japanese chrysanthemums

A mix of chrysanthemums on display at Japan’s Botanical Garden of Everyday Life.

hrysanthemum plants in individual pots are well spaced out on staging erected under open-sided structures. C Around them, people are walking, studiously looking at the plants, and occasionally, quietly, discussing something with their companions, often pointing to a detail of the flower. The scene is the Botanical Garden of Everyday Life in Sakura, just outside Tokyo. Although the garden’s primary collections are of edible plants, or those used in traditional crafts, there are important collections of ornamental plants, and it’s the perfect place in which to explore Japan’s long history of plant selection and breeding. Earlier in the year, it was morning glories (Ipomoea cultivars) on show and before that Primula sieboldii. Japanese gardeners have long had an interest in taking particular plant species and collecting every available natural variation, classifying and naming them, and then trying to select and breed more. In Britain we had the ‘florists’ flower’ movements where enthusiasts exhibited plants in pots to other aficionados and the general public, but the Japanese went much further, developing an extraordinarily complex floral culture during the Edo period (1603-1868), although the origins are much older. Of the 30 or so Japanese ‘cult plants’, it is the chrysanthemum that has become one of the most widely known in the west. Like many other plant species, their roots were in China, almost certainly The cult of the species Chrysanthemum indicum, which is known to have been grown since the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC), and also possibly C. zawadskii. However, it wasn’t until the Tang Dynasty (618–907), the chrysanthemum that growing ornamental chrysanthemums really took off, with many distinct cultivars being selected. Meanwhile, over the water Although not native to Japan, the chrysanthemum in Japan, everything Chinese was in vogue, including the has long been the symbol of the country’s emperors and chrysanthemum, whose flowering in the cooler, drier days of autumn came to symbolise a ‘second spring’ after the stifling heat has become a near obsession for its gardeners of summer. The flower became a popular subject for poetry, and WORDS NOËL KINGSBURY PHOTOGRAPHS CLAIRE TAKACS a number of customs developed, such as floating chrysanthemum flowers in sake cups for autumn festivals. During the Edo period, with Japan finally united under the rule of the Shogun, the aristocratic and samurai classes were able to find activities other than war to occupy their time and energies – and chief Continued on page 82

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Chrysanthemum groups Edo These medium-sized flowers There are many hundreds of chrysanthemum cultivars unique to USEFUL INFORMATION take their name from the area Japan. The selection shown, with a brief translation of each cultivar Botanical Garden of Everyday Life, National Museum of Japanese in which they were first bred – name, are just some of the many on display every November at the History, Sakura City, Chiba 285-8502, Japan. Edo, the former name of Tokyo Botanical Garden of Everyday Life, part of the National Museum of Website www.rekihaku.ac.jp/english/ – and became popular. Edo is Japanese History. Traditionally, chrysanthemums are divided into possibly the most varied of all groups that reflect the original region of Japan where they were bred: FURTHER READING the groups featured here. the six groups featured are the most important. The Japanese also History and Principle of the Traditional Floriculture in Japan Often they have exquisite, employ many methods of meticulous sculptural training, usually with by S Kashioka and M Ogisu (Seizo Kashioka in Collaboration twisted, bi-coloured flowers the plants tied to elaborate bamboo frames. The plants shown here, with the Kansai Tech Corporation, 1997). Contains a useful chapter that change their shape as however, have been trained simply to show off the flowers. on Japanese chrysanthemums. they open, sometimes with ‘Hana chiru Sato’ ‘Shimizu no Ike’ ‘Edo Houki’ Flower petals blown by the wind. Pond of Shimizu. Noble treasure of Edo. the kink, turning back over the centre of the flower, rather like Ise a slightly punkish-looking version of a comb-over. Named for the region where they were first bred, and which has the most sacred Shinto shrine, this group of flowers has traditionally been grown by shrine priests. The petals are narrow and hang down, often with frilly or split ends, creating a tassle-like effect.

