Shoso Shimbo

Shoso Shimbo, PhDIkebana Artist | Sculptor | Garden Designer | Shinto Priestwww.shoso.com.auDr. Shoso Shimbo is a certified Sogetsu Ikebana teacher with over 30 years of experience. He began his Ikebana journey in the 1980s in Hiroshi Teshigahara's Men's Only Class at the Sogetsu Headquarters in Tokyo, where he studied the distinctive principles and philosophy of the Sogetsu School. Since then, he has been dedicated to teaching and sharing the art and philosophy of Ikebana.He is also an award-winning sculptor, garden designer, and Shinto priest active in both the contemporary art and floral design worlds. His numerous accolades include a Gold Award at the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show.Dr Shimbo frequently collaborates with local and international musicians, including Paul Grabowsky, Jessica Aszodi and the Gregorian Brothers, presenting live installation performances at the Melbourne Recital Centre and internationally in Vietnam. In 2023, he was invited to participate in the National Gallery of Victoria’s (NGV) Bloom event. His floral art is regularly featured in International Floral Art by Stichting Kunstboek (Belgium).As a leading figure in the community, Dr Shimbo is the CEO of the biennial Melbourne Ikebana Festival. He also founded Ikebana Dojo, an online learning platform, and the Ikebana Gallery Award, the world's first online international ikebana competition.His sculptural work has been exhibited in major national contemporary art events, and in 2017, he was awarded the Arnold Bloch Leibler Prize at the Yering Station Sculpture Exhibition. He was commissioned to create a public art installation for the Archibald Prize Exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, and after the bushfires in 2016, he created the Wye River Project as part of Lorne Sculpture.Dr Shimbo has published extensively with internationally recognised organisations and publishers, including Springer and UNESCO, and has dedicated many years to sharing the philosophy and practice of ikebana and Japanese culture with international audiences.His recent academic work includes: the chapter “Environmental Art: Ikebana Meets Contemporary Art, ” published in Technical and Vocational Education and Training: Issues, Concerns and Prospects (Springer, 2026), and “Relative Positions of Freestyle Ikebana Movement in the Field of Ikebana Before and After WWII, ” Traditional Culture (Kyoto University of Arts Publishing).He currently serves as:Vice President, International Society of Ikebana Research (ISIR), CEO, Wa: Melbourne Ikebana Festival.Additional Qualifications:Certified Shinto Priest (Gonseikai officially approved by Jinja Honcho – Kyoto Kokugakuin)