Story of the Camellia

[ Story of Fragrance ] [ Story of the Rose ] [ Story of the Camellia ] [ Fragrant Flowers of the East ]

Sacred tree that brings spring

The camellia, called "Tsubaki" in Japanese, is known as the flower bringing Spring.
Theories abound regarding the etymology of the word in Japanese.
According to "Nihon Shakumei" (Book of Japanese Etymology) by philosopher Ekiken Kaibara, the name "tsubaki" is a phonetic modification of words meaning "tree with thick leaves". Famed scholar Hakuseki Arai explains in his book "To-ga" that the "tree of glossy leaves" has been shortened into "tsubaki". In the book "Etymology of Japanese Plant Names", Tadashi Fukatsu theorizes that the Korean word for Camellia "ton-baik" was Japanized to become "tsubaki".
There also are two theories on why the present kanji (Chinese) character (which is a combination of the symbols for "tree" and "spring") came to be used to mean "Camellia". First theory says it is a Japanese invention to connote that camellia brings spring. The other says that it was borrowed from the Chinese character "zhuang" which originally signified another sacred deciduous tree "Chinaberry" to stand for camellia in Japan.
Whichever is the case, yearning for Spring has probably made people adopt this charcter, and camellia has long been regarded as a symbol of longevity, love bond, happy marriage, fortune, victory and happiness.

Camellia sasanqua is smaller and has a stronger scent compared to the camellia, with downy hair on its leaves. It blooms in October to announce the coming of autumn.
The etymology of the word "Sasanqua" is considered a phonetic variation of the Chinese word for "Mantan Tea Flower", thus called since it was commonly used to give flavor to tea. This demonstrates that the fragance of the Sasanqua has been highly prized since ancient times.

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