Botanical Garden Special Exhibition: Traditional Morning Glories (FY2026)

About this event

Morning glories have been cherished by people since ancient times, enjoying recurring booms from the Edo period onward throughout the Bunka-Bunsei, Kaei-Ansei, and Meiji-Taisho eras. Amidst these booms, numerous varieties known as 'mutant morning glories' (henka asagao) were created, boasting flowers and leaves in diverse shapes that hardly look like morning glories. Although an annual plant, maintaining mutations that do not produce seeds by using parent seeds is unique worldwide. While a vast number of varieties were created at the end of the Edo period, enthusiasts of mutant morning glories decreased from the Taisho period onward, and after World War II, they were maintained by only a handful of enthusiasts. Fortunately, many of the mutant morning glory variations originating in the Edo period have been passed down to the present day through the efforts of enthusiasts and researchers. This exhibition widely introduces traditional morning glories created through inventive knowledge and techniques since the Edo period, unraveling the relationship between people and plants. With this year's theme being 'Morning Glories Showing Tricks' (Gei o Suru Asagao), panels will explain the types and mechanisms of morning glory 'tricks' (mutations in flowers and leaves). In addition, potted morning glories cultivated in the Botanical Garden of Everyday Life will be exhibited in vinyl greenhouses, gazebos, and reed-screen display areas. Displaying approximately 100 strains and about 700 pots, it is the largest scale for a public institution in Japan.

Venue

Botanical Garden of Everyday Life, National Museum of Japanese History

117-5 Jonaicho, Sakura, Chiba 285-0017