Camellias (tsubaki,椿) Create Distinctive Japanese Spring Soundscapes And Groundscapes (again)
By Avi Landau
In DEEP SPRING , my household has finally emerged from its state of FUYUGOMORI (冬篭り), the shuttering up, bundling up, and holing up, that those of us living the traditional Japanese way do (that means without central heating!) for a few months out of each year ( though we have not yet completely emerged from the gloom brought on by the earthquake of March 11th). Now, when I sit in my quake-cracked tatami-matted Japanese style room, instead of huddling up by the noisy little kerosene heater or hunkering up with my legs roasting in a kotastu (a heated table), I can open the large windows, one set facing the garden, and the other the DOOMED Nakane Konda-Dai woods, and let the warm, pollen heavy ( radioactive) breezes drift in, occassionally bringing the intoxicating scent of some newly blossomed flowers to my nose. With this delicious air, and the raucus chatter of birds busy with their mating and nest making rituals, it is just about impossible to concentrate on reading , writing, or anything else for that matter. The only option seems to be to savor the moment.
TsubakiOne reason for the camellia`s popularity is its deep beauty. Its leaves are a rich green all year round, and its flowers are a sensuous red, pink or white. The fact that the flowers bloom in early spring (or late winter) have made them an important symbol of that season. In fact, the character used to write tsubaki is not the same as that used in Chinese. It is an original Japanese character (KOKUJI), that uses Chinese elements which mean SPRING TREE (椿）. Because of its evergreen folliage and flowers which bloom in the cold of the early year the year, the camellia had been considered a sacred tree long before the samurai class started frowning upon it. The Emperor, his family and the court used carved ritual sticks of camellia wood, called udzuchi (卯d槌)and utsue (卯杖), to beat the ground and drive away evil, around the New Year. Some scholars also believe that the numerous sacred camellia groves which can be found along the Japan Sea side of Japan were planted by wandering mendicant nuns called BIKUNI (比丘尼), who used camellia wood to perform various rituals.
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Clematis Exhibit
The clematis garden at Tsukuba Botanical Garden has 1000 plants representing about 200 varieties. The garden can be viewed between May 3 and June 8 from 9am to 5pm (enter by 4:30pm).
Fee: 300 yen for adults, free for people over 65, people with disabilities and one person who accompanies them, children under high school age
Tel: 029-851-5159
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Cries of- SAKURA might be mistaken, but dont let that discourage you from savoring the beauty of Tsukuba`s anzu (apricot) blossoms
Apricot (anzu) blossoms in Tsukuba
anzu blossoms in Tsukuba
Bark of the anzu tree
Not only are the blossoms of the anzu tree beautiful, but these trees which flower between the blooming periods of the UME (plum) and the Sakura, have had a very long history in Japan, after having been introduced to this country from its native China sometime before the Heian Period (794-1192). While apricots also spread to the Caucasus and the Mediteranian and remain a major fruit for consumption in those areas today, these fruits , long called KARA MOMO (peaches of the Tang, or Chinese peaches) in Japan, were originally prized for the medicinal power of their seeds (especially for respiratory problems). This curative was called kyo-nin 杏仁, which is now read as annin, and which has become an ingredient of the very popular desert dish annin dofu.
Annindofu
Though the earliest extant use of the word anzu for apricot was in 1620, it was not until after the Meiji Restoration, Japan`s opening up to the West and the introduction of foreign varieties that apricot trees were cultivated for consumption as fruit ( and even today apricots are mostly used for making jam and wine), and in fact anzu trees are not very common in Japan today.
- Anzu blossoms
I was also surprised to find that the anzu tree has very little significance in Japanese culture, despite its beauty, antiquity, and medicinal powers. There are few poems dealing with these trees, their blossoms and their fruit, and references in almanacs and encyclopedias are brief.
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Enjoy the Moss, Get Rid of the Mould!
