Hanakotoba: 20 Japanese Flower Meanings Compared With a Victorian Dictionary — and the Flowers Etiquette Keeps Out of Sickrooms

Hanakotoba (花言葉) means “flower words”: the Japanese language of flowers, in which each bloom carries a set meaning. The word joins hana, “flower”, and kotoba, “words”. The Japanese Wikipedia article on the subject says the habit was imported in the early Meiji period, which began in 1868. Kate Greenaway’s Victorian Language of Flowers gives a point of comparison for 16 of the 20 flowers in the table below. Japanese gift manners add a second layer of rules: camellias, cyclamen and potted plants are advised against for sickroom visits, and the chrysanthemum (kiku) is both the imperial emblem and an offering flower.

This page sorts each claim by what stands behind it: a printed Victorian text, a Japanese dictionary, a news site, a department-store etiquette guide or a list on a flower site. It is one entry in our flower symbolism guide, which maps flower meanings across cultures. For single flowers, see our pages on cherry blossom meaning, spider lily meaning and chrysanthemum meaning.

What does hanakotoba mean?

Hanakotoba means the symbolic meaning assigned to a particular flower. That is the definition in the TKG Japanese-English Learner’s Dictionary, whose example sentences include “The flower language of roses is ‘love'” and “I looked up the flower meanings before choosing flowers as a gift.” The entry adds that Japanese flower symbolism overlaps significantly with the Western tradition but includes some uniquely Japanese associations, such as cherry blossom for the transience of life.

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No organisation certifies the meanings. The Japanese-language Wikipedia article on 花言葉 says that no body officially certifies flower meanings, and that they relate to a country’s culture and history and to the advertising strategies of the flower trade. The same article says it is not unusual for a flower to carry more than one meaning.

Lists therefore differ by publisher. This page takes its Japanese meanings from one list, 花言葉-由来 (Hanakotoba-yurai, hananokotoba.com), and checks the camellia against a second list, 花言葉.jp. The English wording of the Japanese meanings is our own translation.

When did hanakotoba reach Japan?

Hanakotoba is said to have reached Japan in the early Meiji period. The Japanese Wikipedia article states that the habit of enjoying plants through flower meanings was imported into Japan in the early Meiji period, and it hedges the date with とされる, “is said to be”. It cites Higuchi Yasuo (2004), Haruyama Yukio (1996) and Heibonsha’s World Encyclopedia (1988) for that date. We have not read those works, so the date rests on Japanese Wikipedia’s account of them. The National Diet Library catalogue lists Higuchi’s 花ことば：起原と歴史を探る (“Hanakotoba: Searching for Its Origin and History”) in a new edition from Yasaka Shobo, published in November 2016.

That article adds two details. Early users took the imported meanings as they were, and Japanese-original meanings were proposed later. Tadera Kanji’s Hanakotoba (Ryomeido Shoten, 1909) is named as an early example of Japanese-original meanings.

On the European side, the same article calls Charlotte de la Tour’s Le Langage des Fleurs, published around 1819, one of the earliest flower dictionaries, with more than 270 meanings. Kate Greenaway’s illustrated Language of Flowers was published in London by Routledge in 1884, sixteen years after the Meiji period began. The source dates the import only as “early Meiji”, so we cannot say whether it came before or after her book. The comparison below therefore sets two lists side by side. It does not show that Japanese compilers copied her book.

Which Japanese meanings still carry stories from abroad?

Three meanings on the list we used come with stories from outside Japan. The list traces the sakura meaning “beauty of spirit” (精神の美) to the story of George Washington, who as a boy cut down his father’s cherry tree and confessed. It traces the lotus meaning “eloquence” (雄弁) to the Egyptian god Osiris, who it says was eloquent. It ties the narcissus meanings “conceit” and “self-love” (うぬぼれ, 自己愛) to the Greek youth Narcissus, who fell in love with his reflection in the water.

