賀茂しょうぶ園, Iris garden in Kamo-chō, Toyohashi, Japan

Kamo Shobu-en is a garden in Kamo-chō that displays hundreds of iris flowers in varying colors and patterns throughout its connected sections. Visitors walk through paved pathways that guide them past the blooming plants while information signs explain what they are seeing.

The garden was created as part of Toyohashi's tourism development: work began in 1968 on 6,300 m² of land owned by Kamo Shrine and the city, and it opened in 1970. Night lighting was added in 1978, and the iris beds and facilities were expanded in 1988.

Each year from late May to mid-June the Kamo Shobu-en hosts the Hanashobu Matsuri, when some 300 varieties and 37,000 plants of the Edo, Ise and Higo iris lines flower. The programme has included an open-air market, a gourd exhibition and sale, gagaku court music and a violin ensemble.

The garden has rest areas and seating spots where visitors can sit and take in their surroundings. Visiting during the main bloom season offers the best experience of seeing the flowers at their peak.

The garden's 37,000 plants are divided into three cultivation lineages: Edo, Ise and Higo, with about 300 varieties in total. The Ise and Higo lines were originally bred for different regions of Japan, so comparing them side by side shows how flower shape and colour changed with local taste.