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The Shikunshi Subjects

This week's painting subject, chrysanthemum, is one of the shikunshi subjects. The word translates to The Four Gentlemen. The subjects are orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum, and plum. These four painting subjects are traditionally among the first that new sumi-e artists learn but also among the last that artists master. They are among the first taught because collectively, the four shikunshi subjects utilize all of the basic sumi-e strokes. They are among the last mastered because of the great potential they have for subtle and sophisticated expression. The four subjects are also representative of the four seasons, something that is important in Japanese culture.

Here are paintings I've done in the past for all four shikunshi subjects.

Chrysanthemums

The Chrysanthemum Genus

Chrysanthemum is the genus name of many species of perennial autumn-blooming plants related to asters. Originating in northeastern Europe to East Asia, there are 37 to 40 recognized native species in the wild. One of them from East Asia is this Chrysanthemum indicum. It has been cultivated in China since the 15th century, B.C.

By 1630 A.D., 500 variants were recorded. By 2014, there were over 20,000 known Chrysanthemum cultivars worldwide; over 7,000 in China alone. (Some sources say the worldwide figure is 200,000, but that number appears to have been a typo made in a gardening web site sometime in the last decade and thoughtlessly copied by other web sites. 20,000 is the officially recognized figure.)

Chrysanthemum "blossoms" are actually comprised of masses of florets; not petals. The inner ones at the center are called disk florets. Each tiny disk floret is a sexually complete flower with both male and female organs. The outer "petals" of the blossom are ray florets. They are incomplete in that they have only male organs and cannot produce seeds.

Depending on the wild Chrysanthemum species, there can be from 100 to 250 disk florets per "blossom" and 20 to 30 ray florets. Wild ray florets may be white, yellow, or red. Disk florets are usually yellow.

The great majority of Chrysanthemum species are incapable of self-fertilizing in spite of the disk floret being "complete." Insects are the primary pollinators. Pollinated disk florets produce 1 seed each.

The National Chrysanthemum Society based in the U.S. has organized Chrysanthemum species into 13 types based on the arrangement and shape of the florets on the blossom head. Eight of them are shown below. That dark thing at the center of the single type photo is a bee.

The ray florets of several of the more elaborate types are so numerous and so densely packed that the core of disk florets cannot be accessed by insects. The number of disk florets at the core of these types drops dramatically, and there none at all in some species. They cannot propagate via seeds and must do so artificially from cuttings and root division.

Most Chrysanthemum leaves have five lobes. They may be deep like the ones in the next photo, shallow, or somewhere in between.

Typical uncultivated wild Chrysanthemum species grow as multi-branched, erect herbaceous perennials. The artist's sketch below is a simple example.

In reality, wild species can grow 1 to 3 feet tall with many more branching stems and have from a few dozen to over a hundred flower heads. Blossom sizes can range from 0.4 to about 2 inches in diameter. In cultivated varieties, blossoms can range up 10 inches in diameter depending on the species.

Commercial varieties are often grown similar to the sketch, usually by cutting them back to produce single-stem varieties for bouquets. Other growers who specialize in chrysanthemums for show in exhibitions do things differently. This is an example of what can be done with a single base stem on a single plant. Japanese call this a senrin-zaki (literal meaning: thousand-bloom flowering). 

Achieving this requires special cultivation and months of meticulous training to get that shape and to get hundreds to over a thousand blooms to come out pretty much all at the same time. 

Plenty of chrysanthemums can be found in Japanese gardens during blooming season in the fall, but this display in Butchart Gardens on Victoria Island, Canada is one of the best anywhere.

Chrysanthemums in Japan

Chrysanthemums were imported into Japan from China in the 5th century for medicinal purposes. Chrysanthemums have been cultivated throughout Japan since the Heian Period (794 to 1185), and there are around 350 varieties there today.

The Japanese emperor Go-Toba (1180 – 1239) adopted the chrysanthemum as his personal symbol, and it has remained the symbol of Japan's emperors ever since. The throne of the Japanese emperor is called the Chrysanthemum Throne both literally and figuratively.

