Japan`s Pretty little HEBI-ICHIGO ( literally snake strawberries) Are NOT Eaten By Snakes, NOT Poisonous and NOT Very Tasty, But Some Old-Timers Believe They Have Medicinal Powers
Hebi-Ichigo In My Front Yard In Tsukuba
The bright red, round little berries which grow so commonly at ground level by Japan`s aze-michi ( 畦道, the paths around or between the paddy fields), and also in wild fields, or around houses (there are hundreds in my garden!) do not enjoy a very good reputation, and in fact are the subject of slanderous rumors. Though for me, they are a delight, as first, their little yellow five-petalled flowers appear in April and then give way to the temptingly succulent looking deep-red fruits which beckon like little lanterns from among the surrounding weeds and grasses, the reaction they elicit from my Japanese neighbors or friends is mostly negative. They usually say that these berries are poisonous, or that they are eaten by snakes ! In fact, they are NOT poisonous at all (and of course not included in the diet of any snake!), and though their lack of any strong flavor is a serious let down considering how enticing they look, they can be eaten, and I have found some older people around Japan who say that these fruits have certain medicinal powers.
Hebi Ichigo Flowers Up Close
I think that the negative image associated with this plant can be attributed in large part to its name in Japanese- HEBI ICHIGO, which literally translates as SNAKE STRAWBERRIES ( their scientific name is Duchesnea chrysantha, a member of the rose family). It seems that this name was taken directly from the Chinese name for the same plant ( the characters are- 蛇苺), though I have not been able to determine why the Chinese associated it with snakes . One possibility is that poisonous snakes would wait near the berries to prey on small animals which were attracted by them, making the hebi ichigo a warning sign for the possible presence of snakes. My own feeling, however, is that the fact that the hebi ichigo GROW CLOSE TO THE GROUND and this makes them like snakes, which are the animals which symbolize living in the dirt (since they have no legs).
My Hebi Ichigo
No matter what the reason, the naming of these little fruits after a frightening (to most people) creature, has surely played a major part in the creation of the misconceptions regarding them.
In past generations the Japanese recognized the medicinal powers of the hebi ichigo (in China, the entire plant was used for various herbal remedies).
It was said that eating the berries kept infectious disease away. I have read the account of an old woman in Miyazaki Prefecture who claimed that she never fell prey to any epidemics (densenbyo), because each summer she gobbled up the hebi ichigo in her neighborhood. I have also found prescriptions recorded in folk- remedy encyclopedias showing how hebi ichigo can be used to treat various ailments. For hemmorhoids (ji), directly apply the juice to the sore spot(!). This can also be done with the transluscent liquid that can be obtained by putting the berries in a jar and leaving them for a while. For toothaches, you can mash the leaves of the hebi-ichigo plant with salt and apply the resulting paste to the tooth. For rheumatism you can eat the berries plain, and for diarrhea, you can eat the berries which were pickled with sugar in shochu liquor.
Please do not imagine that anyone you meet actually uses hebi ichigo in these ways anymore (but you never know!). This is only natural, since Japan has become extremely rich in available foodstuffs. there are plenty of more delicious ways of getting your vitamins and of course drugstores full of remedies for every possible ailment.
Molted Snake (aodaisho) Skins Found In My Garden
Still, you might want to bend down and admire these beautiful plants, and you might even want to sample one (or more!) . Maybe you can even think of a recipe that would put them to good use. If you do, please tell me about it- my yard is full of them! Maybe thats why a big snake live there too!
Print This Post
Upcoming bazaars and flea markets
Here's the information sent in by Hiroe Chiba.
-------------------------------------------
Spring Charity Bazaar
by Aozora Nursery
Date:May 31st, 2009
Time:From 10:00am to 1:00pm
Place:Takezono Park
-Sell Foods, Drinks, Used clothes, Used toys, and Hand
made items
-Play
ex.Ride on a small toy bus, play quoits etc.
In case of rain, the bazaar is to be put off till next
Sunday.
-------------------------------------------
We've also put some flea market information
in the May issue of the Alien Times:
June 6 (Sat)
PX Arakawaoki Flea Market from 9am to 2pm
(this is where Toys”R”us used be).
