Hibiscus

There are two different species of hibiscus flowers which are prominent in Japanese culture.

The Hibiscus mutabilis is perhaps the more prominent in mainland Japan; known in Japanese as fuyô 芙蓉, it lends its name to the fuyô no ma (Hall of Hibiscus) of Edo castle and other such complexes.

The Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, meanwhile, has become an unofficial symbol of Okinawa. Commonly known simply as akabana 赤花 ("red flower") in Okinawa, it is more formally or traditionally sometimes known as bussôge 仏桑花.

References

• “Shitsugei Maeda Kōin-san: Shurijō ni inochi wo fukikonda shitsugei sakka” 漆芸前田孝允：首里城にいのちを吹き込んだ漆芸作家, Shuri: Ryūkyū no miyako wo aruku 首里：琉球の都をあるく, Momoto special issue 別冊モモト, Itoman: Tōyō kikaku (2013/8), 27.