The original Japanese flower arrangement art of ikebana was developed during the Muromachi period from the 14th to the 16th century under the influence of Zen Buddhism. The strictly formalized aesthetics of the official reception hall of the warrior nobility entered into a fruitful tension with the ideals of the tea masters. What is the philosophical content of the "animation of the flower" (ikebana) and how can it be utilized for peace? For Zen master Dogen Kigen (1200-1253), the flower often served as a textbook for the question of knowledge and the realization of all-encompassing open consciousness. The catalog of the well-known "Seven Characteristics" of Zen art according to the philosopher Hisamatsu Shin'ichi (1889-1980) is explained here for the first time in German for ikebana.