🍀Lead-in
Welcome to Seasonal Gallery.
Each season brings its own quiet beauty.
In this series, I share a collection of photographs that capture those fleeting moments.
This time, we visit Jōnangū Shrine in Kyoto, where chrysanthemums brighten a sacred dance and the shrine garden gently welcomes the beginning of autumn.
Throughout the garden, hagi (萩), ominaeishi (女郎花), kikyō (桔梗), and susuki (薄／尾花) gently marked the changing season—four plants commonly counted among Japan’s traditional Seven Flowers of Autumn (秋の七草).
Although some begin flowering in late summer, they have long been loved in Japan as delicate signs of the approaching autumn.
I hope you enjoy this peaceful walk through flowers, sacred tradition, and the changing season.
🏵️Kiku no Miko Kagura — A Sacred Dance of Chrysanthemums
During September, Jōnangū Shrine (城南宮) presents Kiku no Miko Kagura (菊の巫女神楽), a seasonal sacred dance inspired by chrysanthemums.
Wearing a colorful crown of chrysanthemum flowers, a miko gracefully performs a fan dance followed by a bell dance with a chrysanthemum branch.
Yellow, purple, and soft pink chrysanthemums also adorn the sacred stage, bringing the beauty of the season into this elegant shrine tradition.
A Miko Adorned with Chrysanthemums
Chrysanthemums in Shades of Gold and Purple
Chrysanthemums Framing the Vermilion Torii
🎥 Watch on YouTube
A short video captures glimpses of both the graceful fan dance and the rhythmic bell dance.
【HELLO JAPAN】Sacred Chrysanthemum Miko Dance at Jonangu Shrine │ Kyoto
🌾Four of the Seven Flowers of Autumn
Beyond the sacred stage, the shrine garden offered another beautiful sign of the changing season.
In Japan, the Seven Flowers of Autumn, known as aki no nanakusa (秋の七草), have long been admired for their delicate beauty.
At Jōnangū Shrine, I encountered four of them: hagi, susuki, ominaeishi, and kikyō.
Unlike the Seven Herbs of Spring, which are traditionally eaten, the Seven Flowers of Autumn are cherished simply by observing their quiet seasonal beauty.
Susuki and Hagi — Two of Japan’s Seven Flowers of Autumn
🌸Hagi — Japanese Bush Clover
Soft pink hagi blossoms spilled gently through the garden, creating a graceful scene beneath the early-autumn sky.
Hagi Blossoms Filling the Garden
The Delicate Beauty of Hagi
🌼Ominaeshi — Golden Lace
Clusters of tiny yellow flowers rose lightly above the greenery.
Known in English as golden lace, ominaeishi brings a soft golden glow to the Japanese garden and has long been cherished as one of the Seven Flowers of Autumn.
Ominaeshi Beside the Quiet Pond
Golden Clusters in the Early-Autumn Garden
The Delicate Beauty of Ominaeshi
💜Kikyō — Japanese Bellflower
Kikyō begins as a softly rounded bud before opening into a delicate five-pointed flower.
Its graceful form and quiet violet color have long made it one of Japan’s most beloved flowers of autumn.
A Kikyō Bud Waiting to Unfold
A Pale Kikyō Opening to the Light
The Deep Violet Beauty of Kikyō
🍃Small Signs of Early Autumn
Beyond the Seven Flowers of Autumn, other delicate signs of the season appeared throughout the shrine garden.
Tiny golden blossoms swayed among the greenery, while the purple berries of murasakishikibu and a green tachibana fruit quietly signaled the changing season.
Together, they captured the garden at a gentle turning point between summer and autumn.
Tiny Golden Flowers Along the Garden Path
Murasakishikibu Berries Beginning to Color
A Green Tachibana Fruit in the Early-Autumn Garden
💗Kaha’s Note
The garden at Jōnangū Shrine seemed to rest gently between two seasons.
Chrysanthemums brought color and grace to the sacred dance, while hagi, susuki, ominaeishi, and kikyō quietly announced the arrival of autumn.
Among the flowers, purple berries and still-green fruit offered small reminders that the season was continuing to change.
It was a peaceful glimpse of early autumn—soft, colorful, and filled with the quiet beauty of transition.
🌈Explore More
Continue your journey through Japan’s changing seasons, from the peaceful lotus flowers of summer to the first gentle signs of autumn.
🪷Seasonal Gallery #1 │ Lotus & Water Lilies
Enjoy a peaceful collection of lotus flowers and water lilies from Japan and France.
🌕Japanese Seasonal Living #2 │ September — The First Signs of Autumn
Discover the traditions, flowers, seasonal flavors, and quiet changes that mark September in Japan.
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