If asked to name one flower that best symbolizes Tokyo's shitamachi, I would say asagao (morning glory). The energetic vine that shoots up fast, roof high, with simple flowers that fade before noon has always been favored by Edokko, the children of Edo. Looking just right as it cools their modest houses, this annual's character seems to match that of the bustling, hard-working Edokko, who are urged to spend their profits on the day they are made.
The asagao's wild parent with its small, trumpet-shaped, blue flowers was traditionally grown for its seeds, used in Chinese medicine. At the turn of the 19th century developing cultivars became a fad among horticulturists around Ueno, and later in Asakusa and Fukagawa. Keen competition produced an incredible variety of shapes and colors of both flowers and leaves.
Iriya, famous because many asagao buffs lived there, was home to one clever promoter who put on a fair at Iriya Kishimojin Temple. The Asagao Ichi (fair) is now a well-established event, signaling the arrival of high summer in Tokyo.