Kakitsubata (a Japanese Iris)
Kakitsubata, one type of Japanese iris, blooms in early summer into a pretty purple flower and has been cultivated since traditional times; the word kikitsubata is also familiar as a seasonal word
Kakitsubata (Iris laevigata), one species of Japanese iris, is a perennial in the family Iridaceae. Its name, kakitsubata, can be written in Chinese characters as either 杜若 or 燕子花. This flower grows on the waterfronts of East Asia and prefers water the most among all Iridaceae plants. It grows to a height of 50 to 70 centimeters, and its leaves are sword-shaped. In May it produces a few blue-purple or (rarely) white flowers.
In Japan, people often say, "What does it matter whether it's ayame or kakitsubata?" (Izure ayame ka kakitsubata), meaning "A difference that doesn't matter." As this saying shows, it is difficult to distinguish ayame (Iris sanguinea) from kakitsubata (Iris laevigata), both of which are considered to be Japanese irises. But kakitsubata has thick leaves that are 1 to 3 centimeters wide, whereas ayame has leaves that are 1 centimeter or less wide. Kakitsubata was said to be confused with hanashobu (Iris ensata var. ensata) in Britain around 1920, but kakitsubata has a white line in the center of the outer petals, ayame has a mesh pattern, and nohanashobu (Iris ensata var. spontanea) has a yellow line, so these Japanese irises can be distinguished. In Japan, horticulturists developed the hanashobu from the nohanashobu, and by the Edo period (1603-1867) the hanashobu became the pride of Japan and an important garden plant. In contrast, the kakitsubata and ayame were not bred, and so there are only about 20 species. All three species, by the way, are considered Japanese irises. Kakitsubata, which appears in the poetry of the Man'yoshu (Collection of Myriad Leaves, after 759), is the earliest known Japanese iris. The word kakitsubata is said to have derived from kakitsukebana (rubbed in flower, or drawing flower), because it was used to dye clothes.
In Ise monogatari (The Tales of Ise, after 880), the author wrote an acrostic poem, using the five kana letters "ka-ki-tsu-ba-ta" as the first letter of each line of the poem, to describe his journey: "She who is like old clothes I've grown accustomed to, remains behind, making me feel keenly the great distance I have covered."
An example of a painting of kakitsubata is Ogata Korin's Irises screen (early 18th century), a national treasure.
Related People, Things and Events
Books
Related Works
Japanese iris patterned kimono
Videos
Past Exhibitions
| Title | shusai | Place | open | close |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Institutions Holding Related Materials
The National Diet Library (NDL), founded in 1948, is the library which belongs to the Diet. The NDL assists the activities of the National Diet. The Library collects and conserves materials and information both from Japan and abroad, serving as a foundation of knowledge and culture and providing library services to administrative and judicial entities and Japanese citizens.
The National Archives is an organization for preserving, as historical materials, public records and archives of importance transferred from state organs, and providing them for public use, with the aim of achieving appropriate preservation and use of such public records and archives that are kept in the National Archives or state organs as historical materials.
As Japan’s representative museum, Tokyo National Museum collects, preserves, displays, and researches the cultural properties of Asia with a focus on Japan, and also provides educational programs.
Kyoto National Museum collects, preserves, displays, researches and provides educational programs focusing on cultural properties from Heian- through to Edo- period Japan, when the capital was located there.
Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art was founded as the successor of the Aichi Prefectural Art Gallery, which originally opened in Sakae, the center of Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, in 1955. The museum opened in 1992 as part of the Aichi Arts Center, an urban cultural complex, and has established a wide-range collection of approximately 8,000 items, centered on works of art of the twentieth century. The Museum has also organized numerous exhibition of a wide-range of themes. The Museum has actively worked to develop and communicate new aspects of art and culture to the public, based on its core mission to serve as the primary art museum of the Chubu region.
The Tokyo Fuji Art Museum is founded on November 3, 1983, in Hachioji, a thriving university town in the western suburbs of the Japanese capital. Priding itself as “a museum creating bridges around the world” to facilitate the exchange of different cultures, our museum has forged cordial relations with art museums and cultural institutes in 32 countries and territories to date. We do so by bringing the world’s finest works of art to Japan while reciprocating in kind by introducing the finest Japanese treasures to the world through special exhibitions that showcase their beauty and wonder through a unique new set of prisms and perspectives. Our museum possesses some 30,000 pieces of artworks from various periods and cultures including Japanese, Eastern and Western works, ranging from paintings, prints, photography, sculptures, ceramics and lacquer ware to armor, swords and medallions. Especially noteworthy is its outstanding collection of Western oil paintings that spans a five-hundred-year period from the Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, and Romanticism to Impressionism and contemporary art, as well as its exceptional collection of photographic masterpieces that can give an overview of the history of photography from the birth of the photograph to the present age.
External Links
植物・花の基本情報、育て方などを「趣味の園芸」講師陣の専門家が執筆。園芸相談Q&Aや特集コーナーがある。「NHKみんなの趣味の園芸」(NHK出版)公式サイト。
国立科学博物館附属自然教育園内に生息している生物の種名や写真を調べることができる。
国立科学博物館筑波実験植物園内の植物を検索することができる。研究者ノートなど専門的な解説もある。
登場人物や曲の概要、上演記録を閲覧できる。銕仙会運営のサイト。
References
- 「カキツバタ」の項目。
- 「カキツバタ」の項目。
- 「かきつばた」の項目。
- 小学館
- 小学館