June 6 (Sat) and 7 (Sun)
Sakura Athletic Park Flea Market
Website: http://rmckankyouclub.web.fc2.com/index.htm
June 13 (Sat)
Flea Market at Ishioka Event Field in Ishioka City, from 10am to 4pm
June 14 (Sun)
The 87th Ushiku Gotta-ichi, from 10am to 3pm
Venue: Ushiku Central Continuing Education Center parking lots
Website: http://www.ushikukankou.com/matsuri_gottaichi.htm
Print This Post
FROG CHORUS Is Nature`s Richest Orchestral Show- Take Some Time To Give It a Serious Listen
Tsukuba Rice Fields In Mid-May
In Tsukuba you can never be very far from a rice field. So even in the parts of our fair city most distant from the the flooded paddies of spring and summer you can hear a WHITE NOISE, or distant hum. Naturally, when you get nearer, this sound grows louder, and if you find yourself on a road adjacent to or sandwiched between the TAMBO (rice fields),you might be in for an overwhelming auditory experience. For some, especially those who live nearby, this might be annoying, and for others, such as vistors from Tokyo, it might even be frightening, but one thing is for sure- interesting in rhythm and tone color and filled with an intense sense of yearning, the nightly chorus of male frogs crying out for mates is SIMPLY AMAZING!
Amagaeru (Tree frog)
An encounter with this exuberant multi-million-year-old annual NATURAL nocturnal choral festival ( one of nature`s oldest, and musically, surely its richest ) might be comforting for those people who have been concerned over reports of dramatic decreases in frog populations worldwide. I can assure you, however, that no matter how noisy the frog chorus in Tsukuba sounds to you now, it is a mere shadow of what it was just a few years ago, when I sometimes would find it impossible to carry out a phone conversation in my house because of the high decibal KWA KWA KWAING of the frogs. This OBVIOUS drop in numbers has not only been brought about by habitat destruction, agricultural chemicals, pollution, ozone depletion and road kill, but also because of a fungal disease which arrived in Japan a few years ago, and has taken its toll on certain of Japans frog species.
Rice fields in mid-May, Saiki Tsukuba
Still, the fact that the frog chorus continues to resound throughout our city attests to a relative environmental well-being (as compared with Tokyo and other big cities), as frogs, like canaries in coal mines, can be seen as a measure of an ecosystem`s health. They are also a key link in the food chain, consuming massive amounts of insect pests,while they, in turn, are a major source of nutrition for the egrets, snakes, weasels , etc who prey on them.
In this season, late May, while the mosquitos have not yet emerged in full force, as often as I can, I forget about my cd collection, the radio or tv, and head on out to the paddies for a serious listen to natures greatest night music. You should give it a try yourself (you can even do this by stopping the car by the rice fields, rolling down the window, and stopping the engine for a while).
Ther are 43 species of frog in the Japanese Archipelago ( and about 4000 in the world), though in Tsukuba`s ponds and rice fields you will probably only encounter 6 or seven of these. By far the most predominant of our local frog residents are the small, green (though they can change color to brown or even blue!) AMAGAERU (tree frogs), which overwhelmingly make up the main vocal body of Tsukuba`s frog chorus. For me, their call`s tone color resembles orchestral strings, with a cricket -like drone.
The amagaeru`s crying is also used by Japanese in many regions to predict the weather (since they sing not only for mates but also in response to changes in humidity and changes in air pressure). The croaking of amagaeru in the day time might very well mean that it will soon rain. These frogs have suction cups on there fingers and are very skillfull climbers. You might find them on trees or even on the walls of your house.
The amagaeru are often so boisterous that in some spots it is difficult to make out the calls of the other frogs. However, since this species stops singing at around midnight, the wee hours of the morning make a good time to get a better listen to the less numerous croakers.
Let me introduce some of the other singers in the frog chorus.
Amagaeru
Most similar in size (3-4 cm ) and color to the amagearu are the SHLEGEL-GAERU (named after a German naturalist). The tone of their cry sounds to me more like a creaking, or the sound of rapid knocking on hollow wood. These frogs lay their eggs, which look like a light white foam, on bushes, trees, lawns, etc. The easiest way to distinguish the amagaeru from the shlegel, is that the former has a black line which runs horizontally from its eye. Both of these frogs produce their song by expanding a single pouch beneath their chin.
Akagaeru
The AKAGAERU, which actually lays its eggs in the paddy fields, is larger than the amagaeru (4-6 cm), and is a deeper green with two spines (creases) down its back. Its call reminds me of the clucking of chickens, in short bursts.
Tokyo Daruma-Gaeru
The Tokyo Daruma-Gaeru is about the same size as the akagaeru, but it has spots on its back. It makes its song, a machine gun-like rapid clucking (reminds me of a penguin colony), by expanding two cheek-like pouches.
