Summer flowers in Japan: Iris

Iris are very popular in Japan and there are species that are native to Japan. There are three main types of iris you can see. In Japanese they are called ayame, hanashobu and kakitsubata. In English: Hanashobu is Iris Ensata. Ayame is Iris Sanguinea and Kakitsubata is Iris laevigata. Of the three, Hanashobu is most commonly called ‘Japanese Iris’ outside of Japan. 

There are ways to tell them apart, but it is convenient that they are collectively called iris! They are known as a harbinger of summer. Irises were traditionally believed to hold protective powers. The “shobu” of hanashobu can also mean militarism and it was thus believed to reflect the spirit of Samurai warriors. As such, Iris were put in the baths of boys on Boy’s Day, because historically it was on the 5th day of the 5th moon (around June 7th). The boy’s festival is now celebrated by the Gregorian Calendar, on May 5th, so is actually earlier than the period of bloom of Iris. 

Iris typically bloom around the first two weeks of June in recent years in the Kanto plain. There was a time when they bloomed for much of June, but like many other flowers have fallen victim to global warming and their bloom period and duration bloom is out of sync. Right now, there are iris in full bloom in many parts of Kanto, but there are also many places were they have already finished up. There are iris gardens all around Japan, even in central Tokyo, making it an easy flower to view in season.

Have you been to an iris garden this year?