INTRODUCTION

From the very first lesson in ikebana, we learn that space matters. That it's not just about the beauty of the branch or the flower, but also about the space around it and especially the space in between. That space is called ma.

But what is ma really? And why is it so difficult to grasp and explain?

Even Sofu Teshigahara, the founder of the Sogetsu ikebana school, struggled to teach ma to Western students. In Japan, ma is everywhere. It's absorbed from childhood — in daily life, in music, in learning how to write the characters, in the pauses between words, and in the rhythm of the cityscape and landscape. These experiences shape an intuitive sensitivity to ma, long before the word itself is ever defined. But in the West, we don’t even have a word for it.

I was fortunate to study ikebana and Japanese garden design in Japan, where ma wasn’t something I had to search for—it was all around me. Through daily life, through the rhythm of language and landscape, I absorbed it intuitively. But teaching it is another matter. You can feel it, you can show it—but putting it into words is something many of us in the West have struggled with for a long time.

That’s exactly what this module is about. I immersed myself in the literature on ma, discussed it with students, and held sessions to explore it more deeply. At times, I felt completely lost in the complexity of it all, and yet, those moments were part of the discovery. This module is the result of that journey: a distilled essence of my personal experience, shaped by the insights of researchers who have found ways to bring ma into words.

As you follow along, you may find yourself undergoing a quiet shift. You'll begin to see how ma works in ikebana — not just as a concept, but as a tool you can use. And gradually, you may notice that this understanding reaches beyond ikebana. It might change how you experience rhythm, silence, and space in daily life.  

We’ll start with a general explanation, then move into the basic forms, and finally, we’ll see how ma brings life and breath to free style creations.  

Let’s begin.