Devil's Crown :: Flowers of Japan #10
The spider lilies are pretty flowers, but they are also slightly disturbing.
We're approaching autumn and the spider lilies are now opening. Beautiful flowers, but somewhat spooky meanings.
I posted about these guys last year in this post so I will just quote from there.
The Japanese name is higanbana by the way.
The plant is associated with death in Japan. It is used in Japanese funerals, and it used to be grown in grave yards. This may be a holdover from long ago before cremation became common in Japan and so the poisonous flower bulbs would have prevented pests from feasting on the dead.
One of the meanings of higan is the shores of the Sanzu River. Think of the Sanzu River as the Japanese version of the River Styx, i.e, the afterlife. The bright red blooms guiding souls into the next incarnation. Another name for the flower is Shibito-bana or Flower of the Dead.
It also symbolizes people, often lovers, who are kept apart and can't meet and it is said that when you meet someone for the last time, the flowers will bloom up along the path as they depart.
Perfect flower for Halloween! Which is, by the way, now a thing in Japan too. But more about that will have to wait for next time.
Copyright © David LaSpina 2018, but almost free to use due to the generous Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license. Spiffy! More details here.
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Don't miss the other great photos in the Flowers of Japan photo series!
- She's a Little Shy
- Flowers of Doom
- A Purple Garden is Happiness
- Purple Dream
- Smile For the Camera
- Waiting For You
- She's the One
- The Gathering
- Sweet Dreams Are Made of This
 | David LaSpina is an American photographer lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time. More? |
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Hi @dbooster, I actually think these are quite stunning and since I'm not Japanese I don't have to be disturbed by these flowers! Thank goodness! It seems as how Americans have a lot of gladiolus at funerals, so I don't attach happiness to glads!
Thanks for the post it is very usefull l, you are trurlly important to the steem economy. I will do well to follow and upvote the post but please kindly folow back and up vote my post including this coment
Just looked at the old post. I think these flowers are a beautiful representation of death. When I die, I wouldn’t mind surrounded by them. So rather than being disturbed, the idea of them is intriguing. I wouldn’t want to get lost on my journey to rebirth now would l? I love the idea of bright blooms guiding me on my way. I might just steal this idea and re-adapt it to my world....❤️
EDIT: Wanted to resteem the other post too so I had more spider lilies on my page. Discovered you can’t on old posts. :(
Loved that photo more, I think they’re so much prettier seen in clusters as their roles as guides to the dead.