CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM As part of 40h anniversary Exhibition of Ikebana, guest exhibitor professor Tomoaki Yamamoto of the Ikenobo School in Kyoto, Japan, created an arrangement using 200 coconuts.

In ikebana, everything
is a work of art

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Star-Bulletin staff

Don't think of coconuts as dangerous brown missiles in the garden. Follow the example of ikebana master Tomoaki Yamamoto, and think of them as components in a work of art.

His feat of ikebana engineering -- involving roughly 200 coconuts skewered on rebar decorated with anthuriums, orchids and other tropical materials -- is on view through tomorrow in Honolulu Hale.

Yamamoto, referred to as "professor" by his disciples in Kyoto's Ikenobo School (the oldest ikebana school in Japan), said he chose the coconuts specifically because he wanted to work with a material associated with Hawaii.

Yamamoto is a special guest exhibitor in the "40th Anniversary Exhibition of Japanese Flower Arrangements," organized by the Honolulu chapter of Ikebana International.

About 40 ikebana arrangements (less ambitious but equally pleasing ones) by Hawaii ikebana enthusiasts also are included in the exhibit.

The exhibit is free. The show runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and 8 to 11 a.m. tomorrow.

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