Wisteria

Japanese people love viewing flowers and having festivals to celebrate. I've already had the pleasure this year of seeing plum and cherry blossom and now it's the turn of the wisteria. On Monday I went to the Kameido Tenjin Shrine for the Wisteria Festival, which is held every year from the end of April to the beginning of May.

The wisteria are grown on a total of twenty eight trellises and are very beautiful. This beauty has influenced artists and poets alike throughout history.

Drum Bridge At The Kameido Tenjin Shrine

For example, poems about wisteria appear in the 'Manyoshu', an anthology of over 400 poems ,which was completed in the 8th century.

The wisteria blossoms at the shrine were also used in an ukiyo-e print in 'Meisho Edo Hyakkei' (100 Views of Edo), by the artist Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858). You can see the picture here.

You can see all of the photos here.