There’s a cute anecdote about a German physician who fell in love with hydrangea and a Japanese woman in samurai-ruled 19th century Japan.

Philipp Siebold (1796 - 1866) came to Japan disguised as a Dutch physician because Dutch merchants were the only westerners allowed to trade with Japan then.

During his stay, he was busy studying the nature and culture of Japan, and among the many plants he took note of, hydrangea was his favorite flower. He was also busy losing his head over an entertainer called Otaki who he eventually had a daughter with.

Sadly, Siebold was kicked out of Japan after being found that he had been exporting Japanese artifacts he wasn’t allowed to. He had to leave Otaki and his daughter.

He published a flora in whch he tried to sneak in his crush’s name by naming the hydrangea he saw in Japan, “Hydrangea Otakusa.” But unfortunately, the species had already been named so it wasn’t approved. But then it doesn’t hurt to try!

Hi, I’m Kyota, the author of Amazon Best Sellers [Folk Tales of Japan], [Underdogs of Japanese History], and [Horror Tales of Japan].

Please check out my books in my link in bio at ☺️: [ Ссылка ]

#hydrangea #flower #japan #japanesehistory #japaneseculture #lovestory #japantravel #rainyday

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