Most of the days during Japan's month long rainy season (tsuyu), are overcast and damp, even when there is no actual precipitation. When it IS raining, it is as if your town or city has been transported into the shadowy depths of a thick, wet , forest. It can stay like that for days. For this reason, Japan is a veritable paradise for MOSS (koke苔), which thrives in such conditions. Taking a June stroll, umbrella in hand, within the precincts of some old shrine or temple is like an in-depth tour of the WORLD OF GREEN, with mosses of varying degrees of verdure growing on stones, tree trunks, or the ground, forming delightful combinations.
It is clear that the darkness of the rainy season and the deep warm shades of moss have had a huge impact on Japanese aesthetics. For example, compare the Buddhist temples or clothes from the brighter lands of India or Thailand, with those of Japan. There are often bright, bold or shimmery colors and surfaces, which are needed so as not to be washed out by the brightness of the sun. In shadowy Japan, different , darker ,colors, more natural and earthy ,came to be utilized and loved. Moss and moss green have been an important part of this sensibility. This can be seen most clearly in Japanese gardening and landscaping, the cultivation of miniature trees (bonsai) and in fabric design.
There are several temples which are actually famous for their moss gardens, including Saiho-Ji and Gio-ji in Kyoto. Nearer to Tsukuba is Myoho-Ji in Kamakura. (Did you know that JR trains can be taken directly to Kamakura from Tsuchiura or Ushiku Stations during the summer?) These are nationally renowned Koke-dera (moss temples), but it is by no means necessary to leave our city to partake in the pleasures of moss viewing. As I mentioned above, the sacred grove of any shrine or the grounds of any temple will do, especially on rainy days.
Unfortunately, the same conditions which allow moss to thrive are favored by various types of mould and mildew and foreigners who come to live in Japan are driven to despair by their relentless proliferation. Walls, books, photos, are all common victims. Once I discovered that a pair of white sneakers I wanted to wear had turned black with mould! This is not just a nuisance, but a health hazard as well.
Of course, this is a problem for the Japanese, too, but since their ancestors have had to deal with the problem for millennia, there are plenty of bits of folk knowledge passed down from generation to generation which help to cope.
The most important point to remember is good ventilation. Make sure that the air in a particular room does not stagnate too long. Whenever the sun DOES shine you might want to let its rays do their work on anything you are worried might get mouldy. Remember: the light of day is the best disinfectant!
A more recently developed trick for dealing with mold was introduced to me by Harumi Takaya, who is always a great source of information about traditional life in Tsukuba. This is the use of baking soda. For example, baking soda mixed in with your laundry detergent at a ratio of 3 to 1 will prevent your laundry from getting moldy (if like most Japanese, you don't have a dryer). Putting a mixture of baking soda and water into a spray bottle and spritzing it on the walls etc... is also a good idea.
Don't let the darkness and the rain get you down! Go out and explore Japans endless SHADES OF GREEN! For the summer months THESE are the Emerald Isles!
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Enjoying the Beauty, Fragrance, and Cultural Significance of Japan`s Plum Blossoms
Plum blossoms in Tsukuba
By Avi Landau
Though more often than not it is COLD in early spring, for the Japanese it has always been the OCCASIONAL warm breeze, the stirring of certain plants and animals and the blooming of the plum blossoms (especially on snow covered branches)- that is to say the little CHANGES and HINTS which gave hope and expectation of things to come- that were what early spring was appreciated for.
The blossoms of the plum tree (ume no ki), which has been bred into such numerous varieties since being brought to Japan more than 1000 years ago by returnees of missions to various Chinese dynastic courts*, rival those of Japan's national flower, the cherry blossoms (sakura no hana) in terms of endearment in the hearts of the Japanese people. In fact, in the early Showa Period, there was a heated debate over which of the two WOULD become the national flower. The plum's strong points were not only that it was beautiful and highly fragrant and the first major blossom of the new year- and thus a symbol of spring's coming (often praised by the greatest of Japan`s classical poets), but it was also a feature of the DAILY JAPANESE DIET- in the form of UME BOSHI, or salted plums, as well as a popular ingredient for liquor, juice and various sweets. It was probably the fact that plum blossoms were already the national flower of China (which they still are in Taiwan), and had been introduced to Japan from there, that the UME lost out in the battle for National Flower. Of course, there is also the matter of the more delicate cherry blossoms being more representative of the quintessential Japanese concept-MUJO (無常), the fleeting nature of all things. The fact that cherry blossoms fall away while they are in full bloom- without whithering first- also made them perfrect symbols to be used by yhe army and navy to glorify young men in their primes dying in battle.
