Professor Gyokurin's 1962 visit to the Bay Area led to the founding of the Northern California Chapter in 1963, the second international Chapter approved by Headmaster Sen’ei Ikenobo. Mrs. Yoshino Nomura, the first president, established the Chapter's office in San Francisco and held its first exhibition in 1964. In 1968, the Chapter office opened in San Francisco, becoming the Ikenobo Ikebana Society of America in 1978. Visiting professors from Kyoto have held workshops across North America since 1968. A scholarship fund was created in 2006 for advanced study in Kyoto.