Peony

Peony is a flower with big petals and is sometimes referred to as "the king of a hundred flowers." Its blooming season is around April to June, with some variations being bred for the autumn and winter seasons as well.

The peony was brought from China to Japan around the 6th and 7th century. At the time, it was an ornamental flower that only upper-class people could enjoy. Some Japanese families has used the peony in their family crest. Through selective breeding, peonies has become more available and popular among the masses.

In Japan, the peony (botan) is often used to represent feminine beauty, since the growth of a peony can be used to represent the growth into womanhood. It is also among the most popular motifs for furisode, which are maiden's coming-of-age kimono. Although the peony comes in colors such as white, yellow, orange, purple and other colors, pink is the most popular.

The peony is also associated with prosperity and wealth, an image of nobility and elegance, since in the past only the upper-class could enjoy the sight of peonies in their gardens. The peony symbolizes bravery and honor. Today it is used in decorations at weddings to promote good fortune for the bride and groom.

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Anime and Manga

• Jigokuraku: Mu Dan features peonies in his design.

Art

• Dragon and Peony Kimono, from the series Six Selected Famous Actors by Toyohara Kunichika 1873.
• Peacock and Peony, from the series Seven Bird-and-Flower Prints for the Fuyôren of Kanuma in Shimotsuke Province by Kubo Shunman, Edo period, circa 1810
• Peony, by Hokkei (1780-1850). This style of woodblock print was known as surimono. They were privately commissioned works intended to be distributed to a small audience of friends, colleagues or like-minded members of a “poetry circle.”
• Peonies series of prints by Tanigami Konan for the Imperial Exhibition of 1917 in Tokyo. Each depicts a famous named tree peony variety of the time.
• Peonies Botan zu fusuma  by Kano Sanraku, 17th century, screen with gold-leaf background.

Folklore

• Classical Mythology: There are a few myths surrounding the peony and its origin. As a result of these two stories, the peony is associated with notions of healing and attraction.
  • Paeon, the physician of the gods, cures Pluto of an illness with the liquid of the peony flower. This angered the god Asclepius, so in order to protect Paeon, Zeus transformed him into a flower.
  • The nymph Paeonia attracts the attention of the god Apollo—and the ire of the goddess Aphrophdite, who promptly turned Paeonia into a flower out of jealousy.
• Flowers and Their Meanings: The Secret Language and History of Over 600 Blooms, by Karen Azoulay: In folklore, michievous nymphs hid within the petals of peonies. Thus peonies have been associated with bashfulness, shame and romance.
• Wu Zetian: As the story goes, Empress Wu Zetian (the only woman to have ruled China), who was in power at the end of the eighth century, was disappointed that there were no flowers displayed while on a winter stroll at the imperial garden. Naturally, the Empress issued a decree for them to bloom, and according to the legend the following day, all of the flowers with the exception of the peonies had bloomed. As a result she had the buds burned... but they resiliently sprouted into red flowers, so she banished them to the city of Luoyang. Thus, the peony has remained a symbol of wealth and rank in China.

Poetry

For the fine flower, -- a hundred pieces of damask;

For the cheap flower, -- five bits of silk.

—Bai Juyi (772-842), from Needham, p. 399

• Bai Juyi: The Tang Dynasty, 618-960 AD, was a period of relative peace and both nobles and commoners took up growing peonies in a big way. The prices commanded by rare peonies could reach the equivalent of a hundred bushels of rice! A famous poem by Bai Juyi (772-846) depicts this.
• Book of Odes: In this 7th or 8th century Chinese poem anthology, there is a poem that ends each stanza with couples exchanging peony flowers (sháoyào). The properties ascribed to peonies, as binding herbs, probably played into choosing them to exchange, adding symbolism (or magic) that strengthened relationships. Or so says Needham. I can read it as some sort of euphemism.

Real Life

• Botan Park beside Ueno Station in Tokyo has a hanami event dedicated to peonies, going from the beginning of April through to around mid May, with an admission fee. Other locations without an admission fee in the Greater Tokyo area is beside Haneda Airport, Shinsu-en (), Daishi park, beside Kawasaki Daishi Heikenji temple, Kawasaki city. In the Kyushu area there's Sasebo flower park (佐世保花園). Nagasaki is also famous for its 50 000 peonies.