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Regular Incurve

Irregular Incurve

These have the largest blossoms. Florets curve loosely around the outer layers but form tight, dense, fully-covered centers.

To get the largest blossoms, horticulturalists use a process called dis-budding. They carefully remove every bud except for the terminal one at the top of the plant. This causes all of the plant's energy to be focused on that one blossom.

Another training technique produces three blossoms per plant.

A motive for producing such variations comes from Chinese cultural beliefs in which the three blossoms respectively represent Heaven, Earth, and Humans.

Not all ōgiku chrysanthemums are incurves as shown in the photo below. The foreground flowers are spider chrysanthemums. I'm not sure what type of chrysanthemum forms the white dome in the background, but whatever it is, that entire display is formed by a single chrysanthemum plant in the 1,000 Blossom style. There probably aren't that many blossoms on that one, but the name conveys the idea.

Cultural and Other Matters

Medicine and Food

Chrysanthemums were originally imported into Japan from China by Buddhist monks for medicinal purposes. Tea brewed from dried chrysanthemum blossoms has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It also has chemicals that may increase blood flow to the heart.

Other claims are that it reduces angina and blood pressure, though modern science has neither confirmed that, nor its supposed host of other benefits. The tea is said to have a flavor similar to chamomile.

Chrysanthemum greens make nutritious, tasty salads.

Symbolism

Many flowers have meanings associated with them. Most people are familiar with the significance of a gift of red roses, for example. Floriography is a word that means the sending of messages through flowers. It was especially popular in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries.

General meanings associated with chrysanthemums are fidelity, optimism, joy, and long life. More specifically, red chrysanthemums mean love, yellow chrysanthemums mean slighted love, and white chrysanthemums mean truth and loyal love. 

Japan has a language of flowers, too, called hanakotaba (literally: flower words). In it, white chrysanthemums represent truth. White chrysanthemums are, also, commonly used in funerals. Yellow chrysanthemums mean royalty, longevity, and rejuvenation. 

Note that there are two layers of 16 petals. There are many variations of this design. The one for the prince who is next in line for the thrown has just one 16-petal layer. 

The seal is appears in various places, including the thrones the emperor uses during public occasions. This one is used when the emperor addresses the Diet, Japan's legislative body.

The term "chrysanthemum throne" doesn't just refer to a physical chair. It is also a rhetorical reference to Japan's head of state.

With the advice and consent of the Japanese government, the emperor can award the supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum to those who have provided extraordinarily meritorious services to the Japanese nation.

The chrysanthemum seal's design is based on the ichimonji chrysanthemum.

Kiku no Sekku

This celebration, sometimes called Kiku Matsuri, is one of Japan's five annual sacred festivals. It began in the year 910, and is officially celebrated on the ninth day of the ninth month on the old lunar calendar. The occasion is still being celebrated in various locations in Japan today. These days, the specific days for the celebration varies from place to place, but it is consistently celebrated in the fall, the prime chrysanthemum blooming time.

A major part of Kiku no Sekku is large displays of chrysanthemums of many types. Often, the center pieces are kiku ningyo; manikins adorned with chrysanthemums.

Artwork

This is another chrysanthemum bonsai. Only small chrysanthemums (kogiku) are used for such living art.

Chrysanthemums are featured designs in textiles. In the case of this kimono, made in the 1920s, the pattern was embroidered by hand.

The chrysanthemum pattern on the kimono this Japanese anime character, a female samurai, is wearing is more traditional. She is Kikunojo of the Lingering Snow. 

Chrysanthemum patterns show up in many places. This time, it is on the scabbard of a Japanese sword.

Kanō Tansetsu (1654 - 1713)

Little is known about this Kanō School artist. This ink, color, and gold on silk painting titled Sage and Attendants Enjoying Chrysanthemums by a Gate and Stream was executed in 1683.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798 – 1861)

A late Edo Period (1603 – 1868) ukiyo-e master, Kuniyoshi is known for depicting many subjects, from landscapes, to women, to kabuki actors, to mythical animals. He was an excellent teacher and several of his students became masters in their own right. The print below, produced in the 1843 to 1847 time period, is titled Chrysanthemums of 100 Varieties. Chrysanthemum growing was especially popular around that time. The print shows what is supposed to have been a real plant grown by a gardener named Uekiya Imaemon. It has 100 chrysanthemums grafted onto a single plant. The paper tags identify each type.

Ohara Koson (1877 – 1945)

Koson was a prominent part of the shin-hanga movement to restore traditional Japanese techniques, subjects, and values to Japanese woodblock print art. He is mostly known for his kachō-ga (pictures of birds and flowers). This chrysanthemum print was produced in 1931.