Probably the easiest voice to distinguish, the bass part of the chorus, is that of the USHI-GAERU, the bull-frog, which arrived in Japan from the US in the early 20th century and has been able to spread itself out ( and making a pest of itself) around the country.
Hear the calls of all these frogs at:
http://hitohaku.jp/wave/wav_kaeru.html
Since frogs have inhabited the all-important paddy fields since rice was first cultivated in Japan (somewhere between 300 BC- and 3oo AD ), and because they help control harmful pests, it is not surprising at all to find out that Japanese farmers in some areas have traditionally believed that the frogs were manifestations of or messengers of the God of The Rice Fields ( Ta no kami 田の神). The fact that farmers found that the amagaeru could predict the rain essential for agriculture only strengthened this belief.
Stones statues can be seen at various shrines (or at people homes) around Japan. These might have been traditionally used for rain supplications ( amagoi) or to pray for recovery from various eye ailments (frogs have relatively large eyes). Frogs were also an important feature of folk medicine, and depending on the region were consumed (sometimes alive!) for various symtoms ranging from cancer to warts. In some areas consuming frog was believed to be a cure for bed-wetting!
Since in this season (May) rural Japan has always been stirred annually by a tremendous frog chorus the likes of which we could never imagine today, a very interesting HAIKU KIGO ( a word used in a haiku poem to indicate the season) came into use- KAERU NO MEKARI DOKI ( 蛙の目借り時), which can be literally translated as THE TIME THE FROG BORROWS YOUR EYES ! It seems that the Japanese have traditionally felt sleepy on May mornings, and this was attibuted to the frogs late night mate- searching activities. It was said that the frogs borrowed human eyes to help in their search, and this was why you felt sleepy in the morning. The more obvious explanation of course is that people found it hard to get a good night`s sleep with all that racket! Anyway, the key-word kaeru no mekaridoki is used (though rarely now) to indicate this time of year in haiku, the the sound of the frog chorus itself became firmly connected to the season and to rice cultivation
Even as Japan entered the Edo Period (1600-1868),and many Japanese left the countryside and came to live in what was the biggest city in the world (and other cities), the former peasants could wax nostalgic listening to the croaking of pet frogs (these were the fine voice KAJIKA-GAERU), which were all the rage at one point for their singing.
Though in the present article I am focusing on the frogs that sing in the ponds, streams and paddy fields, this being Tsukuba, I should mention this areas most famous creature- The Mt Tsukuba toad, or Tsukuba-San gama-gaeru (also called the shiroku gaeru), probably the most renowned frog in all Japan. This fame is not due, however, to these toads` singing voices, beauty, or jumping ability, but rather to their SWEAT, which is gathered using a special contraption and then made into GAMA NO ABURA (toad oil), a traditional ointment famous throughout Japan ( I have often heard it mentioned in samurai dramas ), which some very respected doctors have told me is actually very effective, especially for minor burns.
I cant resist finishing this little piece with what must be the most famous haiku poem of all time- Matsuo Basho`s FURUIKE YA KAWAZU TOBIKOMU MIZU NO OTO (古池や蛙飛こむ水のおと）. The literal translation of this is- An old pond, a frog jumps in, the sound of water. But this very simple sounding poem can be translated and interpreted in countless ways ( the sign of a great work !). I have found a site online which presents 30 different English versions of this same haiku, all by great or near-great writers and poets. Amazingly, none of them gets it quite right! Here is the site:
www.bopsecrets.org/gateway/passages/basho-frog.htm
How about a version of my own- A big ol` pond in spring. FROG SPLASH ! ... RIPPLE...RIPple...ripple...ripp...rip...ri... (C) Avi Landau
Rick Weisburd and I have recorded the frog chorus around his house, and we will be uploading it as soon as we figure out how to do so. In the meantime, get out ( or just open your window) and have a good listen for yourself !
Print This Post
YMCA Ibaraki 2009 Spring Day Camp
YMCA 2009 Spring Day Camp
June 6, Saturday, from 9:30 to 15:30
Venue: Doho Park (YMCA building in case of rain)
Fee: 1,500 yen
This day camp is intended for elementary school children. Kids will participate in various activities such as hunting hike. There will be English speaking staffs and volunteers.
If you are interested in signing up your child for this camp, apply by mailing a postcard with 1. name of the camp, 2. your address, your child’s name, grade, and name of your child’s school, 3. your phone/fax number to YMCA Ibaraki. Deadline to register is June 3, Wednesday.
