On the Publication of the Morning Glory Magazines and its Developement in the Meiji Era

Abstract

We can see now a lot of publications in relation to morning glory which had been published in Bunka and Bunsei eras (1804-1830) and Kaei and Ansei eras (1848-1860) of Edo period.
And the morning glory publications were prospering again from the 30s of Meiji era. Some morning glory magazines began to be published from the late 20s of Meiji era in Tokyo and main local cities.
Morning glory societies made these magazines information media about morning glory and attracted morning glory dilettantes. It seems that the popularity of morning glory was attributed to that it was an annual plant and was cultivated easily and comparatively inexpensive material. Besides there was dilettantism for varieties of morning glory led to recessive heredity, that is to say, the adoration for the horticulture of Edo period. Morning glory magazines had two phases, of which one was a kind of modern comunication media and the other involved premodern horticultural taste, or dilettantism of Edo period.