Flowers of resilience: Nakabayashi Chikutō’s Plum Blossoms

Plum blossoms (Prunus mume), known for their pastel colors, fragrance, and overall sense of delicacy, are popular symbols of femininity in many cultures. It therefore might be surprising to learn that these flowers often decorated the armor of Japanese samurai and have been admired as an expression of military strength in Japan since the 8th century. Plum trees blossom around February and may frequently be found in full bloom even with icicles clinging to their branches, while the ground beneath them remains covered in snow. This fortitude and resilience are what transformed this plucky tree into an emblem of the warrior spirit.

Beginning in the 8th century, the plum tree commanded attention at flower-viewing parties throughout Japan. Revelers sat on blankets to keep themselves warm and enjoyed the flowers’ powerful fragrance, sometimes enhancing the sensory experience with cups of plum wine. As this painting by Nakabayashi Chikutō (1776–1853) reminds us, one of the most notable aspects of such a party was the plum tree’s appearance. Its main branches, bare of leaves and covered in dark, gnarled bark, sprout at perpendicular angles while the delicate subbranches reach towards the heavens and explode into streams of pink or white blossoms. It seems likely that the person who coined the Japanese word for fireworks—hanabi (literally, “fire flowers”)—may have been imagining a plum tree.

As residents of a temperate island, some of us may miss or have never experienced the brisk weather of colder climates. If even for only a moment, Chikutō’s graceful painting evokes the chilly breeze of early spring. Because plum blossoms are the first flowers to bloom every year, they continually remind us of the beauty to come in the seasons ahead.

—Stephen Salel, Curator of Japanese Art

Nakabayashi Chikutō (1776–1853)
Plum Blossoms
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868), 1834
Hanging scroll; ink on paper
Gift of James H. Soong, 2014
(2014-63-03)