Tsukuba`s Sweetgums（紅葉葉楓）and other Roadside Trees ABLAZE with Autumn Color
For the aristocrats of the Heian Court, the only annually recurring natural phenomenon which could be said to have in any way approached being cherished as greatly for its SIGNIFICANT BEAUTY as the blossoming of HANA (cherry blossoms) was the arrival of the autumn foliage (ko-yo-紅葉, literally red leaves). They would tell the story of the Weaver Goddess, Tatsuta-Hime, who would color the mountains yellow and red with a mere brush of her sleeve. Large portions of Japan’s greatest classical poetry anthologies were inspired by the brilliant colors Kyoto’s trees take on before their leaves fall to the ground, filling the air with a melancholy scent as they rot into dust. They are another quintessential symbol of that all important Japanese concept, MUJO, the passing nature of all things, which has had a such a great impact on Japanese philosophy and aesthetics.
With time, the values, preoccupations and sensibilities of the Heian nobility have trickled down to the general populace helping to form the way modern Japanese view themselves and their country. Autumn foliage has become an integral part of the Japanese identity, and remains strongly so even as the number of trees in the country that actually change color in autumn has become a shadow of what it once was (due to centuries of deforestation and reforesting with evergreens).
Even in cities and towns which have become all but devoid of color-changing trees, you will be sure to find the shopping districts bedecked with plastic branches to which colorful artificial leaves are attached to celebrate the spirit of the season. It is also fascinating to see the puzzled, uncomfortable, and even hurt expressions on the faces of your Japanese friends or acquaintances which can sometimes be elicited by telling them that in your country too, there is beautiful autumn foliage (not to mention four seasons!).
Before the Science City was superimposed upon the once loose collection of traditional villages which have existed in this area for generations, autumn foliage could be enjoyed at temples, shrines and private houses. Of course one could always take an excursion to Mt Tsukuba, or one of the smaller mountains which flank it. However most of the the area which now comprises Gakuen Toshi was covered with forest of red pine, which is an evergreen. The planners of what was to become the city in which we live in today had grandiose plans, with plenty of foliage viewing in mind. Not only did they decide to create a generous number of parks which would be planted with various deciduous trees, but they decided to line each of Tsukuba’s unusually straight and wide (by Japanese standards) main thoroughfares with DIFFERENT types of color changing trees.
The earliest to show color are the ginkgo trees (itcho-) which are at present an eye grabbing yellow lined up to the horizon. However, many people I have spoken to are in agreement that the most strikingly beautiful road this autumn has been route 408 which leads to Ushiku and Narita. Surprisingly, even the the most plant-knowledgeable of my acquaintances could not name the type of tree it was that was becoming so distracting to drivers around the Matsushiro neighborhood.
I knew it was time to contact Dr. Hasashi Abe, the well-known tree taxonomist at FFPRI. He quickly responded to my inquiry, and also told me about some of the other tree-lined boulevards in Tsukuba. I quote:
The English name for the tree along Rt. 408 is Sweetgum. The Scientific name is Liquidambar styraciflua (Hamamelidaceae). The Japanese name is もみじばふう（紅葉葉楓）.
The tree species planted along Nishi-Odori is tulip tree, scientific name is Liriodendron tulipifera (Magnoliaceae). Japanese name is ユリノキ（百合の木）.
The tree species planted along Higashi-Odori (around Namiki and Takezono areas) is chinese maple, Scientific name is Acer buergerianum (Sapindaceae). Japanese name is トウカエデ（唐カエデ）.
In this season I would also recommend taking a nice slow walk during which you can observe both the leaves overhead AND the fallen foliage at your feet. You will be rewarded with a surprising combination of shades and textures.
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Another of the 25 MANYOSHU Poems Which Refer to Mt. Tsukuba- translated into English and discussed
One of the great points of pride for the people who live in my town, Hojo, near the foot of Mt. Tsukuba, is that this mountain, so close at hand ( and to the people`s hearts), is mentioned in the Manyoshu- the oldest collection of classical Japanese poems ( compiled in the 8th century) and one of the cornerstones of Japanese civilization- more times than Mt Fuji !
Now how is it, you may ask, that in this land of majestic peaks and mysterious volcanoes, that what could be considered a mere hill ( at 877 meters in height) would be mentioned more times by the poets of yore than what is now one of the world`s most ( if not THE most) famous mountain?
Well, the answer lies in Mt. Tsukuba`s shape. Its twin peaks have long symbolized for the inhabitants of this archipelago the interaction of the MALE and FEMALE FORCES.
