IRIS IN JAPANESE CULTURE

This study examines the species Iris japonica as an iconic symbol of Japan, analysing its origin and transition to other cultures, as well as other species of iris that have influenced the development of Japanese aesthetics, literature, medicine and other aspects of the ethnos. This paper aims to provide the most comprehensive ethnobotanical analysis that will show how fundamental the Iris japonica can be to a culture and what symbolic meanings its image has acquired since the earliest period of Japanese history, picking up different meanings and transforming through the changing times and political features of Japan.