The camellia shows the closest parallel in wording. Greenaway lists Camellia Japonica, red, as “Unpretending excellence” and white as “Perfected loveliness”. The Japanese list gives red camellia 控えめな素晴らしさ (“modest excellence”), 気取らない優美さ (“unaffected grace”) and 謙虚な美徳 (“humble virtue”), and white camellia 完全なる美しさ (“perfect beauty”) and 申し分のない魅力 (“flawless charm”). The list says the many “modest” (控えめ) meanings are thought to come from the camellia flower having no scent. 花言葉.jp says the camellia is a flowering tree of Japanese origin (日本発祥の花木) and suggests that this may explain why its meanings recall restraint and humility. Neither source says which Western book, if any, the compilers followed.

English-language lists sometimes differ. The English Wikipedia hanakotoba table, which is tagged as needing more citations, gives red camellia as “In love, perishing with grace”. Neither Japanese list we read gives love for red camellia.

How do 20 Japanese flower meanings compare with Greenaway’s Victorian entries?

In our side-by-side reading, 15 of the 20 flowers share at least one idea with a Greenaway entry, 1 differs, and 4 have no Greenaway entry. “Shared idea” is our judgement that a Japanese keyword matches a Greenaway word in sense. It does not mean the two lists agree overall.

Greenaway is one Victorian dictionary, and others differ, so the table compares the Japanese list with her choices only. Several rows share a word with her but add a Japanese one beside it. For the peony, the list pairs “bashfulness” with “dignity” and “wealth and rank” (風格, 富貴) and ties those two to the heavy, layered look of the bloom.

Where do the Japanese meanings go their own way?

Four flowers have no Greenaway entry: wisteria, red spider lily, sasanqua and cosmos. The list ties several of their meanings to the plant itself. It links the spider lily’s “sad memories” (悲しき思い出) to the flower’s frequent presence in graveyards, and our spider lily meaning page covers its Buddhist afterlife symbolism. It links wisteria’s “gentleness” and “welcome” to a flower shape that looks as if it greets people warmly. Our wisteria meaning page covers its place in Japanese family crests. It ties the cosmos meaning “harmony” to the Greek kosmos, which can mean harmony and order.

The morning glory is the one row that differs. Greenaway gives “Affectation”. The Japanese list gives “fleeting love” and “firm bond”. It ties the first to a flower that opens in the morning and wilts by afternoon, and the second to the vine twining tightly round its support. Our morning glory meaning page covers its other readings.

Cherry blossom is the TKG dictionary’s own example of a uniquely Japanese association, the transience of life. None of the sakura meanings on the list we used is transience. That reading sits in the culture rather than on the list, and our cherry blossom meaning page explains it as mono no aware.

The plum shows why a shared word proves little. Greenaway lists Plum Tree as “Fidelity”, and the Japanese list gives 忠実, “fidelity”. The list traces its word to the Tobiume legend, in which the plum is said to have flown through the air after the courtier Sugawara no Michizane (845–903), who lost a political struggle and was sent to Dazaifu. Our plum blossom meaning page covers the Chinese and Korean traditions.

How does the chrysanthemum differ from the Victorian reading?

The chrysanthemum is the clearest case where the main Japanese meaning and the Victorian ones diverge. The Japanese list gives kiku “nobility”, “integrity” and “loftiness” (高貴, 高潔, 高尚) as its main meaning. The same page gives colour meanings, red “I love you” (あなたを愛してます), white “truth” (真実) and yellow “failed love” (破れた恋), and lists the Western ones separately as “I love you”, “truth” and “slighted love”. Those match Greenaway’s red “I love”, white “Truth” and yellow “Slighted love” almost word for word, so the colour meanings are shared and the main meaning is not.

