About Me
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When I was ten years old, I won a prize at a fancy dress party wearing a
Japanese hat and kimono. Little did I know then that, working for the
Foreign Ministry, I would one day be posted to the Swiss Embassy in Tokyo
and become fascinated by the culture of Japan. Arriving in 1987, after having worked in Switzerland and in Brussels, I liked this new adventure from the start. |
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My colleagues at the embassy began to introduce me to the many facets of Japanese life. Unknown sounds and smells, new eating and drinking experiences - not to mention the inevitable language misunderstandings - had me learning every day! Soon I got interested in pottery and then in Ikebana, which hooked me right from the start.
| Tomiyuki Minomura, teacher of the well known Sogetsu school of Ikebana, became my personal tutor. At my home every week, he taught me the essence of Ikebana, and also told me about the Japanese way of life and his memories of wartime Tokyo. Tomi-Sensei was an extremely experienced Ikebana master and regularly created arrangements for many of the best hotels in Tokyo. |
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It was Tomi-Sensei who encouraged me to work for my Teacher's Certificate. This allowed me to start teaching my own students when I returned to Switzerland after almost six years of living in Japan. Since 1995 I have taught Ikebana based on the Sogetsu school in both English and German to small groups at my home in Geroldswil. Recognising a need for Ikebana containers, kenzan, scissors and other accessories, I began to import these and am now able to offer authentic materials to Ikebana enthusiasts all over Europe.
I continue to enhance my knowledge by taking lessons myself and am a member of both the Sogetsu Study Group Zurich and the Sogetsu Branch Switzerland. I also take part in activities organised by Ikebana International and in exhibitions at the renowned Rietberg Museum in Zurich. |
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Education
April 1991 Sogetsu Teachers Certificate 4th Grade
February 1999 Sogetsu Teachers Certificate 3rd Grade
June 2008
Training and workshop with Master Teacher
Koka Fukushima
Participation in courses and seminars in Switzerland and abroad.
Flower name: Kokei
