Around 25,000 'rabbit-ear irises' (キツバタ) grow in Ōta-jinja's (大田神社) swampy pond, blooming from late April to mid May. In 1939 the area was designated a natural monument.

The 'floating isle' that sits at the pond's centre may well have been part of the original landscape.

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Ōta-no-sawa (大田ノ沢 'Ōta Marsh') is the last piece of a once vast swamp that was slowly reclaimed by the Kamo Clan (賀茂氏) for farming land long before Kyōto existed.

Since Heian times, though likely earlier, the pond has been famed for its irises (カキツバタ).

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