Chrysanthemum named after President Nazarbayev given 'Excellent' title in Japan
Japan celebrates Chrysanthemum Day on September 9, while November is traditionally considered to be the season of the national flower. Thousands of the flower varieties are exhibited at chrysanthemum festivals in parks and temples all over the country.
The uniqueness of "President Nazarbayev" chrysanthemum is that it is 2 meters high, and its yellow bud is as big as a human head and has densely located petals. Yellow chrysanthemum is a symbol of Japan and embodies the national emblem that flourishes the imperial throne and the national passports of the citizens of the country. The highest state awards of the country were also named after the national flower. It is a remarkable fact that President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev was awarded the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum during his visit to Japan in June 2008.
"Winning prizes at various competitions and festivals, the flower named in honor of the Head of State is rapidly gaining popularity among professional and amateur florists. In particular, on November 6 this year, the "President Nazarbayev" chrysanthemum was awarded special prizes of the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan and the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan at the All-Japanese Chrysanthemum Festival in Izumi (Osaka Prefecture), the largest and most prestigious of its kind, where about 300,000 flowers were presented," the report says.
On November 7, at the 95th Tokyo Chrysanthemum Festival in Hibiya Central Park arranged by the Japan Chrysanthemum Association with the support from the Government of Tokyo, "President Nazarbayev" flower was given 'Excellent' title.
The variety was bred by Kokka-en, a Japanese company that was established in 1927 and accounts for up to 90% of all operations related to the selection, cultivation, and distribution of the national flower. Kokka-en is also the official supplier of chrysanthemums for the Imperial Court, as well as large companies in Asia and Europe.
The company, for the first time in its history, decided to give the name of the well-known world politician to the new variety of chrysanthemum as a sign of 'respect for his contribution to the development of friendly and trust-based relations between the peoples of the two countries'.
Earlier, chrysanthemum varieties had not been given names of heads of state as they had generalized lyrical names like "East Wind", "Sovereign", "Five Emperors", etc.
The new variety of chrysanthemum, "President Nazarbayev", is gaining the increasingly greater attention of local residents thanks to its unusual beauty and is expected to get into the world markets.
It is symbolic that the flower receives honorary titles exactly one year after the historic visit of President Nursultan Nazarbayev to Japan on November 6-9, 2016, that took the bilateral relations to a totally new level of strategic partnership.