If there is a flower symbolizing Japan – this is definitely the chrysanthemum. In Japan it is known as the “sun” flower and as the emperor is descendant of the sun goddess it is his symbol too. The highest order of Japan is even called Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum (大勲位菊花章).
Every year there are chrysanthemum festivals organized throughout Japan. The photos are from one of these festivals organized in Osaka castle in the autumn of 2008.
It was truly amazing – I never saw before a whole artificial hill composed of flowers.
If you look carefully you can see a small ropes and bamboo bridge on the chrysanthemum hill:
In the background of the next photo you can see an old military building. This used to be the Fourth Division Headquarters during the World War II. It explains why the castle was heavily damaged by areal bombardment during the war:
Yellow (golden) and red were the predominant colors but at some places the composition changed:
Just one more fragment of the flower canopy:
Just in case you have any doubts you are in Japan – some samurais lost in the crowd:
During such festivals there are usually some performances (dances for example) but we were apparently to late for this one.
One last photo from the chrysanthemum festival (and looking forward for the next one):
