Japanese spirea; meadowsweet
Refers to the plant Spiraea japonica. The name is an abbreviation of 下毛野 (Shimotsuke-no), an old name for the region where the plant was first discovered.
See also: 下毛野
Japanese spirea is blooming in the garden.
Shimotsuke Province
Only when written 下野
Historical province in present-day Tochigi Prefecture. Used only with the kanji 下野.
Shimotsuke Province corresponds to present-day Tochigi Prefecture.
Written with the same kanji, 下野 read しもつけ is the old name of a province (in present-day Tochigi), completely unrelated to 下野 (げや) meaning resignation from office.
Katakana spelling is common for this plant name; usually written in kana.
Kanji spelling for the plant; rarely used in modern writing. Also the historical province name (sense 2).
Hiragana spelling, also used.
Obscure kanji spelling for the plant; not in common use.
The plant name シモツケ is an abbreviation of 下毛野 (Shimotsuke-no), referring to the old province where it was first found. The historical province name 下野 (Shimotsuke) shares the same origin.