Viewing a Myriad Leaves: Man’yō Botanical Gardens in Japan

This paper will report on a current research project examining the phenomenon of botanical gardens in Japan which exhibit the plants referenced in the eighth century Man’yōshū poetry anthology. This anthology contains approximately 4500 poems, of which 1500 refer to one, or more, of about 150 different species of plants, making botanical references and imagery one of the most significant features of the work. Despite the chronological distance separating the Man’yōshū from the present day, there are currently 37 botanical gardens throughout Japan dedicated to exhibiting the plants of the collection, accompanied by representative selections of poems. These establishments vary widely in type: some are part of larger public parks, some are attached to shrines, or temples, some are attached to museums of various types, and some are independent, but all are clearly intended to act as facilities to attract visitors to localities or institutions. They are, therefore, stimulators of Literary Contents Tourism, but, being dedicated to the objects referenced in poetry, form an unusual type of contents tourism facility which is focussed on the resources of, and stimulants for, literature, rather than the literary work itself.