I wondered why choose sunflowers of all flowers to use in writing "Samurai Champloo". And the answer could be in episode 24, when Kagetoki Kariya said: "You should plant flowers that will also use the weeds as nourishment. Flowers such as this one, whose beautiful exterior belies its brutality" When he is saying that, he points at a pot of flowers, which look to me like sunflowers. That reminds me of our main trio. :-)
If one just watches the anime, a “samurai who smells of sunflowers” seems like quite a random objective. But of course, there’s a reason for everything, and sunflowers carry a bunch of symbolism and history that fit well with the plot and the show’s themes.
In China it represents longevity. To most of the world, it is happiness. Most of all, they obviously represent the sun and its warmth.
Historically, sunflowers are not from Japan. They’re not even from Europe. Sunflowers are native to North America. It can be suggested they were harvested even before corn, as sunflower seeds are eaten as a source of fat. Unlike other flowers, they serve a practical use, one of which relates to the starving trio. Sunflowers were sought by Europe and thus traveled there, and back overseas, and then spread to all other parts of the world. At first, they were used more as an exotic plant than a food source, however. Much like the trio, they traveled.
There is a book originally published in France called “The Sunflower”. It recounts the story of a Jew named Simon Wiesthehal summoned to the deathbed of a Nazi. The Nazi asks for his forgiveness for destroying with fire and armaments, a house holding 300 jews. It deals heavily with the moral dilemma of forgiving someone who wronged you. This even relates to Fuu choosing whether or not to forgive her father for abandoning her and thus leading to her mother’s death from sickness.
Also, yes, sunflowers give a toxin that kill other plants. Just like Kariya Kagetoki said, they can nourish themselves off of death. Mugen and Jin had to kill to survive.
But aside from killing, sunflowers serve another purpose. After the nuclear disasters of Chernobyl, Hiroshima and Fukushima, fields of sunflowers were planted. They absorbed the nuclear toxin from the soil! They can nourish, just as the trio protected and took care of each other.
Sunflowers also have no smell. What Fuu is chasing is something that does not even exist. This alludes to her finding her father right before he is killed.
But even this isn’t true. There are breeds of sunflowers that smell sweet…like sugar or honey. This scent probably imprinted on Fuu’s childhood memory. This is why she denies what Kariya is saying in her dream.
History connects as well. As Europe took a fascination to sunflowers, they spread them through trade in the same way they spread Christianity. In episode 6 of Samurai Champloo, the Dutchman tells Fuu that sunflowers were imported to Japan from Holland. After the Christian led Shimabara Rebellion (of which Seizou was a part of), Japan ceased trading with all other European nations. They had been spreading Christianity and supported the Rebellion. The Dutch helped put it down so Holland was the exception.
The Shimabara Rebellion took place in 1637-1638. Sunflowers just started getting cultivated in Japan in the 17th century. They are from the same time period.
Sunflowers are connected to Europe in the same way Kasumi Seizou was connected to his faith in Christianity. Sunflowers being affiliated with Fuu’s father is a subtle representation that he has something to do with a foreign country. Aside from the sunflowers, Mugen has a European sword in the last episode, which appears to be a claymore, or a very long straight sword. This must have been Kasumi Seizou’s as Jin took his clothes and katana.
Most religions associate the sun with their diety. Christianity is no exception. In many paintings of Jesus, a sun is painted behind his head. So in this way, sunflowers represent religion. On the flip side, in a country that is not predominantly Christian, Japan’s actual name “Nippon” translates to “Land of the Rising Sun”. The Shinto Goddess Amaterasu is the Goddess of the Sun.
Because of its affiliation with Europe, America and Japan, sunflowers are an amalgam found in multiple cultures. This is not that different from the concept of hip-hop that Samurai Champloo expresses. They are a “chanpuru”: a mix up.
While it may seem random at first, they could not have picked a more perfect flower to represent the show.
A lot of people felt unsatisfied by the ending of the anime. The trio splits ways, and we do not know if they meet again. Another symbolism for sunflowers is that they are transient in nature. They stand tall and beautiful, but as summer fades, they wither away and die. Just like the journey of the trio, it felt very short, but as they neared their destination, it had to end.
What we forget though…is that next summer the sunflowers will return. So perhaps Fuu, Mugen and Jin will meet again as well.
