Chrysanthemums have been cultivated in China since ancient times and have been cherished by people throughout their long history.

They eventually made their way from China to Japan, where, during the Nara and Heian periods, a culture of appreciating chrysanthemums emerged at the imperial court. Over time, chrysanthemums were cultivated in Japan according to its own distinctive aesthetic sensibilities, giving rise to a remarkable variety of forms, including Sagagiku and Isegiku.

During the Edo period, chrysanthemum cultivation spread even further, and different regions developed their own varieties and methods of training and shaping the flowers.

People came to find beauty not only in cultivating a single flower to perfection, but also in the very forms, colors, and ways in which chrysanthemums bloomed. Through careful cultivation and human hands, new expressions of beauty were created.

The beauty of chrysanthemums cultivated in Japan eventually traveled to Europe.

From the late eighteenth to the nineteenth century, Chinese and Japanese chrysanthemums became increasingly popular in Europe. Their large blooms, rich colors, and diverse flower forms had a significant influence on the breeding and development of chrysanthemums in Europe.

In this way, chrysanthemums traveled from China to Japan, and from Japan to Europe. In each place, new forms of beauty were discovered, allowing the flower to evolve, transform, and be passed on to the next generation.

A form of beauty is placed into another person's hands, and within a different culture, it takes on a new expression.

The Chrysanthemum teaches us that tradition may not simply mean preserving something exactly as it was. Perhaps it means trusting what has been handed down to us, adding our own sensibility and creativity, and then passing it forward in a new form.