Plum blossoms in Tsukuba (March 2012)
Despite the fact that they had been brought over from the continent, the first western scientists to encounter the plum trees, including Philip Von Sebold, mistook them as being native to Japan. This could also be because, though a popular motif in Chinese art, there is no special tradition of viewing their flowers nor is there the custom of regularly eating their fruit.
For the Japanese, there is another interesting significance to the plum blossom: its connection to the passing of entrance examinations! The other day, just as I was mentioning plum blossoms to a friend of mine who has been driven to distraction by her son's upcoming exams, someone's cellphone rang. It was hers. A considerate friend had sent her a photo of a plum tree in bloom as a way of saying, "I hope your son is gonna pass!"
How did the ume no hana come to have such a connection to studies and the passing of tests? Well, the answer is simple: the plum tree was a favorite of SUGAWARA NO MICHIZANE, the great Heian Period poet, scholar and calligrapher who was unjustly expelled from the capital, died in exile, and was later enshrined as the GOD TENJIN, the patron god of scholars, poets, calligraphers and students. According to legend, when Michizane was leaving the capital on the road to exile in distant Dazaifu, Kyushu, it was only his plum tree that Michizane bade farewell with this, the most famous of all his poems.
KOCHI FUKABA NIOI OKOSE YO UME NO HANA
ARUJI NASHI TOTE HARU NA WASURESO
( Though I am no longer there, do not forget me- O plum blossoms -
Send your fragrance to me, when the East wind starts to blow)
Legend then says that the tree came flying all the way to Kyushu to give the forlorn aristocrat solace to the end of his days (which was not very far off).
Plum blossoms in Tsukuba
There are almost always plum trees, sometimes hundreds, at shrines dedicated to Michizane, or TENJIN, as he is called in deified form. In this season, millions of supplicants visit these shrines to pray for exam success, and appropriately the plum blossoms are opening, filling the sacred precincts with the fragrance of HOPE.
Luckily for those of us who live in Ibaraki, Mito, our prefectural capital is the home to one of the most famous places for enjoying plum blossoms, KAIRAKUEN. The ume festival there will run through the end of this month.
It is because they provide the medicinally important and tasty plums for umeboshi (salted plums) which have become a standard part of every boxed lunch, that the frugal and practical minded Tokugawa Nariaki, the founder of the Kairakuen Garden planted so many of the trees. They were also symbolically important for the Mito Tokugawa Family which prided itself on its scholorship.
You can enjoy the fruit of his efforts by getting on the Joban line this week, heading north just one stop past Mito station, and enjoying the blossoms, the spectacle and maybe a little plum wine (ume shu, 梅酒). Entrance is FREE
Closer to home is the Plum Festival at Mt Tsukuba.
But even if you dont have the chance ( or the will) to make it to these major events, you can enjoy blooming plum trees during a stroll in just about any neighborhood in Tsukuba.
* Recent archeological evidence shows that UME tree were brought over from the continent earlier than previously believed- during the Yayoi period, at the same time as rice cultivation was introduced from Asia.
This week you have a chance to see the 3000 plum trees of the famed Kairakuen Garden in Mito in full bloom. On the weekend, a temporary train station will be in use bringing you direct service to the gardens entrance. The garden offers the chance to see varieties of plum trees you never thought existed. The tora-no-o, which looks like a tigers tail, the darly pink kounshomu, the nearly translucent tsukikage, etc.
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