Showing posts with label shakuyaku. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shakuyaku. Show all posts
June 12, 2025
June 8, 2022
Skakuyaku (Paeonia lactiflora) flowers: Ofuna flower center (Kamakura)
Bathed in the dazzling sunlight from the bright sky, various Shakuyaku (Chinese-peony) flowers are blooming magnificently in the garden as if to wholeheartedly exhibit their genuine joy of flowering.
The glossy green leaves, which begin growing thick in preparation for the arrival of summer, seem to silently praise the divine blessings of nature in this flowery season.
At the National Museum of Western Art of Tokyo, I have seen Monet's painting (Peony Garden, 1887) of the gorgeous Chinese-peony flowers blooming in his garden at Giverny. The peony plants which Monet grew there were the gifts of friendship from a Japanese couple who were close friends of this great painter.
Skakuyaku (Paeonia lactiflora) flowers: Ofuna flower center (Kamakura)
It is said that many garden varieties of it were selectively bred during the Edo period (1603-1868). It is one of the plants whose flowers have been treasured by the Japanese as the typical spring flowers displayed in a tea room.
At the Agricultural Research Center, which was the predecessor of this botanical garden, from the end of the Meiji period (1868-1912) to the beginning of the Showa period (1926-1989), Shakuyaku varieties were studied and improved for their characteristics that would give pleasure to European customers, with the aim of exporting them to Europe where the Japonism was popular at that time.
May 7, 2021
May 28, 2019
Shakuyaku (Paeonia lactiflora) flowers: Ofuna Botanical Garden (Kamakura)
These Chinese peony flowers in full bloom made me recall the picture entitled "Peony Garden" painted by Monet (owned by National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo).
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)