Missouri Botanical 
Garden Bulletin 
Vol. X St. Louis, Mo., September, 1922 No. 7 
JAPANESE MORNING-GLORIES 
Some of our most popular flowers have either originated, 
or been much improved in Japan. The morning-glory, called 
by the Japanese ‘‘asagao,’’ is one of the plants to which they 
have paid particular attention. Although brought to Japan 
about the sixth century by priests and scholars who had gone 
to China to study the Buddhist religion, it was not until about 
the seventeenth century that the morning-glory received any 
special attention. Flowers then began to be produced in 
innumerable shades and combinations of colors and the size 
was considerably increased. About 1830 the ‘‘asagao’’ again 
became popular, growers vying with each other in producing 
new varieties, and a single seed might command a price of 
twenty-five dollars or more. Interest gradually declined, how- 
ever, and the art of cultivating this plant was retained only 
by a few priests. About 1895 interest was again revived, 
‘‘asagao clubs’’ were formed, and famous morning-glory gar- 
dens were established in Tokyo. Poetic names, such as frozen 
moonlight, foam of the sea, dragon’s spume, full moon, were 
bestowed upon the finest blossoms; artists used them in paint- 
ings and designs; and numerous poems were written on them 
and to them. In fact, the morning-glory became a national 
cult even more than the chrysanthemum had ever been. The 
Japanese growers went to every possible extreme in changing 
the shape and color of the flowers. Not being satisfied with 
this achievement, they devoted their attention to producing 
the greatest variety of odd-shaped leaves, and in their quest 
for eccentricities produced flat stems which have the appear- 
ance of a wide-ribbed ribbon, as if many stems were laid side 
by side and then merged into one. The ‘‘asagao’’ was not 
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