For this reason, mentioning the mountain implied not merely the geographical entity itself- or perhaps not even at all- but the powerful force it represented- the subject of so much of the worlds poetry- love and sex.
The best known of the Manyoshu`s poems mentioning Mt. Tsukuba, one which is part of the Hyakunin Isshu collection of poems, surely speaks of the mountain in a purely symbolic way ( as I have discussed in a previous post) as its author describes the Minanogawa River (男女川- these characters literally mean: the Man-Woman River), a stream which still flows down from the valley between the Male and Female peaks, as a gushing river. The Emperor who composed this well known work clearly had not actually visited the mountain ( or even if he did, used the mountain and the river in a symbolic way).
Today I will introduce another one of the 25 Manyoshu poems which mention Mt. Tsukuba ( as opposed to the 13 which refer to Mt. Fuji). Once again, the mountains symbolic presence is more important than the mountain itself. It goes like this:
筑波嶺の 彼面此面に 守部据ゑ 母い守れども 魂ぞ会ひにける
( TSUKUBANE NO OTEMONOMONI MORIHESUE HAHA IMOREDOMO TAMAZO AINIKERU)
Anonymous
Which I translate loosely in order to convey what I have found this poem to mean:
As the twin peaks of Mt Tsukuba watch out far and wide over the plain
my mother keeps watch over me
But despite her vigilance,
his soul and mine
have become mates
( Avi Landau)
Let me now break down the poem word by word so that you may interpret it for yourself and decide what the original writer had in mind.
TSUKUBAMINE NO- Mt. Tsukuba`s ( and as I have mentioned this name automatically carried with it connotations of men and women, marriage, and getting together physically)
OTEMONOMONI ( an archaic expression meaning here and there).
MORIHESUE ( guardmen)- I am not sure if this actually refers to specific guardmen who were actually present on Mt Tsukuba itself ( I have never heard of such a thing) or just symbolic chaperones or guardians of young girls virtues- I have omitted mentioning guardmen and make the whole mountain itself on vigilant guard over the Kanto Plain ( as it actually seems to be.
HAHA IMOREDOMO ( mother watches over me)
TAMA ZO ( SPIRITS, SOULS)
AINIKERU ( have met).
This poem was either written by, or from the point of view, of a young girl of good family. The difficult point, it seems to me, of interpreting this poem, is deciding whether or not the secret lovers have actually met and made physical love, or if they have merely come together IN A DREAM.
As I have said, Mt Tsukuba carries with it sexual connotations, and the mentioning of the mountain seems to me to be suggestive. However, the poet(ess) says- our TAMA (魂) have met, and this might indicate that the lovers have met in a dream ( which in those days might have had just as much significance as getting together in person.
I have decided to render the work in English with the latter interpretation. Though the young girl`s mothers is protective of her daughter and concerned about who she will marry to the point of obssession, it is the girl herself, in the freedom of dreams who decides her own destiny.
Still, I could change my opinion about it tomorrow- but thats what makes certain poems great- they carry different meanings for anyone who reads them- and can be understood differnetly at different times in ones own life.
No matter what you think the poem means, when I read it ( along with the 24 others that mention Mt. Tsukuba, I cant help but share the excitement of my neighbors, in that these works, so old- yet so fresh, were written with OUR mountain in mind.
I have written more about poems mentioning Mt. Tsukuba in this article on the HYAKUNIN ISSHU poetry collection:
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Fallen Gingko Leaves (銀杏落葉) Give Tsukuba ( and much of Japan) Glimmering, Golden Groundscapes
The most commonly used expression for AUTUMN FOLIAGE in the Japanese language is KOHYOH ( 紅葉), which literally means- RED LEAVES. This is a testament to the fact that since more than a thousand years ago, the residents of the old capital Heian-Kyo ( now Kyoto), out of all the colorful autumn trees, have had a strong preference for the deep red hues taken on by the Japanese Maple (kaede, 楓). And despite the fact that the mountains which surround Kyoto turn a wide range of blazing colors, the Heian aristocrats and literati referred to a foliage-viewing excursion specifically as MOMIJI-GARI ( 紅葉狩り)- red, maple-leaf hunting.
This association of autumn with RED LEAVES is so strong that when talking in English, Japanese people, even the best speakers, will incorrectly use the expression- RED LEAVES ( in English) when referring to what native speakers would call autumn leaves, changing leaves, autumn colors, or autumn foliage.
