Yamagata Life Diary – Yukiwariso and Ishikawa Garden

After a few months of cold temperatures and snow shoveling, my thoughts start drifting to spring, when the snow will be gone and my spring garden will start to wake up. I look forward to crocuses and snowdrops and other spring bulbs, but in my garden, the most enchanting harbingers of spring are the infinitely varied yukiwariso, literally “flower that breaks through the snow.”

I had never heard of yukiwariso, or Hepatica nobilis var. japonica, before coming to Yamagata – which is actually not surprising, since they are native to the Niigata region, particularly Sado Island, and are not widely distributed. Even in the wild, yukiwariso cross-fertilize easily, so when they were discovered in an astonishing variety of colors and shapes, this provoked a great deal of excitement. Unfortunately, their beauty also made them irresistible, and many were taken from their natural habitats. These days, it is much more difficult to discover yukiwariso in the wild, and their cultivation is now carried out by breeders who produce ever more fantastic forms every year, adding to the thousands of yukiwariso varieties which currently exist. 

One of those breeders happens to live in my very own Hirashimizu neighborhood, and when I first entered his greenhouse, I could hardly believe my eyes. Before me was a marvelous array of tiny flowers – exactly the sort of flowers I would expect to populate the gardens of fairytales. Their small size (they only grow a few inches tall) is part of their charm, but it is also the delicate, exquisite and astonishingly diverse beauty of their flowers that makes them so captivating.

Yukiwariso come in shades of pink, blue, white, purple, and even green and yellow. They may be multi-colored, sometimes very dramatically. Their petals can be a single color, or speckled, striped, streaked, or edged. The simplest flowers have a single row of petals, while others have inner and outer layers of petals, often coming in fanciful colors and shapes. Senju-zaki (literally, “thousand-layered”) yukiwariso are the most spectacular; they have dense rosettes with a seemingly infinite number of petals, and resemble tiny, beautiful fireworks. 

Not only does the yukiwariso plant have many devoted followers in Japan, but it also has a cult following in America, Europe and other countries and regions. Overseas growers and collectors will come all the way to Japan to find new varieties and cultivars, but even in Japan, there are only a few nurseries which specialize in yukiwariso. For that reason, I consider Yamagata city residents incredibly lucky to have one of those garden centers right here in our city.

This name of this garden center is Ishikawa Garden, and it is conveniently located along Route 13. In early spring, its greenhouses are filled with hundreds of yukiwariso, ranging from lovely, classic varieties to stunning new cultivars, and each year it welcomes buyers from Germany and other countries who make the long trek out to Yamagata just to see its flowers. Rare and sought-after varieties can command astonishing prices, but there are many reasonable options as well. Fortunately for garden lovers, yukiwariso, which are perennials, can thrive outdoors; however, they dislike hot temperatures and require the right conditions, and the staff at Ishikawa Garden can provide valuable advice for growing them successfully. 

To view Ishikawa Garden’s selection of yukiwariso, make sure to visit in early spring. The yukiwariso plants begin to flower in late February, and are at their peak during the first two weeks of March*. By late March, many will have finished blooming, so it is important not to wait too long. But even after the yukiwariso are finished, there are many other enchanting and rare plants to discover at Ishikawa Garden throughout the year, including a wide variety of alpine plants and another favorite flower of mine, the snake’s head fritillary. 

Thanks to my kind neighbor and Ishikawa Garden, yukiwariso have become an essential part of my garden, and an important part of my life. It’s still cold outside, but I can’t wait for temperatures to rise a little more, and for these beautiful little flowers to wake up and show me their faces, and tell me that spring is here.

*On the weekend of March 1-2, 2025, Ishikawa Garden staff will be travelling to Niigata for a yukiwariso exhibition, so the garden center will be closed.

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(Address) 1-3-5 Akebono, Yamagata city

(TEL) 023-686-5367

(Hours) November–February: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

*Closed from January 1-3, but otherwise open daily (with occasional irregular closures)

*Open at 9 a.m. on Sundays and holidays

(Instagram) https://www.instagram.com/ishikawagarden/

(Website)　 https://www.rareplants.co.jp