Kenzan

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title: "Kenzan" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["ikebana", "floristry"] description: "Device for holding flowers in an ikebana arrangement" topic_path: "general/ikebana" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenzan" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Device for holding flowers in an ikebana arrangement ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/kenzan_under_water.jpg" caption="A ''kenzan'' used in an ikebana flower arrangement"] ::

A kenzan (剣山), also called a spiky frog or pin frog, is a device used in flower arranging (especially ikebana, or Japanese flower arranging) for fixing the flowers in the container. It consists of a heavy plate, usually lead, with erected needles often made of brass where stipes are fixed.{{cite patent | country = US | number = 1431679 | inventor = YUKICHI NODA | invent1 = YUKICHI NODA | status = patent | title = Flower Stand | gdate = 1922-10-22 | fdate = 1921-04-20}}

The name kenzan (剣山) literally means sword mountain. It was introduced for use in ikebana, especially the Moribana style of ikebana.

Another type of flower holder without spikes but only holes is called shippo dome (七宝留め) and is used by the Saga Go-ryū school and sometimes other schools of ikebana, as well as other kinds of flower arranging. These can be made from pottery, metal, plastic, or glass.

References

References

1. "Keiko's Ikebana: A Contemporary Approach to the Traditional Japanese Art of Flower Arranging, p. 45".
2. Churchill, Alexandra. (February 25, 2025). "How to Use and Collect Flower Frogs".

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