Hyakushu Tsugiwake Giku: 100 Chrysanthemums on One Stem — Edo's Greatest Gardening Feat

百種接分菊

Hyakushu Tsugiwake Giku — One Hundred Varieties of Grafted Chrysanthemums

Utagawa Kuniyoshi (Ichiyūsai Kuniyoshi) | Kōka 2 (1845) | Published by Izuzen (Izuya Zenbei)

In this spectacular triptych, Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川国芳, 1797–1861) immortalizes one of Edo's most extraordinary horticultural achievements: the legendary hyakushu tsugiwake (百種接分) chrysanthemum. 🌼

The Legendary Feat

At the famous nursery of Imaemon (今右衛門) in Sugamo-Somei, a master craftsman achieved the seemingly impossible: grafting 100 different chrysanthemum varieties onto a single rootstock barely 3cm in diameter, and coaxing all 100 to bloom simultaneously.

The result is a towering explosion of color — red, yellow, white, and purple blooms cascading from a single stem, each labeled with its variety name on hanging paper tags, as crowds of astonished Edo citizens press forward to marvel at the spectacle. ⛩️

Edo's Gardening Boom

The Edo period saw an extraordinary popular passion for horticulture. Nurseries in Sugamo, Somei, and Dangozaka became famous destinations for plant enthusiasts, and the chrysanthemum — symbol of the imperial family and the Chōyō no Sekku festival — was among the most prized of all cultivated flowers. 🌸

Chōyō no Sekku: September 9th

The Chōyō no Sekku — the Chrysanthemum Festival — falls on September 9th, when the double-nine date was traditionally celebrated with chrysanthemum displays, kiku-zake (菊酒, chrysanthemum sake), and prayers for longevity and good health. The hyakushu tsugiwake was the ultimate expression of this culture. 🌕

A Lost Art Revived

The technique was lost for generations — but in recent years, dedicated craftsmen at Hamamatsu Flower Park and other institutions have worked to revive it, once again producing the breathtaking sight of 100 chrysanthemum varieties blooming from a single stem.

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