About 1000 Ikebana Challenge
千日挿花行（Sennichi Souka Gyo）
This is an advanced ikebana training program that encourages you to make an ikebana work a day for over 1000 days. It is basically a self regulated program with a little support from Ikebana Dojo.
Completing this program would lead you to understand what the way of flowers is.
The program was inspired by Sennichi Kaiho Gyo, the hardest buddhist training in Japan. It requires the trainee to walk around the mountains all day for 1000 days. Once the trainee started the training, he had to either complete it or die. The training started in the Heian period (794 - 1185) and 51 monks have completed it. Three monks have achieved this training twice in their life times. Only one person has done it three times. An unknown number of challengers lost their lives during the training. But you will not be losing your life in our challenge!
Ikebana Dojo welcomes anyone who wants to join this challenge with us. Joining this program is like a joining a friendly support group. You will meet other participants who share the same passion and value this difficult journey. No one has become a master without making desperate efforts.
This program is like a practical supplement for our Ikebana Aesthetic Program. Focus is practicing rather than learning new techniques or new theories.
Ikebana Dojo offers the title of “Hana Gyoja (花行者, flower trainee)” for those who undertake this program after completing Zoom Ikebana Dojo Level 3. Hana Gyoja who completed 1008 works can apply for “Hana Ajari (花阿闍梨)”. The application also requires reading several texts on ikebana and submitting an essay.
Mission Statement
Ikebana Dojo offers one of the most unusual online ikebana courses today. We believe that much of modern ikebana developed with the influence of the Western Modern Art Movement while denying its cultural and spiritual tradition - the way of flowers.
Ikebana courses such as “Easy Ikebana”, “Fun Ikebana” , or “Impressive Ikebana” seem to be popular today, particularly outside Japan. Those courses may teach ikebana as art but not as the way of flowers. They can never produce true ikebana masters because they do not teach the essence of ikebana - meditation & dedication.
Zoom Ikebana Dojo aims to teach meditation through its Ikebana Aesthetic Program, and dedication through its 1000 Ikebana Challenge. Our mission is to teach ikebana as the way of flowers, making links with Japanese traditional culture, and to help more people master ikebana online.
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