Spring flowers in Japan: cornflowers

I saw cornflowers (pictured) in bloom in two different locations today, April 24th 2025. I actually associate cornflowers with May, not April, but I suppose May is only around the corner. Moreover, by all accounts, they can grow anytime between April and June in Japan. In Saitama Prefecture, where I live, I see them most often in the month of May.

The Japanese name for cornflowers is very cool in my humble opinion. They are called yagurumagiku, 矢車菊 most commonly written in Katakana ヤグルマギク, which literally means arrow wheel chrysanthemum. Ya is the Japanese for arrow, guruma (from kuruma) is the Japanese for car, and together yaguruma means arrow wheel. It is the round, wheel / pinwheel like, decoration piece on top of a carp streamer. Giku (from kiku) means chrysanthemum. They were given the name because they bloom around Golden Week and it was believed that they look like the yaguruma of the carp streamers that are flown at this time of year.

In the language of flowers, it is said that cornflowers mean "delicacy", "elegance", "education" and "trust" in Japanese. In English they also mean "delicacy", but also "refinement". Interestingly they are called cornflower in English because they grew in the wheat fields of Europe. 

Have you seen any cornflowers yet this year. The photo in this post was taken in Kawagoe today. It is just a wild patch I saw on my walk. My favorite place for cornflowers is in Tokigawa, where you can see a large Totoro behind the cornflowers. 

More spring flowers on City-cost:

Tulips

Nemophila /  Baby Blue Eyes

Yamabuki