Ikebana arranged as to express peace. All gifts of flowers must be in bud, so that the person to whom they are sent may have the pleasure of seeing them openquite a contrast to the present Western idea of everything being forced to perfection before leaving the florist. The spiritual aspect of "kadō" is considered very important to its practitioners. Some practitioners feel silence is needed while making "ikebana" while others feel this is not necessary. It is a time to appreciate things in nature that people often overlook because of their busy lives. It is believed that one becomes more
Ikebana of action. That warriors like Hideyoshi and Yoshimasa, two of Japan's most famous generals, found benefit in the practise of "ikebana" shows that it is valuable training, even for the masculine mind. "Rikka" reached its greatest popularity during the Genroku era. Many works on "ikebana" were published in the centuries from the Ken'ei (1206–1207) to the Genroku (1668–1704) eras, all founded on Sōami's idea of the three elements. The first of these works, published in the early part of the Ken'ei era, was a book called "Sendenshō", and there were many others, but none of much value to the student