Discussion

Iris Genus (Iris) 

Iris is the name of a genus of perennial flowering plants with 310 recognized species. Iris is also its common name. They are native to North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Iris species are divided between two main types; those that grow from spreading root systems and those that grow from bulbs. The sword-like leaves grow from the base of root-type irises or from the bulbs.

The yellow iris is often planted at the edges of water treatment ponds because of the ability of its root system to absorb pollutants. It is such an aggressive grower, however, that it can clog waterways. Some states in the U.S. ban it.

They are among the irises that grow from bulbs.

Irises can grow from seeds. Seed pods grow after petals have fallen and when mature, split open.

These are blossoms from the Japanese Iris (Iris ensata).

These iris plants have a special place in Japanese tradition. Shōbu yu is the Children's Day practice of soaking in hot tubs with leaves from this plant. The day before Children's Day (Kodomo no hi), bundles of Japanese iris leaves show up in stores.

The practice is said to ward off evil spirits and bad luck. They have a nice fragrance, too.

My painting subject this week is based on one species of a group called the Louisiana iris. 

It is specifically this photo that I used for my demonstration painting model.

Artwork

It started with a poem. About the year 980 during the Heian period (794–1185), a book of poems with accompanying frame stories titled Ise Monogatari (Tales of Ise) was written. One of the stories, number 9 in the book, was about a poet and his companions being exiled from the capital. On their journey, they came to a place called yatsuhashi (eight bridges) that crossed an iris bog. While pausing to eat, one of them proposed composing a poem on the subject, "A Traveler's Sentiments." It was to be an acrostic with each line beginning with a syllable from the Japanese word for iris, kakitsubata. This is what came of it.

Around 1710 – 1716, Kōrin returned to the subject with another pair of byōbu. This time, the setting was explicitly at yatshhachi (eight bridges).

Both screens are among Japan's greatest national treasures.

Sakai Hōitsu (1761–1828)

Hōitsu was another Rimpa school artist. A celebration was held in honor of the 100th anniversary of Kōrin's death. As the most distinguished living painter practicing in Kōrin's style, Hōitsu was involved. He organized a memorial service in Edo in which many of Kōrin's works were displayed. A book of woodblock print versions of 99 of Kōrin's works titled Kōrin hyakuzu (One Hundred Paintings by Kōrin) was published. A few years later, it was republished with 103 prints. The print shown below is from that book.

Katsushika Hokusai (1760 – 1849)

Other Japanese artists painted irises, too. This one is a print by Hokusai that was published in a book titled Hokusai shashin gafu (Picture Book of Realistic Paintings by Hokusai) (1814).

Here is another of Hokusai's iris-related prints from a series called Remarkable View of Bridges in Various Provinces (1834). They are hard to see, but there really are iris blossoms on the plants in the bog below the bridge. Incidentally, that is the famous yatsuhachi bridge.

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 – 1858)

This is Hiroshige's Iris Garden at Horikiri (1857).

Toyohara Chikanobu (1838 – 1912)

Until 1875, Chikanobu was in the military and was involved in battles surrounding the end of the Edo Period and the opening of Japan to the west. In 1875, he decided to pursue a career in art and became a prolific painter and printmaker. His Beauties and Herons was printed in 1897. There are irises to be seen, too.

Ohara Koson (1877 – 1945)

Koson was a member of the shin-hanga (new prints) movement of the early 20th century. He specialized in kachō-ga (pictures of birds and flowers). His Iris and Kingfisher was produced in 1926.