Which flower is this?

[Spartancrest]

I can't agree with a description from a museum. The flower is described as sakura blossoms [cherry] but they look nothing like cherry flowers to me.  Does anyone have a better idea what the flower might be?

[Bugyotsuji]

They do look wrong, I agree, but there are many types of sakura mon. For example:

https://www.pinterest.jp/pin/289356344788229718/

But there is a type of flower called a shiba-zakura or ‘lawn cherry blossom’ which is not related to sakura, just the pink colo(u)r. Note the holes in the middle.

Phlox subulata 

https://pino330.com/archives/22093

[Steves87]

They do look a little withered.

I realise it is not the case, but I like to think it is a message that the wearer and their sword will bring an end to the renewal and optimism that Sakura brings, to one's adversary.

[GRC]

I think Piers has it right... looks like Japanese "shibazakura" or "moss Phlox" to me too:

 

A travel site had this to say about a shiba-zakura festival:

 

"There are multiple spots in Japan that are famous for moss phlox but we, the editing team recommends Fuji Motosuko Resort (Fuji kawaguchi-ko town, Yamanashi prefecture). Here, you can admire Mt. Fuji and moss phlox that spread wide like a carpet at the same time. In the park, an event known as “Fuji Shibazakura Festival ” is held when moss phlox are in peak. This year in 2017, the event will be held between April 15th and May 28th."

[Spartancrest]

11 minutes ago, GRC said:

“Fuji Shibazakura Festival ”

It strikes me as strange that a plant native to North America is the show piece of a Japanese Festival - but not that much different to Rose gardens poping up in other countries where they did not originate.

https://www.gardenia.net/plant-variety/phlox-subulata-creeping-phlox

"Phlox subulata the creeping phlox, moss phlox, moss pink or mountain phlox, is a species of flowering plant in the family Polemoniaceae, native to eastern and central USA."

 

We do the same thing here in Tasmania with our "Tulip festival" https://lapoftasmania.com.au/table-cape-tulip-farm-tasmania/ - you would be hard pressed to find Tulips celebrated so far south, about as far from Holland as you can get! [though the tulip originated in Central Asia and started being cultivated in Türkiye (Turkey). It is not Dutch as we would be led to believe!]

[Bugyotsuji]

I've actually had several such debates with myself in the past. When did a,b or c first arrive in Japan? Is such a timeline possible?

 

Among those that surprised me after a little research were 丁子choji cloves and 蘭 ran orchids, both highly valued even in Nara times, and clematis which I had thought was Bakumatsu and very late until I discovered its use as a kamon in the mid 1600s.

 

According to this site, Shiba-zakura has a long history in Japan, and is said to have been imported for for its decorative value during the Edo Period.

#07秩父「芝桜」｜和び旅｜日本テレビ (ntv.co.jp)

芝桜の歴史は古く、江戸時代に観賞用として日本に輸入されたと言われています。

[GRC]

@Spartancrest, good question,

And @Bugyotsuji, nice bit of research to fill us in with 

 

The whole topic of "what arrived when, and how" in Japan is very interesting, especially given their early exposure to Westerners in the mid-1500s, followed by the long period of isolationism of the Edo period (other than the few Portuguese trade-ships that were allowed to port each year, and their trade with China and the Mainland). 

[Bugyotsuji]

Dutch trade ships. 

[Spartancrest]

Similar themed guard - 'cleaned' to an inch of it's life - sandpaper or beltsander?  https://www.cdejahier.com/produit/tsuba-japonais-avec-motif-de-fleurs-a-cinq-petales-samurai-sword/

[Bugyotsuji]

Well, for goodness sake! There's your answer in French, 'flowers with five petals'... simples! 

[Scogg]

Piers is on the money, that it's phlox

To complicate things a little more, and for the sake of discussion, theres a 5 pedal flower called "Dianthus Japonicus" " that is native to Japan and China, and looks very similar to the photo of the cherry blossom OP shared. It's a carnation variety 

[Bugyotsuji]

[Bugyotsuji]

Re above. The site (or my phone) allowed a photo but there was no facility for writing anything. Seems to be working again now.

 

The famous Nadeshiko is a kind of oriental carnation, I read. The jagged edges are a characteristic. It was the Saitō family (of Mino) crest but Saitō Dōsan replaced it with the double-topped wave and 2+3 drops of spray.