Japanese iris
The term "Japanese iris" encompasses three species of Irises cultivated in gardens or growing wild in Japan: hanashōbu, kakitsubata and ayame. Of these three species, I. ensata is the one most commonly referred to as "Japanese iris" outside Japan.
The bluish purple color of the flowers of the Japanese garden iris is an example of the copigmentation phenomenon.
''Hanashōbu''
The '':ja:ハナショウブ grows in the wet land and is the most extensively cultivated variety in Japanese gardens. According to the place where it was cultivated, it is classified into the Edo, Higo, Ise, American and other series. It is extensively grown in gardens throughout the temperate zones. Several cultivars have been selected, of which 'Rose Queen' and 'Variegata' have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.''Kakitsubata''
The :ja:カキツバタ grows in the semi-wet land and is less popular, but is also cultivated extensively.It is a prefectural flower of Aichi Prefecture due to the famous tanka poem which is said to have been written in this area during the Heian period, as it appears in The Tales of Ise by Ariwara no Narihira :
| Original text | Pronunciation | Meaning |
から衣 きつゝなれにし つましあれば はるばるきぬる たびをしぞ思 | Karakoromo Kitsutsu narenishi Tsuma shi areba, Harubaru kinuru Tabi o shizo omou | I have come so far away on this trip this time and think of my wife that I left in Kyoto |
Kakitsubata at Ōta Shrine, Kyoto, is a National Natural Treasure. It was already recorded in a tanka by Fujiwara Toshinari also in the Heian period:
| Original text | Pronunciation | Meaning |
神山や大田の沢のかきつばた ふかきたのみは色に見ゆらむ | Kamiyama ya ōta no sawa no kakitsubata Fukaki tanomi wa iro ni miyu ramu | Like the kakitsubata'' at Ōta Wetland, a God-sent heaven, my trust in you can be seen in the color of their flowers. |