The imperial crest explains part of the Japanese reading. Nippon.com says the chrysanthemum was brought to Japan around the Heian period (794–1185). It says the flower is thought to have been adopted as the imperial family crest in the early Kamakura period (1185–1333) through the influence of Emperor Go-Toba, who liked the design and often used it. During the Meiji period, a crest with 16 double petals was established as the official imperial family crest, and the 1926 Imperial Household Ceremony Regulations define it in a diagram. The chrysanthemum design on Japanese passports also has 16 petals.

The Japanese flower list names the emperor’s emblem 十六葉八重表菊 and says it is also called 菊の御紋, the chrysanthemum crest. The sakura page of the same list says Japan has no statutory national flower, and that the chrysanthemum and the cherry blossom are treated as national flowers in practice. Nippon.com adds that the festival of Chōyō-no-sekku, on 9 September, celebrates the medicinal properties of chrysanthemums for good health and longevity.

The same flower has a second, sombre use. Nippon.com says the chrysanthemum is often used as a floral offering or as a Buddhist flower, and a photo caption there calls white chrysanthemums a standard floral offering. The Japanese flower list says that because the chrysanthemum calls funerals to mind, it is regarded as unsuitable for sickroom visits (お見舞いには向かない花). Our chrysanthemum meaning page compares this with its place in Europe and China.

Which flowers does Japanese etiquette keep out of a sickroom?

Japanese etiquette guides advise against camellias, cyclamen, potted plants and some colours when you visit a patient. A Takashimaya gift-etiquette guide for sickbed visits says such visits often follow good-luck beliefs. It advises avoiding sasanqua and camellia, whose flower heads fall; cyclamen, which recalls the words for “death” and “suffering”; potted plants, which it links to 根付く (nezuku, “to take root”) and the same-sounding 寝つく (“to take to one’s bed”); white flowers, which recall loneliness; and crimson flowers, which recall blood. The guide words this as advice, with 避けたほうがよいでしょう, “it would be better to avoid”.

Camellia (tsubaki): the whole flower falls

Camellias are avoided because the whole bloom drops at once. The TKG dictionary entry for 椿 says camellia flowers fall as a whole instead of petal by petal, and that this has led to associations with death and decapitation. It adds that camellias are traditionally avoided as gifts for hospital patients or at funerals.

A Nippon.com review of Sawada Yōko’s book on camellias says the whole flower drops to the ground at the end of its bloom. It says this “has often been said to evoke the image of a severed head” and gave rise to inauspicious associations. Sawada, who spent many years as an instructor in the tea ceremony and flower arranging, recalls always being told when she studied those arts that camellias should never be taken when visiting someone in hospital, and that fully opened flowers should not be used as tea flowers. The camellia page of the Japanese flower list also calls a hospital visit with camellias taboo (タブー).

Cyclamen (shikuramen): the name echoes death and suffering

Cyclamen is avoided because of how its name sounds. The first two syllables of シクラメン, shi and ku, match the readings of 死 (“death”) and 苦 (“suffering”), the pair that Takashimaya says the flower recalls. The cyclamen page of the Japanese flower list gives the same pun, and adds that red flowers suggest blood. Our cyclamen meaning page traces the Japanese taboo alongside its Victorian meaning.

Potted plants: roots that take hold

Potted plants are avoided because roots that take hold suggest a long stay. The TKG dictionary entry for get-well gifts gives that reason. It lists fruit, cut flowers (not potted), books and small treats as appropriate. It lists potted plants, items in sets of four (四 sounds like 死, “death”) and strong-scented items as inappropriate. It adds that cash in an envelope (見舞金) is also common, especially among close relations.

How do you use hanakotoba when you give flowers?

Check a flower’s meaning in more than one list before you buy. Lists differ by publisher, and the red camellia shows how far an English list and a Japanese one can drift apart. The TKG dictionary’s own example is a person looking up flower meanings before choosing a gift, so the habit is ordinary in Japan. For a patient, the dictionary’s appropriate gifts are cut flowers, fruit, books and small treats. Iris is one flower where the two lists share a word: the Japanese list gives “good news” and “message” for the ayame, and Greenaway gives “Message”.