This has always seemed strange to me, living in contemporary Japan. For though there are certainly a few spectacular maple trees here and there, the dominant autumn (and early winter) color of Tsukuba is surely YELLOW, with various trees turning that color- most outstandingly the ITCHOH- or as we say in Engish, the GINGKO TREES.
These trees are commonly found within the precincts of temples and shrines, and abundantly in parks, as well. In Tsukuba, they have also been planted as a roadside tree, most famously lining the important Tsuchiura-Gakuen Line.
Not only do these trees create beautiful glowing tree canopies,but as their leaves fall away, they turn the gound around them into a golden carpet. There are some famous spots in Japan, such as the Jingu Gaien Park in Tokyo, where two long rows of gingko trees form a tunnel over the fallen leaves creating a spectacular gilden walkway. The padded feeling of strolling on the soft leaves adds to the surreal experience of passing through it. A miniature version of this can be seen, and walked through, in Tsukuba`s very own Doho Park.
The Kyoto Imperial Palace and the Shoso-In in Nara are also famous for their fallen gingko leaves.
A careful examination of an individual gingko leaf will reveal its FAN-like shape. It is because of this shape that in Japanese cooking, slicing vegetables into thin half-circles is called ITCHOH-GIRI ( 銀杏切), literally- gingko slices.
These leaves have also been traditionally used to prevent insect damage ( by keeping the pests away) to Japanese style books ( of washi paper) by placing them between volumes.
I have written about the delicious and nutritious ( though very strange smelling) nuts of the gingko tree before. See-http://blog.alientimes.org/2008/09/tsukubas-gingko-nut-nuts-putting-their-gloves-on/
And dont forget to remind your Japanese friends that autumn is not exclusively RED !
( and if you are a Japanese student of english to use the expression AUTUMN FOLIAGE instead of red leaves)
Golden-leaved Gingko trees line the worshippers path leading to the RAIJIN-SAMA shrine in Kamigo, Tsukuba
Nature and History Walk in Tsukuba
And a reminder to anyone interested- tomorrow Sunday November 27th will be the date for this months Nature and History Walk in Tsukuba`s Konda area. We will be meeting in front of the gym at the former Sakura City Office at starting at 9:30 AM.
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Autumn Leaves Fall Away- Sometimes Revealing the Shrikes`Macabre Handiwork- MOZU NO NIE (鵙の贄)- Tsukuba`s ( and Japan`s) Shrikes- birds with a very curious habit!
Since LIFE was somehow first generated in the primordial cosmic soup, it has taken on countless shapes and forms. Competing for nutrients and shelter, living creatures have fanned out to occupy every possible niche, from deep under the sea or under the ground, to high up in the atmosphere and everywhere else in between. In the struggle for species survival it also happened that each creature developed its own unique behaviors with all possible time and seasonal slots being taken up by the various activities of these organisms. The result is a natural world so diverse and AMAZING that many have been (and some even still are!) tempted to conclude that this could only be the work of an intelligent and omnipotent being.
For the Japanese, autumn had always been a time to admire some of the animal world’s most awesome spectacles. The aristocrats of the Heian Court composed some of their greatest poems on the migrations of KARI, wild geese, and of course the non-Yamato inhabitants of Eastern and Northern Japan were filled with religious awe with the mysterious return of salmon (like manna from heaven for them) to the rivers and streams where they were spawned.
In today’s Japan, we unfortunately have little opportunity to observe these phenomena. In all my years of birdwatching here, I have never seen a LARGE FLOCK of geese. In contrast, I am often saddened by the lonely sight of a solitary duck flying off on what looks like a solo migration. As for salmon, pollution, dam construction and overfishing have reduced the upriver runs of autumn to a mere shadow of what they once were.
In Tsukuba (as well as most other parts of Japan) one UNIQUE and startling form of animal behaviour can still be encountered in late autumn, though in fact the animal involved actually performs it in early fall. It is only when the foliage falls away, however, that evidence of this creatures activity is revealed. I am talking about the MOZU (鵙 ) or (bull-headed) shrike, which because of its startling (for us) habit is often called the BUTCHER BIRD.
What the MOZU does is impale its prey on thorns or the tips of branches. In my neighborhood, the most common victims are lizards, though I have heard that frogs, grasshoppers and other insects can be found hanging out to dry in people’s gardens. I have also seen photos of mice and sparrow chicks which have been skewered by these birds. Actually coming upon these macabre leavings can be upsetting. The phenomenon has made a strong impression on the Japanese and the expression for the impaled prey, MOZU NO NIE (the shrike’s sacrifices) has become a KIGO, or seasonal keyword for Japanese HAIKU poetry.
