The term "Japanese iris" encompasses three varieties of irises cultivated in gardens or growing wild in Japan: hanashōbu, kakitsubata and ayame.

Contents 1 Hanashōbu 1.1 Where to see 2 Kakitsubata 2.1 Where to see 3 Ayame 3.1 Where to see 4 How to distinguish them 5 See also 6 External links

[edit] Hanashōbu

The Hanashōbu (ハナショウブ, 花菖蒲^?, Iris ensata var. ensata, syn. I. ensata var. hortensis I. kaempferi) grows in the wet land and is the most extensively cultivated variety in Japanese gardens. According to the place where it was cultivated, it is classified into the Edo (Tokyo), Higo (Kumamoto Prefecture), Ise (Mie Prefecture), American (U.S.A.) and other series.

[edit] Where to see

• Iris Garden, Meiji Shrine, Tokyo
• Horikiri Iris Park, Katsushika, Tokyo
• Meigetsu-in, Kamakura
• Iris Park, Yokosuka

[edit] Kakitsubata

The Kakitsubata (link to article in Japanese) (カキツバタ, 杜若^?, Iris laevigata) grows in the semi-wet land and is less popular, but is also cultivated extensively.

It is a prefectural flower of Aichi Prefecture due to the famous tanka poem which is said to have been written in this area during the Heian period, as it appears in The Tales of Ise by Ariwara no Narihira:

Karakoromo
Kitsutsu narenishi
Tsuma shi areba,
Harubaru kinuru
Tabi o shizo omou

(I have come so far away on this trip this time and think of my wife that I left in Kyoto.) Notice that the beginning syllables are "ka-ki-tsu-ha (ba)-ta."

Kakitsubata at Ōta Shrine, Kyoto, is a National Natural Treasure. It was already recorded in a tanka by Fujiwara Toshinari also in the Heian period:

Kamiyama ya, Ota no sawa no kakitsubata,
Fukaki tanomi wa iro ni miyu ramu.

(Like the kakitsubata at Ōta Wetland, a God-sent heaven, my trust in you can be seen in the color of their flowers.)

[edit] Where to see

Three largest places in Japan where the kakitsubata naturally grows:

• Koztsumi East Pond, Kariya, Aichi
• Ōta-no-Sawa, Ōta Shrine, Kita-ku, Kyoto
• Kara River Wetland, Iwami, Tottori

[edit] Ayame

The Ayame (アヤメ, 菖蒲, 文目^?, Iris sanguinea) is the iris typically growing wild on the dry land in Japan.

[edit] Where to see

• Ayame no Sato (Isehara, Kanagawa Prefecture)
• Mount Kushigata (Minami-Alps, Yamanashi Prefecture)
• Ryumonbuchi Park (Akashina, Azumino, Nagano Prefecture)

[edit] How to distinguish them

How to distinguish among these three kinds always baffles the beginners, so usually the following instructions are given in Japanese gardens:

Classification	Color of flower	Leaf	Feature of flower	Location	Flowering time
Hanashōbu	Red purple, purple, etc.	Distinct artery	Shows no net	Wet land	Early June - late June
Kakitsubata	Blue, purple, white, etc.	Small artery	Shows no net	In water or wet land	mid-May - late May
Ayame	Purple, rarely white	Main artery not clear	Shows net	Dry land	Early May - Mid-June

Note: Sweet flag, called Shōbu (ショウブ, 菖蒲) in Japanese, is a plant belonging to the Acoraceae family, Acorus genues, known for its fragrant roots, rather than its flowers.

[edit] See also

• Iris (genus)

[edit] External links

• Japanese Iris/Hanashobu Wall Paper Files (in Japanese)
• Japanese Iris/Hanashobu Photo Album 1 (in Japanese)
• Japanese Iris/Hanashobu Photo Album 2 (in Japanese)