irregular direction, I honor that natural movement and keep their character.

In this arrangement, I placed the pine and bamboo long and upright in the vase. I treated the cymbidium in the same way, allowing it to grow upward naturally.

The false pepper grows like a bush, so I grouped it together to express that form. At the same time, I wanted its presence to spread through the entire arrangement, so I added one stem toward the back as well.

Silver willow has very flexible branches and creates beautiful lines. I placed them from side to side to widen the composition, and by shaping them into gentle circles, I gave this ikebana a unique and flowing feeling.

This arrangement does not use special tricks or hidden techniques. Instead, it reflects the most important way of learning ikebana: understanding how plants grow in nature. If you don’t know how a plant naturally grows, it becomes difficult to express its beauty. Learning the character of each plant is essential.

Thanks for reading and following along!

With gratitude,

Ryoko