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The main characteristics of ikebana are the following:

• Not just decoration - Ikebana is an art and a discipline leading to self-awareness.
   
• Asymmetric balance - Ikebana uses asymmetric balance, a balance of 30/70; as opposed to the 50/50 balance of mainstream Western art.
   
• In and Yo - It also uses the principle of in and yo (ying and yang), which recognises opposites as balancing and completing each other; thus day balances and completes night; male, female; space, mass; and so on.
   
• Ephemerality - Ikebana  acknowledges and embodies ephemerality, the transience of all things.  An arrangement should always include a bud, holding promise of the future, and perhaps a damaged or fading leaf to remind us of the past. 
   
• Space forms an integral part of an arrangement.  This space is not mere emptiness but a dynamic element in the composition.
   
• Upward movement - The material is arranged to follow the line of growth, moving upward toward the sun.
   
• Three-dimensionally - Arrangements are three-dimensional.  The material reaches forward toward the viewer,  who is the focal point of the arrangement.
   
• Understatement - By taking away, for instance, trimming side branches and leaves to reveal line, or selecting only a few flowers - along the lines of the 'less is more' principle; rather than adding more material - a stronger and more powerful effect is achieved.