Ikebana room decoration and commenced in a rudimentary way to consider natural beauty in floral arrangement. At this time "ikebana" was known as "rikka". This same age conceived another form called "nageirebana". "Rikka" and "nageirebana" are the two branches into which "ikebana" has been divided. Popularity of the two styles vacillated between these two for centuries. In the beginning, "rikka" was stiff, formal, and more decorative while "nageirebana" was simpler and more natural. Although "nageirebana" began to come into favour in the Higashiyama period, "rikka" was still preferred, and "nageirebana" did not truly gain popularity until the Momoyama period, about a
Montreal Botanical Garden and Ikebana are occasionally demonstrated there as well. It also includes a large koi pond; visitors often feed the koi. The garden hosts an annual Hiroshima memorial ceremony on the 5th of August, with the hourly ringing of a Japanese Peace Bell made in Hiroshima. The First Nations Garden was opened in 2001 to honour and present the cultures of the indigenous population of Canada. Species endemic to Quebec and other North American regions are kept in the garden; the maple, birch, and pine trees shade its paths, and the garden brings into focus the medicinal and food plants of