NPO Ibaraki YMCA Camp
24-7 Higashi Arai,
Tsukuba City, Ibaraki305-0033
Mailing address in Japanese:
〒305-0033つくば市東新井24-7
ＮＰＯ法人 茨城ＹＭＣＡ キャンプ係
YMCA Ibaraki’s phone number: ０２９-８５２-４１２８
Print This Post
A Hard Fact To Swallow- Swallows Not Getting The Respect That They Have Been Long Used To In Japan
Though it is now the height of their breeding season, it is not until July that they really stand out. It is then that they can be seen darting about, like little fighter planes, over the ripening paddy fields, gracefully grabbing up mosquitoes and other harmful bugs. They are working at a frenzied pace, as their young ( their second brood of the season), numbering as many as seven, are getting bigger and bigger, and need more and more nourishment before they finally leave the nest and find food on their own. And while they have a professional baseball team named after them and a shinkansen train as well, SWALLOWS, or TSUBAME (燕), are not getting the respect they have grown used to.
These famed harbingers of spring arrive in the Kanto area in April, having flown great distances from southern China,and as far as Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. They arrive just in time to make use of the freshly tilled mud in the paddy fields to make their distinctive nests. In Japan, swallows have come to live closely with humans, mostly nesting in settled areas, including large cities. They make their mud and grass nests under the eaves of houses and shops and usually return to the SAME HOUSE every year, OFTEN ON THE SAME DATE! The annual return of the tsubame has been considered a happy occasion by their host families. Having your house or shop selected by the swallows for nesting has traditionally been considered highly auspicious and you can still find home-owners and shop-keepers putting out boxes or newspapers to catch the droppings and maybe even putting up a screen or wind-shield for additional protection. In late May, while the swallows are raising their first brood it is most usual to notice these DROPPING BOADS before noticing the birds themselves (if you see a sheet of newspaper or cardboard covered with white droppings just look up and you will probably see the nest!). You can probably be sure that there will also be hungry crows , cats or snakes nearby (that is why the nests are tucked ingeniously into unreachable areas under the eaves).
In older villages and towns and in the older sections of large cities, one nest or more under the eaves of an old building, with chicks poking their beaks out expectantly waiting for their mothers return, as their father stands guard close by, is an endearing image of a Japan quickly disappearing.
Year by year, the swallows are finding themselves less and less welcome. The traditional belief in the luck that the swallows bring is being gradually replaced by the the modern worship of THE STERILE and clean, and by this I mean an intense dislike of bugs, large trees, animals or anything else that smacks of DIRTY.
These days, proud owners of little, plastic, half-million dollar houses, are most likely to have swallows nests quickly removed or more cruelly just closed off, separating parents from young.
Still, the old values come to the rescue sometimes. Here is a story about the swallows at Misao Ito’s house in Kukizaki. Misao lives in a grand old neighborhood, just across the street from Mrs. Noguchi’s (of the mask fame) thatched-roof manor house. Her family decided to knock down their old house and build a modern style home, one which did not seem appropriate for swallows nests.
When her family was looking into ways of removing the nest which had been constructed by their front door, the neighbors came to intervene. Don’t destroy the nest, they warned. If you do that youre house might burn down!
They told Misao’s family that having the nest would bring good fortune to the family and that if the number of chicks hatched was an odd number, they should celebrate by eating sekihan (red rice for festive occasions). The Ito`s followed their neighbors advice and in the end all parties were satisfied. The birds raised their young,the kids enjoyed watching the dramatic, private nature show on their front porch and the neighbors are at ease, because tradition was not broken. And most of all their is the anticipation of the same birds return next spring and the spring after that.
With more and more swallows returning from overseas to find themselves unwelcome, I think it’s time to re-instill in everyone this old excitement which the swallow used to bring.
Besides their miraculous annual return, they are beautiful, graceful, hardworking parents, who eliminate plenty of mosquitoes (without poisons)!
Why shouldn’t we welcome them!
You can find many nests with chicks in them under the walkway of the Art and Physical Education Department of Tsukuba University. Parent birds can be seen for the next few days scrambling for as many insects as they can catch. Watching them over the deep green, young rice plants is the best way to view them in Tsukuba.
Look at some ways that Japanese people help the nesting birds (by making platforms for nesting) and protect their homes from swallow poop:
www.biodic.go.jp/reports/5-4/p028.html
Print This Post