The emblem on the chair is called the Chrysanthemum Seal. That specific design is exclusively reserved for use by the emperor. It has two layers of petals, 16 in the foreground and 16 in the background.

There are over 150 variations of the symbol that are used for a variety of official purposes.

The original inspiration for the symbol is called the Ichimonji Chrysanthemum, shown below. There is some confusion over the proper Latin name for the species.

One of Japan's 5 unofficial seasonal festivals is Kiku no Sekku (Chrysanthemum Festival). It used to be celebrated on the 9th day of the 9th month of the lunar calendar. Today, it is celebrated on September 9. That is unfortunately too early for most chrysanthemums to be in bloom, though temples and shrines work to keep the tradition alive. The day is associated with a variety of traditional foods and practices.

Kiku Matsuri (Chrysanthemum Festivals) are held in various locations in October and November when chrysanthemums are in bloom. This display was in a New York show, but the idea is the same.

Practical Uses

Tea brewed from dried chrysanthemum blossoms has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It also has chemicals that may increase blood flow to the heart. The tea is said to have a flavor similar to chamomile.

Chrysanthemum greens make nutritious, tasty salads. They are good cooked, too.

Hanakotoba (Japanese Language of Flowers)

Sending someone flowers can convey a number of messages. If the flowers are chrysanthemums in Japan, they can mean:

Lasting friendship and non-romantic affection

Support from your family and loved ones

Cheerfulness and good spirits, including cheering up a sad person

Rest and recovery after a long trial or challenge

Enduring life and rebirth, especially the birth of a child

Loyalty and devotion, both romantic and platonic

Bonsai

Bonsai is a religious-based living art. Zen Buddhism teaches mindfulness, patience, and living in the present moment. Caring for a living, ever-changing tree requires surrendering the need for control and accepting the flow of time. Some chrysanthemums have been excellent subjects.

Ikebana

Japan's artistic floral arrangements began as a Buddhist ritual religious practice, but it has since evolved into a spiritual philosophy that mirrors the relationship between humanity, nature, and the cosmos. This chrysanthemum and pine arrangement looks nice, too.

Sakai Hōitsu (1761 – 1829)

Hōitsu is credited with having revived the popularity of Ogata Kōrin (1658 – 1716), one of the founders of the Rinpa school, and having assured the school's place in Japanese art history. One of the trademarks of the Rinpa school is the tarashikomi technique of applying new paint over a recently painted surface while it is still wet. The mottled appearance of the tree trunk on the bi-fold byōbu below and the curling chrysanthemum leaves demonstrate the result. This bifold byōbu was painted sometime in the late 1700s to the early 1800s.

Utagawa Kunisada (1786 – 1865) & Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 – 1858)

These two great ukiyo-e masters partnered together on a few projects. Kunisada was the most popular, prolific and commercially successful designer of ukiyo-e woodblock prints in 19th-century. In his own time, his reputation far exceeded that of his contemporaries; Hokusai, Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi. He most frequently produced bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful people) and kabuki prints. Hiroshige was one of the Edo Period's (1603 – 1868) great ukiyo-e landscape artists. He was noted, too, for other types of paintings, especially kachō-ga (birds and flowers pictures).

The 1858 print below is from one of the series of prints the two collaborated on; Ten Flowers of the Edo Stage. This one is number 4. The two people in the picture are kabuki actors. One is holding a poem card and the other has his hand on his sword. The flowers in the background are chrysanthemums.

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 – 1858)

Here is another print by Hiroshige. This rectangular print, done sometime in the 1840s, surrounds a fan-shape like a custom frame surrounds a window. On the fan, one can see a chrysanthemum as if through the window. Behind the chrysanthemum is a wall on which a hanging scroll has been mounted. The hanging scroll shows the distant moon in the night sky. The several layers create a strong sense of depth to the flat surface of the print.