As part of From Tokyo to Manchester—a weekend festival celebrating the vibrancy of contemporary Japanese culture—join us for a hands-on introduction to the poetic art of ikebana with Junko Popham, a Tokyo-born ikebana tutor who brings the elegance of Japanese flower arrangement to the modern city of Manchester.
Junko has over a decade of experience in the traditional art of ikebana, having studied under the 15th-generation grand masters of the historic Kuwahara Senkei school in Kyoto. Her distinctive approach was first inspired not in a formal classroom, but in the British countryside, where the textures and colours of her garden taught her to listen closely to the rhythms of nature.
Now based in Manchester, Junko has developed a style rooted in the belief that ikebana is a ‘copy of nature’. She calls her ikebana practice Junko’s Flower Dance Company—letting seasonal flowers, leaves, and stems dance and sing in the air.
In this workshop, Junko will introduce the foundations of classical ikebana with a modern sensibility shaped by her life in northern England. You’ll explore its history, core principles, and intuitive techniques while working with fresh, seasonal materials to create your own arrangement to take home.
More than simply arranging flowers, ikebana is a contemplative practice—an art of giving renewed life to plants by revealing their innate beauty through balance, space, and gesture.
Suitable for all ages, this session offers a meditative way to reconnect with the natural world.
Tickets: £25 per person, including all materials and flowers.
Concessions: £21.25 (15% discount for students, over-50s, and group bookings of three or more).
Make sure to book in advance, as spaces are limited.
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Junko Popham is a Manchester-based Ikebana artist and teacher, born in Tokyo, Japan. Before turning to flowers, she worked as a music journalist, concert producer, and art/design correspondent. After moving to the UK in 1989 and settling in the market town of Berkhamsted, she discovered a new passion in garden design—first transforming her own cottage garden along the canal, then tending to neighbours’ plots, eventually running a local gardening business.
Junko’s first encounter with Ikebana came during this period. One autumn afternoon, while pruning a client’s garden, she felt the branches, flowers, and leaves speak to her—inviting her to notice their subtle colours, textures, and shapes. She took them home, arranged them in a vase, and unknowingly began her journey with Ikebana.
Later, she found a teacher in Sakurako, a 15th-generation master of the historic Kuwahara Senkei school in Kyoto. Since then, Junko has taught Ikebana in and around Manchester, developing a style rooted in her belief that “Ikebana is a copy of nature.” Under the playful name Junko’s Flower Dance Company, she invites seasonal materials to “dance and sing in the air,” blending classical technique with a contemporary sensibility shaped by her life in northern England.