Ornithologists are not exactly sure of why shrikes do what they do. There are several theories.
They do it to preserve food to be eaten later (the leavings are never come back to in my garden).
They do it to mark out their territory.
Or, most logically for me, they use the thorns to pin their prey while they rip off pieces with their sharp curved beak (shrikes it seems have weak legs).
Whatever the reason for this behaviour, the MOZU NO NIE (or mozu no hayanie) can’t help but fill one with amazement with the fast disappearing natural world around us .
Listen to the mozu’s call at here. (For those who can’t read Japanese, the shrike is the ninth bird featured. Click the blue link at the bottom of its square.)
Watch a mozu in action on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lj0w9jWcio&feature=player_embedded
Or have a look at more OFFERINGS at this site. Just keep scrolling and clicking away at the links.
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USEFUL TREES OF JAPAN: A COLOR GUIDE , is a very USEFUL book indeed- for anyone interested in Japanese nature and culture
With abundant rainfall, and covering several climatic zones (especially when counting its far outlying islands), Japan is a country quite rich in tree species ( and is in fact the most heavilly forested- mostly with cedar in the present time, of all the major industrialized nations). I would even GO OUT ON A LIMB and claim that the Japanese have created the most sublime of all the world`s wood civilizations. What gives me the confidence to say this, is that it was not only the common folk who used wood for making just about everything- but the higher classes as well. And while the national treasures of most other wood-rich civilizations are often made of diamond, gold, silver, ivory, or stone, in Japan a high percentage of the most treasured human creations: Buddhist temples and statues, Shinto Shrines, palaces, castles(!), private homes, as well as a fantastic assortment of crafts- are made of wood ! Many of these are things of overwhelming beauty.
And naturally, over the millenia, the people who have lived among all these trees learned how to use each particular species to best effect- whether for creating dyes, tools, crafts, buildings, musical instruments, or medicines ( among other things).
That is why, one interesting question that often arises when examining various aspects of Japanese culture is WHAT WOOD IS IT MADE OF?
The person whom I always consult on such matters ( and I do so quite often) is Dr. Hisashi Abe, a tree anatomist who lives in Tsukuba. No matter how often I have pestered him with questions on the identity of trees or wood, he has never failed to get back to me with the answer- even if it has meant lots of trouble for him.
And since Abe-San and his colleagues realized that there were several guides to Japan`s trees, but none on Japanese WOOD, they decided to alleviate the situation- by creating a new, full color guide called: (KARA-BAN) NIHON YU-YO-JUMOKU SHI (カラー版日本有用樹木誌)- and Useful trees of Japan: a color guide, in English ( though the text is in Japanese only).
The project really got underway 5 or 6 years ago when several of Abe`s colleagues got together for a retirement party held for Professor Itoh of Kyoto University, who also happened to be the curator of that distinguished institution`s xylarium ( wood specimen collection).
Itoh, Professor Emeritus at Kyoto and a Professor of Nanjing Forest University, Dr. Sano, lecturer at Hokkaido University, Dr. Utsumi, an Assistant Professor of Kyushu University, Dr. Yamaguchi, Senior Researcher of the Tree Breeding Center, and Dr. Abe had collaborated on a big project several years earlier and decided to pool their efforts once again into the project of creating this new book.
What they first had to do was select what they thought were the most important tree/wood species- and they eventually settled on 230 (out of Japan`s 1,300). They then had to set about gathering information on every aspect of these species` uses in Japanese culture and history.
The woods selected by Abe and his colleagues include those with very long presences in Japan as well as the many which were introduced after the Meiji Restoration of 1868 ( for example the dogwood- which came to Japan as a gift from the US in exchange for the cherry trees which now grow in Washington DC and along the Potomac River).
After a few years of research, discussion, and editing, the book finally came out in July of this year (2011). I of course acquired a copy, and for the past few months have kept it close at hand. It has really enriched my understanding of the role trees and wood have played in the culture which developed in the Japanese Archipelago.
Let me mention just A FEW of the things which I have found interesting in the book.
The most important Japanese tree is probably the cedar (sugi). Reading the section on SUGI ( a tree which I am VERY WELL aware of- since its pollen makes me suffer horribly each spring) I found out that in the archaeological record, cedar trees originally only grew on the Japan Sea side of Japan.
The oldest evidence of the use of this wood on this side of the country( the Pacific side), is the remains of cedarwood TAGETA ( wooden clogs used for walking in rice fields), apparently used in the Yayoi Period, which were unearthed in Shizuoka Prefecture.
