chrysanthemum festivals(2)



Yashiro Chrysanthemum Festival

Chrysanthemum figure(菊人形,kiku-ningyo）wears a costume made of chrysanthemum flowers or leaves. Gardeners in Edo started Kiku-ningyo in the end of the Edo Period. An old book says that chrysanthemum works like topiary were very popular in Edo Period. This event reproduces the famous scenes of historical events involving famous historical figures.

Nihonmatsu Chrysanthemum Dolls in 2005


Nihonmatsu Chrysanthemum Dolls is being held from October 15th to November 13th in Nihonmatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture.

this photo by 日本列島お国自慢



Nanyo Chrysanthemum Festival in 2005





Specialists called Kikushi(菊師) fix up dolls with small chrysanthemum flowers.

this photo by 日本列島お国自慢



Nanyo Chrysanthemum Festival


Nanyo Chrysanthemum Festival(南陽の菊まつり) in Nanyo City, Yamagata Prefecture is being held from October 22nd to November 13th.



Hirakara Dai-kiku-ningyo


Hirakara Dai-kiku-ningyo at Hirakata Park in Osaka ended in 2005 due to aging of kikushi and lack of successors, but several chrysanthemum dolls are decorated every year. Dai-kiku-ningyo was held as one-time event last year. Some chrysanthemum dolls and flowers are placed in the street by citizen volunteers in Hirakata.

this photo by 高画質壁紙写真集無料壁紙


Bonsai(盆栽)
Chrysanthemums are often planted on rock.


Hyogo Prefectural Flower Center








Hyogo Prefectural Flower Center





Yashiro Chrysanthemum Festival




Yashiro Chrysanthemum Festival



















chrysanthemum festivals


Yashiro Chrysanthemum Festival







Hyogo Prefectural Flower Center






Hyogo Prefectural Flower Center





Tatsuno Chrysanthemum Shows





Hyogo Prefectural Flower Center


Edo-giku(江戸菊)
















Sorakuen Chrysanthemum Shows




Hyogo Prefectural Flower Center













Sorakuen Chrysanthemum Shows





Sorakuen Chrysanthemum Shows











Hyogo Prefectural Flower Center



this photo by 高画質壁紙写真集無料壁紙




Akashi Park Chrysanthemum Shows






Noji-giku


Noji-giku(野路菊, Chrysanthemum japonense)  is a chrysanthemum indigenous to Japan. Botanist Tomitaro Makino(牧野富太郎) discovered the chrysanthemum in 1924. He supposed that Noji-giku from Japan developed into a variety of chrysanthemum called Iegiku(家菊, florists' daisy, Chrysanthemum × morifolium syn. Chrysanthemum × grandiflorum Kitam.) However, Noji-giku is not believed to be the ancestor of Iegiku now.

Iegiku is the ancestor of the present bred varieties. It is said that chrysanthemum came from China to Japan as a medicinal plant. Kiku(菊, chrysanthemum) appears in Kaifuso (懐風藻, Fond Recollections of Poetry) which is the oldest collection of Chinese poetry written by Japanese poets in 751, but it is supposed that people in those days didn't have the opportunity to see real Iegiku.


colony of Noji-giku in Oshio


Oshio(大塩) in Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture is known as the largest colony of Noji-giku.  Hyogo Prefecture is said to be the northern limit of its habitat. Noji-giku are Hyogo Prefecture's official flower.

most photos by 神戸観光壁紙写真集

Now chrysanthemum with sixteen petals is used as the crest of the imperial family, but the oldest anthology of tanka poems called Manyo-shu doesn't include poems on chrysanthemum and seven autumnal flowers also don't include it. According to a theory, Momoyogusa(百代草) in Manyo-shu refers to wild chrysanthemum.

Nobles in the Heian Period appreciated dead chrysanthemum flowers.They appear in the Tale of Genji.