however, there may be another meaning to ozu's title derived from ancient japanese culture. when noriko and shukichi attend the noh play, the work performed is called "kakitsubata" or "the water iris." (the water iris in japan is a plant which blooms, usually in marshland or other moist soil, in mid-to-late-spring.) in this play, a traveling monk arrives at a place called yatsuhashi, famous for its water irises, when a woman appears. she alludes to a famous poem by the "waka" poet of the heian period, ariwara no narihira, in which each of the five lines begins with one syllable that, spoken together, spell out the word for "water iris" ("ka-ki-tsu-ba-ta"). the monk stays the night at the humble hut of the woman, who then appears in an elaborate kimono and headdress and reveals herself to be the spirit of the water iris. she praises narihira, dances and at dawn receives enlightenment from the buddha and disappears.