‘Suihi’ ‘Gyoukou’ ‘Benishibori’ ‘Oka no Akebono’ ‘Shirokoma’ ‘Hanagumori’ Drunken princess. The light of dawn. Rouge twist. The hill in dawn. White horse. Hazy weather in spring. Higo

These single, spidery chrysanthemums with narrow petals have a simple unpretentious beauty. However, behind their simplicity lies an intricate set of rules for growing this group. Their height, the number of stems and the number of flowers on each stem is strictly controlled. ‘Otome no mai’ ‘Kinsei’ ‘Madonotsuki’ ‘Heisei Emaki’ Picture Scroll of ‘Tomi no Sakura’ Cherry blossom ‘Shitaya Murasaki’ Dance of the maiden. The venus. The moon viewed through a window. Heisei Era (1989-present). views from a distance. The purple of the Shitaya.

‘Shunko den’ ‘Houju’ ‘Matsukaze’ ‘Shitaya Kinkaku’ ‘Suibijin’ Drunken Beauty, the title of a ‘Yahata Yama’ • Turn over for more traditional Palace of spring joy. Precious orb. Sound of the wind through pine trees. The golden crane of the Shitaya. 1905 novel by Kafu Nagai. Mount Yahata. Japanese chrysanthemums

81 80 japanese chrysanthemums Choji

A group whose name refers not to its pedigree but to the shape of its flower. Cultivars in this group are distinguished by their large hemispherical ball of petals at the centre, surrounded by outer petals. The influence of western cultivars is most noticeable in this group.

‘Kishi no Bantei’ Bantei (a place ‘Ushiwakamaru’ Childhood name of ‘Kinkomaru’ name in Fukushima) on the bank. Japanese general Yoshitsune Minamoto. Globe of golden light. Saga

Narrow petals form a delicate loose head. Traditionally cultivated exclusively at the Zen temple of Daikakuji in Kyoto, the plants are descended from a seedling that spontaneously appeared on an island in the temple garden, during the reign of Emperor Saga (809–823).

‘Saga no Sakura’ ‘Saga no Akairo’ ‘Saga no Nagare’ The cherry blossom of Saga. Red-flowering Saga type. The stream of Saga. Oshu

Translated as ‘great fist’, the heavy twisted outer petals often need the support of special wire structures, while the inner ones are tightly curled up, resembling a fist.

‘Eiraku Den’ ‘Aikoku Den’ ‘Hoshi Tsuki Yo’ Palace of pleasure and prosperity. Place of patriotic spirit. Star-filled night.

among these were garden making and plant breeding. During this Kumamoto-based garden and landscape designer, traditional Japanese period many new chrysanthemum cultivars were produced, and novel plants are waning in popularity compared to western fashions. techniques developed, including the removal of side shoots, so one “Visiting nurseries, you won’t see traditional garden plants,” she says. enormous flower develops instead of multiple small ones. Other “Petunias, bizzy lizzies, marigold-like bedding plants, herbs… are the techniques aimed at bonsai plants or ‘leaning cliff’ style, where the plant main thing in people’s minds.” Traditional chrysanthemum festivals are is trained over a bamboo framework to produce a cascade of flowers. still held annually throughout Japan in castle grounds, parks, shrines In the southern Japanese city of Kumamoto, chrysanthemum and local botanic gardens, organised by special interest groups, but as Traditionally, many Japanese styles of growing was encouraged by the local lord as part of a programme of Yuko points out: “Members are elderly and seem to communicate with growing chrysanthemums involved almost daily pruning and tying in. Plants trained in spiritual training in the mid 18th century. Today, the city council has a each other in old-fashioned ways, so it is hard to pick up activities on this way doubled as a screen, a practice chrysanthemum preservation committee, usually headed by the mayor, the internet.” The existence of the Botanical Garden of Everyday Life that can still be seen in Japan today. to keep the tradition alive. However, according to Yuko Tanabe, a must surely be a lifesaver for this very rich horticultural tradition. HELP IN COMPILING THIS FEATURE. HER INVALUABLE FOR NAGAMURA TANABE YUKO AND TO WERE TAKEN. THIS FEATURE FOR WHERE THE IMAGES HISTORY MUSEUM OF JAPANESE LIFE, NATIONAL GARDEN OF EVERYDAY THE BOTANICAL TO MANY THANKS

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