Walking a mountain trail in summer, you may suddenly find yourself wrapped in a rich, sweet fragrance. Look around — if you spot white petals streaked with yellow and dotted with crimson, you've found the yamayuri (golden-rayed lily). This spectacular bloom happens to be Kanagawa Prefecture's official flower, yet increasingly people are saying they rarely see it anymore. Here's a closer look at the yamayuri's story, the conservation work underway across the prefecture, and where to admire it.

【1-Day Tour Routes】[Departure from Tokyo] 2026.9.19 Tone River Fireworks Festival & Hitachi Seaside Park One-Day Tour (Including Hitachi Seaside Park Admission) (Excluding Fireworks Free Seating Ticket)

Available 2026-09-19

HKD 402 Start

Book now

What Is the Yamayuri?

The yamayuri (Lilium auratum) is a bulbous perennial endemic to Japan, growing wild mainly across Honshu on partially shaded slopes from lowlands to foothills. It flowers from July to August, with individual blooms reaching over 20 cm in diameter — making it the largest of Japan's native lilies. A well-established stem can carry up to ten blossoms, each pumping out that unmistakable heady perfume.

Why Did It Become Kanagawa's Prefectural Flower?

The yamayuri was designated Kanagawa's floral emblem in 1951. For generations it flourished across the Tanzawa mountains and the Miura Peninsula, a familiar sight to locals. The choice was also shaped by history: from the late Edo period through to the early Showa era, Japan exported vast quantities of lily bulbs to Europe and America, and the overwhelming majority passed through Yokohama Port. (For the record, Kanagawa's prefectural tree is the ginkgo and its bird is the seagull.)

Is the Yamayuri Endangered?

Nationally, the yamayuri is not listed on the Environment Ministry's Red List. However, several prefectures that maintain their own lists tell a different story: Kyoto Prefecture classifies it as extinct (no confirmed sightings since 1963), while Nagano lists it as near-threatened. So while it escapes national-level listing, severe regional declines are very real.

Why Is It Disappearing?

A tangle of factors is to blame: illegal bulb poaching, the abandonment of traditional satoyama woodland management, land development, and deer browsing. The bulbs are edible, so during periods of food shortage they were dug up en masse, and horticultural poaching continued long afterwards. Recovery is painfully slow — from seed to first flower takes a minimum of five years, more typically six or seven. In natural conditions, the journey from germination underground to emergence above ground is even longer, meaning very few seedlings ever make it.

The State of Yamayuri in Kanagawa Today

According to Kanagawa's 2022 Red Data Book, the yamayuri is not currently designated as endangered within the prefecture. Yet the decline is undeniable. In the days when satoyama were carefully tended, yamayuri dotted roadsides and slopes everywhere; post-war housing development and woodland neglect steadily shrank their numbers. Surveys now find them at only a handful of sites, often just one or two plants scattered here and there — the landscape that once defined Kanagawa's countryside is gradually fading.

Conservation Efforts Across Kanagawa

In response, a patchwork of initiatives has sprung up. The Kanagawa Trust for Green Preservation leads the "Kana-Yuri Challenge," aimed at restoring wild yamayuri habitats and protecting urban green spaces. Volunteers clear undergrowth to create favourable growing conditions, while harvested bulbs are nurtured at the Shinwa Gakuen social welfare facility in Hiratsuka before being returned to the wild.

In Hadano City, the Hadano-Naka Rotary Club has been working with volunteers since around 2010 to transform a stretch of the Shibusawa Hills hiking trail into a "Yamayuri no Sato" (yamayuri haven). The project began with 300 bulbs and 20,000 seeds, and through annual weeding, leaf-clearing and replanting of home-grown seedlings, roughly 600 plants now bloom there each summer. Over in Kawasaki's Asao Ward, a separate scheme distributes bulbs and organises community planting sessions.

Where to See Yamayuri in Kanagawa

Thanks to years of steady, grassroots effort, Kanagawa's floral emblem endures. This summer, seek out a yamayuri viewing spot and breathe in that sweet fragrance for yourself. And if you stumble upon a wild plant, please simply admire it quietly — let's pass the yamayuri on to the next generation together.