I know the first anniversary of this blog is coming up (August 9th!), and I want to post a piece to commemorate it. However, I’ve been having a little bit of writer’s block lately. To try to break it, I’ve decided to look up some writing prompts and see if I could find something to inspire me. While doing that, I actually came across some prompts that reminded me of a rabbit hole that I previously travelled down: Flower Language.

Since I was on the idea, I decided to make my own prompt lists based off of flower language. A lot of the flower meanings on the websites I checked were Victorian, but while looking for information on flower meanings, I realized that Japanese flower language (“Hanakotoba”) was also a thing, albeit not as old. It only started in Japan during the Meiji period (1868-1912).

I thought about how the differences between Western and Japanese culture might alter the meanings of flowers and decided it would be fun to do the prompt list by comparing the two. It would be great to put them on a roulette wheel and try to write a story based on whatever meaning comes up. You could even play on the differing meanings. I might even post a few!

Sources may very on the meaning of the flowers. The websites I used will be cited down below.

Bonuses!

Citations

Boeckmann, Catherine. “Flower Meanings: The Language of Flowers.” Almanac.Com, 28 June 2023, http://www.almanac.com/flower-meanings-language-flowers.

HENRIQUE, KEVIN. “Hanakotoba – Meaning of Flowers in Japanese.” Suki Desu, 24 Oct. 2021, skdesu.com/en/the-meaning-of-the-flowers-in-japanese/.

Gaumond, Andrew. “Azalea Flower Meaning, Symbolism, and Uses.” Petal Republic, 4 June 2021, http://www.petalrepublic.com/azalea-flower/#:~:text=Azaleas%20have%20major%20significance%20across,%2C%20temperance%2C%20and%20even%20death.

I., Yuri. “Hanakotoba: The Secret Japanese Language of Flowers.” Tsunagu Japan, 14 May 2021, http://www.tsunagujapan.com/hanakotoba-the-secret-japanese-language-of-flowers/.