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eJOURNAL ARCHIVES - 2004 - THE WORLD - A HISTORY OF THE ROSE IN JAPAN |
Updated 6 September 2004
Our Japan Correspondent, Akira Ogawa, has graciously sent us a copy of As the volume is so comprehensive, and as I will need to transcribe the entire document by hand, we have decided to make this an ongoing featurette within The World section of our eJournal. So, over the next year, we will feature a few of these entries each week for your use. Click on the link at the bottom of the JAPAN section to go to this feature. Be sure to check back regularly for the updated listings. Additionally, you’ll be seeing more multipage entries in The World section To introduce this series, I’ve included a transcription of the introductory page from As we continue, I will be including additional introductory segments to the cover section We hope you enjoy this series and look forward to your feedback Jef Cameron, Managing Editor |
THE HISTORY OF THE ROSE IN JAPAN – A Brief Overview
by Takeo Nagata D. Eng
The JRS Chief Executive Director
[edited for clarity]
The history of the rose as a garden plant in Japan dates back to the Heian Period (794 – 1165 CE). Koshin roses (repeat-flowering roses from China), planted in noblemen’s gardens from as early as the 10th Century, were cherished as rare plants and even made appearances in the literature of the period.
In an anthology of waka (short poems in 31 syllables) compiled at the beginning of this century, we find a poem praising the fresh beauty of this flower which the poet had just seen for the first time. In The Tale of Genji, a well-known 12th Century novel written by lady Murasaki, roses planted in the emperor’s court are referred to in two passages.
Since then, the Koshin rose has appeared from time to time in literary works, and also in paintings (the earliest one being a picture scroll made in the 14th Century CE). However, the rose remained somewhat of an outsider to the Japanese horticultural scene until the middle of the 19th Century.
When centuries of struggles among warrior clans were over, Japan enjoyed a peaceful period that lasted for 250 years under the Shogunate government. This is called the Edo period (1603 – 1867 CE), and during these peaceful years, the Japanese developed unique horticultural techniques for growing various garden plants: peonies, irises, chrysanthemums, morning glories, etc., but roses, though obviously popular with a small number of enthusiasts, were not so commonly grown or enjoyed by plant lovers.
This Edo period was also the period when Japan almost completely closed its doors to trade and cultural exchanges with the outside world. When Japan finally decided to throw open its doors and start on the path to modernisation, the ministry responsible for the improvement of Japan’s technology and agriculture invited many experts from Europe and America as consultants. It is known that some of these experts in agriculture imported roses (as well as various fruit trees) from the United States which were totally new to the Japanese.
Yokohama, the most modernised Japanese city in those days, had a large number of foreign residents, and these people also brought in new varieties of roses; mainly from Europe.
Roses thus newly introduced into Japan were fostered first among Japan’s nobilities and important government officials, since they had the greater opportunity to keep company with foreign dignitaries visiting Japan, and to attend functions where roses were used for decorating dinner tables and ladies’ dresses.
Gradually, roses became popular among common citizens, too, and nurseries which dealt in them increased in the Tokyo-Yokohama area, and also in the Kansai area (the area in western Japan which includes Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe).
In the first half of the 20th Century, associations of roselovers were founded in these two areas: the Great Japan Rose Association in the Kansai area (1927), and the Imperial Rose Association in the Tokyo-Yokohama area (1932). It is to be noted that it was mainly the rose nurseries in these areas which supplied the propelling force for founding these associations.
After the Second World War, even when Japan was still struggling with postwar confusion and poverty, the love of roses revived among citizens, and the Japan Rose Society, the nationwide organisation incorporating the previous rose associations, was born in 1948.
This time, it was amateur rosarians who played a leading rose in the establishment of this society. Since then, it has worked strenuously for promoting rose culture in Japan, and in 1962, obtained the authorized status of a nonprofit foundation.
Today, gardening is one of the most popular hobbies among the Japanese, and many different varieties of roses – HTs, floribundas, OGRs, modern shrubs, groundcover roses, miniatures, climbers, ramblers, etc. – are grown and enjoyed by citizens.
The supply of cut flowers of roses has been increasing year by year, with the total sales reaching 20 billion Yen per year. Cut roses are now available anywhere, anytime, enabling more people to enjoy flower arranging (ikebana) featuring roses.
It is expected that the production of roses for gardens and for the cut-flower industry will continue to increase. However, there are still many people who consider growing roses in their gardens a difficult task. Indeed, southern Japan’s subtropical climate, with high temperature and humidity levels in summer months, is often at a serious disadvantage for growing roses: fungal diseases and harmful insects are rampant, making it difficult to grow roses without frequent spraying and extra care. Besides, flowers do not last long under such conditions.
The Japan Rose Society considers that it should play a leading role in solving these problems, encouraging breeders to introduce new varieties more resistant to disease, and working out simpler and better skills in growing roses, so more people can grow and enjoy roses in their gardens.
eJOURNAL ARCHIVES - 2004 - THE WORLD - A HISTORY OF THE ROSE IN JAPAN |