It is believed that Chinese peonies were introduced to Japan from China around the Heian period (794-1185). Initially, they were cultivated for medicinal purposes rather than for ornamental display. The dried root powder, known as the herbal medicine “Shakuyaku,” was used for pain relief and to relieve spasms.
It is said that the Chinese peony arrived in Japan from China as a medicinal plant before Botan (tree peony) did. Records of its cultivation already exist from the Muromachi period (1336-1573).
By the Edo period, a uniquely Japanese horticultural culture flourished as a worthy accomplishment of the samurai class, and Shakuyaku underwent extensive breeding and cultivation. The “Higo peony,” which developed particularly in Higo Province of the Kumamoto Domain, is especially renowned, and many Japanese varieties have been created.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Chinese peonies were introduced from China to Europe. Then extensive breeding and cultivation took place in France and England.
The Agricultural Experiment Station of Kanagawa Prefecture, located in the same place, served as the predecessor of the Ofuna Flower Center. In that station, from the late Meiji period to the early Showa period, the Chinese peonies known as the “Ofuna strain” were cultivated and bred on a large scale for exporting them overseas.
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