The tradition of cultivating chrysanthemums in the Sasayama region has a long history of more than 250 years.

It is said that the Chugiku chrysanthemums of the pure Japanese variety were presented by the Edo shogunate to Aoyama Tadayoshi, the lord of the Sasayama domain, while his tenure at Osaka Castle. They were then distributed to his vassals and cultivation began.

“Onaegiku”, which is known as the “flower of the former feudal lord’s caress”, has been fondly cultivated by locals till now, and not allowed to take out from Tambasasayama to cultivate anywhere else even today.

It is a truly elegant cultivar that once in full bloom, the petals curl up to show the backside of them as if they are dancing. You can enjoy three stages of flower: blooming, beginning to curl up, and fully curled up.
The change in shape is often compared to performing arts such as dance, and is called ‘Kurui (crazy)’ or ‘Geigiku (performing chrysanthemum)’

Many varieties became extinct during the war, but the Chrysanthemum Club has inherited the 21 remaining varieties with the tradition of more than 160 years. The club members are striving to pass on and preserve those varieties as “chrysanthemums unique to the Sasayama region.”

The 1st Sasayama Chrysanthemum Exhibition was held in 1915, and in recent years, about 370 chrysanthemums of many varieties are on display. The main exhibit is Onaegiku, and other cultivars are also on display, for example, Ogiku (large sized chrysanthemum), Daruma, Fukusuke (bringer of good luck), Dome-shaped giku, that were carefully cultivated by school children and the members of the chrysanthemum club of Tambasasayama City.

The exhibition is sponsored by the Tambasasayama chrysanthemum club and Tambasasayama City.

Tambasasayama City Chrysanthemum Club Secretariat (Tambasasayama City Commerce, Industry and Tourism Division)
+81-79-552-1111

Make sure to take this opportunity to see the Onaegiku, which can be seen only in Tambasasayama.

“ Sasayama in autumn, under the castle, the lord loved it too, Onaegiku ”
( Nippon Dekansho Bushi Award 2015 Grand Prize winning lyric)

What is the Onaegiku chrysanthemum, “Sasayama Chugiku ” ?

It is a type of chrysanthemum that is said to have bestowed by the Edo Shogunate to the former Sasayama domain lord, Aoyama Tadayoshi, around 1840 and distributed to his vassals.

Onaegiku is a pure Japanese chrysanthemum which has been fondly cultivated only in the Sasayama area in Kansai region. It is an elegant variety, of which characteristic is that once it is in full bloom the petals curl up to show the backside of them.
In the early Showa period(1926-1989), some Onaegkiku chrysanthemum were presented to the Ministry of the Imperial Household at that time, who named it ‘Sasayama Chugiku’ and it stood out in ‘Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden’.

During the war, many varieties of the chrysanthemum became extinct here in Tambasasayama. However, cultivators have inherited the tradition of more than 100 years and handed down several kinds of Onaegiku that still remain today as chrysanthemums unique to the Sasayama region.

<Notice of recruitment of club members>
The Tambasasayama City Chrysanthemum Club holds chrysanthemum-cultivating class once a month and recruits club members and participants.
The membership fee is 1,500 yen per year, and the tuition fee (first time) is 1,500 yen.
First-time participants will receive 5 seedlings of Onaegiku chrysanthemums for free.

Basic information