Hanakotoba

Hanakotoba (花言葉, flower-language) is the Japanese language of flowers.

Since after World War II, the Japanese way of thinking, lifestyle and habits have been influenced by Western thoughts, therefore today it is not uncommon to find young Japanese people unaware of their own traditions, including the one about flowers and their meanings. They usually refer to the flower language of European origins, instead of their own.

Also, greeting cards made in Japan follow the codes in this flower language.

Flowers and their meanings
These flowers will be listed in alphabetical order by their names in English.

Appearance of Hanakotoba in popular culture

 * Flower language is used in many movies and animation in Japan, such as Weiss Kreuz and Shuffle!.
 * Japanese musician Miyavi uses the lotus as his insignia sitting below the kanji for his name, which means elegance.
 * In the anime HeartCatch PreCure!, when Cure Blossom and Cure Marine rescue a person's Heart Flower, either Cure Blossom, her grandmother, or Chypre and Coffret, two mascots, will interpret that flower's language.