Which care guides cover these flowers?

Every flower in the table can be grown, and several have a care guide on this site. Start with the camellia growing guide, since the camellia anchors two sections of this page: its meanings that echo a Victorian pair, and the sickroom taboo. The chrysanthemum growing guide, ornamental cherry (sakura) guide, wisteria growing guide, peony care guide and hydrangea seasonal care calendar cover the others.

Frequently asked questions

What does hanakotoba mean?

Hanakotoba (花言葉) means “flower words”: the symbolic meaning assigned to a particular flower, in the TKG Japanese-English Learner’s Dictionary’s definition. The term is also used for the whole Japanese language of flowers.

When did hanakotoba come to Japan?

The Japanese Wikipedia article on 花言葉 says it was imported in the early Meiji period, which began in 1868. It hedges the date as “said to be” and cites Higuchi (2004), Haruyama (1996) and Heibonsha’s World Encyclopedia (1988). We have not read those works.

Is hanakotoba the same as the Victorian language of flowers?

Not entirely. In our reading of 20 flowers, 15 share at least one idea with Kate Greenaway’s Victorian dictionary, 1 differs (morning glory) and 4 have no Greenaway entry. The chrysanthemum shares its colour meanings but not its main one. The TKG dictionary says Japanese flower symbolism overlaps significantly with the Western tradition but includes uniquely Japanese associations.

Which flowers should you not bring to a hospital in Japan?

Etiquette guides advise against camellias, cyclamen and potted plants, a Takashimaya guide adds white and crimson flowers, and the Japanese flower list adds chrysanthemums. The TKG dictionary lists cut flowers, fruit, books and small treats as appropriate get-well gifts.

Why is the chrysanthemum on the Japanese imperial crest?

Nippon.com says the chrysanthemum is thought to have been adopted as the imperial family crest in the early Kamakura period through the influence of Emperor Go-Toba, who liked the design. During the Meiji period, a crest with 16 double petals was established as the official crest.

Do all Japanese flower lists agree?

No. No body officially certifies hanakotoba, and many flowers carry more than one meaning. English-language lists can also differ from Japanese ones: one English table gives red camellia as “In love, perishing with grace”, while the two Japanese lists we read give modest or unpretentious meanings for red camellia.

Sources

1. Greenaway, Kate. Language of Flowers. London: George Routledge and Sons, 1884 (colour-printed by Edmund Evans). Project Gutenberg ebook 31591.
2. Wikipedia. Kate Greenaway: books illustrated, publication year of Language of Flowers
3. TKG Japanese-English Learner’s Dictionary. 花言葉 (hanakotoba), 椿 (tsubaki) and お見舞い品 (omimaihin) entries, revised September 2026.
4. Takashimaya. お見舞い ご贈答マナー (sickbed-visit gift etiquette), タカシマヤのご贈答マナー.
5. Izumi Nobumichi. Tea, Faith, and Gardening: “Camellias and Japanese Culture”. Nippon.com, 22 March 2026.
6. The Chrysanthemum: Japan’s Fall Flower and Imperial Symbol. Nippon.com, Japan Data, 24 October 2022.
7. 花言葉. Japanese Wikipedia (history section; cites Higuchi 2004, Haruyama 1996, Heibonsha 1988, Tadera 1909).
8. 樋口康夫. 花ことば：起原と歴史を探る 新装版. 八坂書房, 2016. National Diet Library catalogue record.
9. 花言葉-由来 (hananokotoba.com). Flower pages for sakura, ume, tsubaki, sazanka, kiku, fuji, ajisai, higanbana, asagao, botan, hasu, ayame, suisen, nadeshiko, sumire, himawari, tsutsuji, shikuramen, kosumosu and ran, linked in the table.
10. 花言葉.jp. 椿（ツバキ）の花言葉・特徴・品種について.
11. Wikipedia. Hanakotoba (English), table of flower meanings.