Hanamaru - Black Orchids
The first flower I will be writing about is the one most often associated with Ranmaru Kurosaki from Utapri: the black orchid.
Ranmaru’s full name quite literally translates to “Black Orchid” (taking the "Kuro" 黒 from Kurosaki meaning "black" and the "Ran" 蘭 from Ranmaru meaning "orchid"). He also signs his autographs "KurOrchid" playing off of this.
Another fun fact about his name, Ranmaru, is that it comes from the Sengoku era warlord, Mori Ranmaru. Men in the Kurosaki family have been named after warlords for generations, and Ran was no exception to this rule. However, Ranmaru is absolutely convinced that his parents were expecting him to be born a girl and thinks that the flower kanji used in his name is proof of that.
Back to the main topic, in flower language, black orchids symbolize mystery, power, strength, and authority. Orchids as a whole are also heavily associated with virility and sexuality, which, let's be honest, Ranmaru is chock full of.
Being that black orchids are rare and hard to find, they are also associated with royalty, success, and achievement. Which really suits Ranmaru’s passionate drive and unshakable desire to chase his dreams.
I mean, hell, his character tagline is “He will catch the dream even if he will lose his property and position.” This man works harder than anyone else and will not settle for good enough. He is truly a king in his own right.
I love Ranmaru's unbridled confidence and ability to command your attention. He’s loud and brash and kind of rude in the manner in which he speaks, but is also incredibly sweet and sincere if you can look past (or rather embrace) his unique way of expressing himself. He truly is a black orchid in every way. Captivating, beautiful, and one-of-a-kind ~ The next flower I will be writing about is one which I feel goes hand-in-hand with the black orchid: his promise flower, the white rose.
