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
Ikebana hundred years after Ashikaga Yoshimasa. It was at this period that "cha-no-yu" reached its highest development and strongly influenced the flower art. A practitioner of tea was most probably also a follower of "ikebana". After a long, hard struggle for existence as a dependent of "rikka", "nageirebana" branched off and became independent and very popular. It was welcomed by the people of the 16thcentury for its freedom of line and natural beauty. So, while these two branches both started in the Higashiyama period, "rikka" better represents the taste of that time, and "nageirebana" more reflects the taste of the Momoyama