The selection of material for each of the three basic shoka positions also suggests the Buddhist idea of the past, present, and future merging into a state of oneness . . . a condition beyond time. For example, in the position known as shin, which represents human beings, the material should symbolize the present moment, so the flower should be either half-open or recently open. The position for heaven, known as soe and located behind shin, should be a strong, fully open flower slightly older than shin and symbolizing the past. The front position ahead of shin, known as tai, should be a bud symbolizing the future.

With its spiritual influence from both Buddhism and the native Shinto religion, which worships Nature, Japanese flower arrangements have historically sought to recreate the natural landscape through incorporating tree, shrub, leaves, stems, and not just flowering material. In many arrangements, flowers serve as supporting players as an accent for color, shape, and texture while the main actors are branches, stems and leaves that serve as the focal point and anchor the arrangement. The Western taste for large, bright arrangements with as many flowers and colors as possible, is in sharp contrast to the use of flowers historically in Japan.

In keeping with an appreciation for Nature, Japanese flower arrangements incorporate grass and tree materials that are associated with the seasons. In spring, for instance, quince, peach, cherry blossom are commonly used, their bendable branches are often formed into strong curving lines representing the powerful life force (Ki) of spring. In the summer, flowers such as cosmos, larkspur, dahlias, canna, Japanese anemone, as well as decorative grasses such as pampas grass, come in to bloom, to create full and spreading arrangements that often suggest the movement of the wind through a field of summer flowers. The fall season will always include tree material with fall colors including Japanese maple, the snowball, or viburnum shrub, and other trees or shrubs with brightly colored fall leaves. Winter arrangements will often use traditional winter material such as nandina, bamboo, and pine, accented with seasonal flowers such as chrysanthemum, rose, and camellia.

The Japanese love for naturalness in flower arrangements incorporates the idea of demonstrating and enhancing the natural growth tendencies of the chosen plants. For example, in the shoka style of ikebana, special arrangements exist for flowers such as the calla lily, agapanthus, amaryllis, daylily, and many others to represent the growth pattern of the flowers and leaves. These arrangements especially use a great many leaves, often with only two flowers to artistically recreate the natural growing tendencies of these flowers.

The appreciation of line is characteristic in all Asian art, and is true in the sensibility in kado towards beautiful, flowing lines preferred over the Western appreciation for abundant complexity, depth, and color. In flower arrangement, it is an appreciation for a balanced variety of moving lines similar in feeling to the linear beauty expressed in the brushstrokes in Japanese minimalist ink painting. In terms of form, unlike many Western arrangements that strive for perfect symmetry, Kado strives for a balance of opposites, favoring asymmetrical beauty over symmetrical arrangements. This dynamic balance is created through the positioning of moving lines or stems that fall into many triangular or pyramidal shapes. With rules on proportion and placement, the lines and triangles create a pleasing and unique balance that, once again, more effectively mirrors the natural world where perfect symmetry is the exception rather than the rule.