Story behind the art of Yoko Harada

26th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists and Marin Art and Garden Center

Arisaema

Arisaema kishidae

I first encountered the genus Arisaema in a Tokyo botanical garden in 2019 when I came upon a huge, uniquely shaped plant with a spathe that reminded me of a snake rearing its head. In fact, Japanese Arisaema are called mamushigusa (“snake plant”) in Japanese, and Japanese cobra lilies in English, because the spathe, the central spadix, and sometimes the pattern on the sheath leaves look like snakes. In North America there is a plant of the same genus, jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum).

Curious to learn about these plants, I bought the book The Genus Arisaema in Japan published in 2018 by Dr. Jin Murata, a former professor and director of the Koishikawa Botanical Garden, University of Tokyo. According to this book, fifty-three Arisaema species grow in Japan, ranging widely in shape and color. The plants are not easy to find or to grow and are not cultivated much; some are classified as endangered on the Japanese Red List, which follows IUCN Red List categories and criteria.

I soon began working on a series of paintings of Japanese Arisaema in their natural habitat to enter into the 2022 Royal Horticultural Society Botanical Art and Photography Show in London. The project was a challenge, because I needed to visit each habitat multiple times, to see the flowers in early spring and their fruit from autumn to winter. However, pandemic restrictions made it difficult for me to make as many trips as I wanted in the time that I had. Moreover, Arisaema plants are dioecious, with flowers that switch completely between male and female depending on a variety of factors. This meant that I needed at least three samples of each plant: a main sample for painting the flower, leaves, and roots, and one male and female sample each for dissection. The series of six works that I completed, including the Arisaema kishidae painting here, won a Gold Medal at the show. One of the paintings, Arisaema thunbergii subsp. urashima, was also named Best Botanical Artwork.

Arisaema kishidae is found mainly in the forests, forest edges, and mountains of the southern part of Honshu—specifically, Gifu, Aichi, and Hyogo Prefectures and the Kii Peninsula—where the climate is warmer. It usually grows between 15 and 50 cm in height. I chose it as a subject because I was able to find a sample that was quite tall, about 40 cm, and because I was attracted to the patterns on the leaves.

While planning my composition I focused especially hard on keeping a good balance between the main plant, the male/female dissections, and the fruit. Making one of the roots go off the page was one of my strategies for realizing that balance, while also creating a sense of dynamism.

Dr. Murata checked my work for taxonomy and botanical accuracy through the entire project. I thank him for his guidance. 

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