The tallest individual cedar in Japan now grows in Akita Prefecture and stands at 55 meters.
One reason that SUGI wood has been so popular is that the tree grows so fast ( that is why after the great deforestations during WWII the governenment supported a policy of extensive cedar plantation).
Sugi has long been the source of wood for building the homes of commoners ( while HINOKI- cypress was used very frequently for upper-scale buildings), especially in the Edo Period. And though it was abundant and cheaper, it is still beautifully grained and used for the interiors of homes.
Despite its popularity among the common folk, there is even an instance in which one of the most exquisite examples of classical Japanese architecture is built with the generous use of cedar- the Katsura Rikyu Imperial Villa in Kyoto.
The Katsura Rikyu Imperial Villa is made of cedar timber
Cedar has long been used to make the frames of shoji ( paper square) sliding doors. Knowing that, anyone who has lived in Japan and touched those doors, has a sense of what this wood is like- light weight ( and light colored) and soft to the touch.
Japan`s distinctive paper square (shoji) sliding doors are commonly made of cedar
Sugi has also played an important role in SAKE making as the barrels used for the brewing process are made of it. The wood lends a distinctive flavor to the final product.
A sake barrel made of cedar wood- adds distinctive flavor
To announce that the year`s new sake is ready, breweries and shops hang large ball made of cedar leaves ( these are called SUGI TAMA) over their entrance-ways.
A sugitama ( cedar ball) made of cedar leaves announces to the public that this year`s SAKE is ready
Cedar bark is often used to make the roofs of temples and shrines ( this year the Grand Shrine of Izumo had its roof of sugi-bark slats replaced).
This wood was also the preferred material for making sea-going craft, especially in the Edo Period.
After the Meiji Restoration and the eventual introduction of utility poles, it was sugi that was given the dubious honor of being selected as the most suitable timber for that purpose- with cedar the list of uses goes on and on..........
The next tree/wood that I looked up in the book was KEYAKI ( zelkova, in English), a tree which before coming to Tsukuba I had never heard of but is one of the most familiar ( and outstanding) trees in this area. I used to have a grand old KEYAKI growing in the garden of my old house in Konda ( I had to abandon that place after the earthquake), and that is why I wanted to learn more about its uses.
The zelkova section of the book correctly appropriately explains that this tree is common in the kanto area and a popular tree to have planted on the grounds of private homes.
The wood of this tree is beautifully grained and many of the treasures housed in Nara`s Sho-So-In Treasure House are made of this material- most outstanding examples are a bow, some trays, a tsutsumi drum, a medicine spoon, a koto from Korea......
Keyaki wood was also used to make some of Japan`s most famous old temples- including Kyoto`s most popular sight-seeing spot: the Kiyomizu Temple.
Keyaki is also used as the base for Japan`s famous lacquerware.
Also a fast growing tree, its trunks are still used as the columns for temples ( as well as for the frames of Japanese drums and the large hammers and mortars used for making O-mochi pounded rice cakes).
And now let me select another tree to take a look at, this time something much less familiar- AH.....here is one that I have never even heard of- the KOYAMAKI ( or in English- the umbrella pine) ! Lets see what Dr. Abe and his co-authors have to say.
Amazing! This species makes up a whole family and genus of its own- and while it still can be found growing between Fukushima Prefecture in the north and Miyazaki Prefecture in the south, it is Red-Listed in nearly all the Prefectures within its habitat. These trees can be found growing is healthier numbers in in Wakayama, Nara, some parts of Shikoku and in the Kiso valley ( Nagano Prefecture).
In ancient Japan the wood from this tree was deemed best to make coffins- because it is very slow to decay.
Numerous such coffins have been discovered by archaelogists in the Kinki Region (around Nara and Kyoto). No one knows, however, why numerous coffins made of the same wood have been unearthed in Korea, as well- since the KOYAMAKI does not grow on the Peninsula. Did this species once grow there and become extinct at some point, or was the wood ( or the coffns themselves) exported?
In later centuries koyamaki wood was used for items connected with water- bathtubs, bridges, bowls, ships...
Three types of trees/wood down, 247 more to go!
I will continue to add more interesting tidbits to this post now and then, so keep checking.
But if you are really interested in the topic ( and read Japanese)- order the book from Amazon, or directly from the Kaiseisha Press which has published it.
I have written more on Dr. Hisashi Abe and the Tsukuba xylarium here:
http://www.alientimes.org/Main/ShiverMeTimbersAVisitToTsukubasXylarium
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