Discussion

This week's two painting subjects are the third pair taken from Japan's Seven Flowers of Autumn based on a poem that originally appeared in Man’yōshū, Japan's oldest anthology of poetry, composed sometime after 759. It was discussed in week 3 of this semester. The pair of the seven-flowers we are taking up this week is Bush Clover (hagi 萩) and Pink (nadeshiko 撫子).

About Bush Clover

Bush clover is the common name for Lespedeza, a genus of about 40 species of flowering plants in the pea family. It is sometimes known as the Japanese clover or hagi and is native to warm (but not tropical) climates in eastern North America and eastern and south-eastern Asia.

The picture below shows hagi growing at the Buddhist Kaizō-ji temple in Kamakura.

Hagi grows four to five feet tall and four to six feet wide. Like kuzu, it can spread either by reseeding or by shoots rooting at nodes touching the ground. It can produce thousands of purple blossoms in the late summer and early fall.

The picture below is from Mukojima-Hyakkaen Gardens in Tokyo which features a 30-meter long bamboo frame for displaying hagi in bloom. The garden features an annual hagi festival which often attracts over 20,000 visitors.

Here are a couple of close-ups of hagi blossoms.

The photo below provides a good view of hagi 3-part leaves.

Like kuzu, hagi helps to replenish soil by fixing atmospheric nitrogen into a form usable by plants. It is also sometimes used to prevent soil erosion.

In the language of flowers, hagi means melancholy and unrequited love. This is illustrated by the 1766 ukiyo-e print below by Suzuki Harunobu (1725 - 1770). The young woman wearing black is gathering hagi flowers while her companion turns away, enhancing a sense of isolation. The waka poem at the top was written by Fujiwara Kinmori in the 13th century. It reads:

My heart is withered,

Even dew on the branches of bush clover is futile

In the autumn evening.

Harunobu is best known for developing techniques for producing full-color prints (nishiki-e) in 1765, a major enhancement over previous limited-color technology. All other ukiyo-e printers quickly followed suit.

The next ukiyo-e, Autumn Grasses by Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 - 1858), was executed sometime in the 1830s to 1840s. It depicts hagi in the lower part of the painting. Note the susuki (Japanese pampas grass) that we looked at a couple of weeks ago.

About Pink

The plant Japanese call nadeshiko is known in English as dianthus, or often just pink, fringed pink, or large pink. Its Latin name is dianthus superbus, subspecies longicalycinus.

It is one about 300 dianthus species. Nadeshiko is native to Japan but grows elsewhere, too. It likes high altitudes up to nearly 8,000 feet.

The plant can grow to over 30 inches tall, and the flowers are 1 to 2 inches across. They are produced in branched clusters at the top of stems from early to late summer.

The natural color of nadeshiko flowers is pink like its common name, but through cultivation, varieties with white to red to purple, usually with a green center, have been produced. Young leaves can be eaten when boiled. The plant contains toxins, but not enough to harm humans. Tea can be brewed from the flowers which contains sweet nectar. It is used in Chinese medicine as a contraceptive, diuretic, and antibiotic.

Nadeshiko buds are shown below.

In Japan, nadeshiko is associated with idealized feminine beauty.

Ogata Kōrin (1658 - 1716), one of the founders of the Rinpa school of decorative art, painted this bifold byōbu of autumn-blooming plants in the 18th century. Included are chrysanthemums, pampas grasses, bush clover, bellflowers, and fringed pinks.