Peony Tattoo Meaning
Asian-style peonies, among non-asian style peonies, are beautiful art pieces and have a long history in Eastern culture. They’ve become a high-interest tattoo style and subject for me, so here we are: where does this tattoo style come from? What is it’s history and what does it mean?
The King of Flowers’ National History
Peonies are one of the oldest used flowers in Eastern culture. You can see them in a variety of colours in many Chinese and Japanese paintings throughout history, even being declared the national flower of China during the Qing Dynasty in 1903. Today, China doesn’t have a national flower.
Along with the plum flower, a flower of winter, peonies are a traditional floral symbol in China where it is called 牡丹, pronounced mu dan. The peony also goes by the name, 富贵花 (fugui hua) and 花王(hua wang), respectively meaning flower of riches and honour, and king of flowers. It’s used in art a symbol of wealth for those who are wealthy, a symbol of hope for those who wish to be more wealthy and good luck to receive that good fortune (among some other meanings I’ll get into); it’s also incredibly beautiful.
Stylistic Art History/the Tokugawa period of Japan
This particular style of peony has become a popular tattoo subject often paired with koi-fish in Japanese tattoos. It was originally inspired by the Ukiyo-e artist, Utagawa Kuniyoshi’s illustrations of Suikoden (TLDR: a classic Chinese novel about 108 outlaws of Mount Liang who were banished but eventually were called back to fight the intrusion of foreign invaders).
The art style was popularized during the Tokugawa period of Japan.
Some terms to know before going into the history the Tokugawa period
Shoguns were the military dictators of Japan who are appointed by the Emperor and were usually defacto rulers of the country. A shogun’s officials were referred to as the bakufu collectively, translating directly into tent government. They were the ones carrying out the actual duties of a dynasty’s administration while the Imperial court’s authority remained nominal
Feudalism was a time in Japan where powerful families/wealthy landlords (daimyo), the military power of warlords (shogun) and their warriors (samurai) ruled Japan, alongside the weak monarchy
Samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the 12th century until Modern Japan. They were paid retainers of the daimyo. They held high prestige and cultivated warrior codes and ethics of martial virtues, unflinching loyalty, engaging in local battles, and indifference to pain. Their memory and weaponry remain prominent in Japanese culture today
Tokugawa Period of Japan
Modern Tokyo, Edo, became the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate in the early 17th century and lasted from 1603 to 1867 as the final era of traditional Japanese government, culture and society before the following period, the Meiji restoration, propelled the country into the modern era.
The Tokugawa shogunate was the feudal military government (weak monarchy with land controlled by that governed Japan at the time that was characterized by rapid economic growth, strict social order, seculsionary foreign policies (the Act of Seclusion of 1636 which cut Japan off from Western nations for the next 200 years), “no more wars” and a growth of the western equivalent of the “middle class” resulting in popular enjoyment of art and culture, which is where Ukiyo lifestyle arose out of.
The Edo period came out of a need to centralize the warring Japan, which was torn apart by daimyo for nearly 100 years in the 1500s. Tokugawa Ieyasu was named the shogun from Edo, now Tokyo, after his victory of the Battle of Sekigahara which has it’s own long history. Tokugawa’s dynasty would rule Japan for the next 250 years, reestablishing social and political order, and bringing peace to a nation who faced 100 years of warfare. They bound daimyos to the shogunate and limited any individual from acquiring too much power.
Economy and culture were having a hot moment in the Edo period
There were four social classes that were recognized and mobility among them was officially prohibited: warriors/samurai, artisans, farmers, and merchants — they were all thriving.
The economy saw significant growth with both agricultural production increasing and commerce/manufacturing industries expanding across the country. The increasingly wealthy merchant class expanded, kicking off the vibrant urban culture around the country that centred around the merchants, samurai and townspeople (chonin) instead of the upper class daimyos and noble class.
Commercial distribution was booming, resulting in growing standards of living, more discretionary income and leisure time to spend that money. Cultural values were being redefined by the chonin class who were lower in rank than the warrior class. They were the merchants and artisans of the time, and they played a key role in the development of national cultural products such as Ukiyo-e (woodblock printing styles mentioned previously), Rakugo (a form of storytelling entertainment), and handicrafts. They played a huge role in establishing aesthetic ideals that permeate every aspect of Japanese design and are maintained to this day, such as iki tsu (subdued displays of wealth), and wabi-sabi (acceptance and appreciation of the beauty in imperfection/incomplete-ness). Chonin’s association and guidance in the cultural developments of this time was their way to break the strict social barriers preventing them from moving up from their place in the hierarchy. They eventually became the ones who wielded the real power in society despite the warrior class maintaining their dominance in the political sphere, because the noble class wanted to participate in these industries as suppliers and consumers themselves.
The fall of Tokugawa and what came afterwards
The government heavily restricted the chonin class by putting political limitations on this population, seeing them as unproductive and unimportant members of society despite their obvious value and importance. Many upper classes wanted their consumer goods, art and needed the chonin class. This along with the droughts that 80% of the population faced (farmer/peasant class) resulting in years of famines, created bubbles of unrest.
A series of imbalanced treaties where stronger nations, ahem the US, imposed rules on the smaller player, Japan via intimidation techniques like bringing their naval fleet to threaten Japan. This forced Japan to open ports to American ships, guaranteeing them safe harbor and allowing the US to set up a permanent consulate in exchange for not bombing Edo.
In 1867, Choshu and Satsuma (2 strong anti-Tokugawa clans) combined forces to topple the shogunate and declared restoration under the new Meiji Emperor who was only 14 at the time. Despite Tokugawa’s fall, the economic growth and stability set the foundations for the rapid modernization the Meiji era brought adopting western industrialization practices and consolidating power under the new emperor.
After the Meiji emperor’s death in 1912, the country experienced significant social, economic and political changes: the feudal system was abandoned, Japan took on a cabinet system of government, trade was opened to Western influenced, and a buildup in military strength. This period is what propelled Japan to the world stage as a world power.
Ukiyo-e
Okay, now that we have all the context of this era, let’s look at the art. Ukiyo translates into the “floating world” and it came to describe the hedonistic lifestyle pursuit of pleasure, and sensually self-indulgent activities which were only possible because of the economic prosperity of the era, leading to more leisure time to create and the ability to buy.
Ukiyo-e translates into pictures of the floating world. This art period started with monochromatic woodblock prints of women, but as the process developed it became a full-color production with sometimes 10 or more blocks going into a print. Some artists specialized in paint work but the primary method used during this time was woodblock printing. They would produce prints of subjects like female beauties, sumo wrestlers, historic scenes, flora/fauna, erotica, etc. etc. etc. Great Wave off Kanagawa was and is arguably the most famous piece of art from Japan, comes from this time period.
Utagawa Kuniyoshi Peonies
Utagawa Kuniyoshi was one of the last great masters of Ukiyo-e woodblock prints and painting, who popularized this style of peony. The flower itself became associated with a careless, reckless attitude that disregarded consequences: “devil-may-care”.
Peony tattoo meaning
In the end, peonies carry many different meanings depending on what perspective you want to use. Peonies have meaning in Serbia, Asia, Greece, and the flower itself, which experienced extraordinary longevity, season after season creates meaning too. Choosing the color of your peony can also bring more meaning to it with red representing good luck, pink representing love and romance, white to symbolize beauty and shame, etc.
But to choose a Japanese-style peony tattoo, understand the historical context in which it was created, and then to put it on your body, I think, is quite beautiful on its own.
