Classic flower arranging and Kyoto cuisine recommended for national protection
On 16 October 2026, Japan's Council for Cultural Affairs recommended three traditional skills, including rikka flower arranging and Kyoto kaiseki cooking, as Important Intangible Cultural Properties.
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Japan protects some skills, not just objects. On 16 October 2026, the Council for Cultural Affairs sent a report to the education minister recommending three new Important Intangible Cultural Properties (重要無形文化財) in the lifestyle-culture category, each with a named holder. A recommendation comes before the formal designation, so check later official notices for the final step.
Rikka (立花) is a traditional style of ikebana built around set key branches. It grew from 'tatebana' room displays in the Muromachi period and took shape in the early Edo period. Arrangers choose plants with the season in mind and shape them to show mountains, fields and watersides in a single vase. The recommended holder is Ikenobō Sen'ei of Kyoto, aged 93.
Kyō-ryōri (kaiseki) is Kyoto-style course cooking. It reflects Kyoto's climate, seasonal events and customs, and includes how the room is decorated with Kyoto-linked arts and crafts. The recommended holder, Takahashi Eiichi, 87, of the Kyoto restaurant Hyōtei, is noted for training younger chefs and for work to protect endangered Kyoto vegetables.
The third recommendation is ginjō-zukuri, a traditional brewing technique for ginjō sake, with holder Noguchi Naohiko of Noto, Ishikawa, aged 93.
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Identify the main idea, retrieve details about each recommended skill and explain the difference between a recommendation and a final decision.
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- Why might a country decide to protect a skill rather than an object?
- Which skill from your own community would you nominate for protection, and why?
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Describe a meal or decoration that changes with the seasons where you live. Use at least two senses in your description.
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