May Day in Japan
By Avi Landau
May Day demonstration at Tsukuba`s Central Park (2012)
Before heading straight on to work after I had gotten off the bus at Tsukuba Center, I thought it would be nice, in the short time I had to spare, to take a little stroll in the Chuo-Koen (Central Park). I imagined myself basking in the fresh greenery of spring- but gettting there I found instead a sea of red: with dozens of slogan bearing banners fluttering in the wind ( along with one large impressive black flag). I said to myself: Ah Hah- its May Day!
What stood out most strongly amongst all the red banners was this large black flag with the charcter 不, meaning NO or NOT, written on it. It was being held by anti-nuclear activists who wanted to say that nuclear power (and weapons) were NOT needed and NOT wanted
I immediately experienced a series of flashbacks to other May Day encounters I have had in Japan. Rallies of slogan-chanting, banner-bearing marchers around Tsukuba Center and huge gatherings I have seen from afar in Tokyo....... where were they?........Hibiya Park? Yoyogi Park?....... I couldn`t remember for sure. And then there was last year- with large and passionate anti-nuclear demonstrations.
Anyway, for someone like me who grew up in the United States, the words pronounced Mayday, Mayday, meant the- HELP, EMERGENCY- of the movies or television ( an expression which derives from the French- M`aidez!,), and did not signify the special day for pro-labor union rallies, and promoters of various left-wing causes which it has come to be in many countries of the world.
The reason for my American unfamiliarity with this event is that the first day of May had become connected with the struggle for better working conditions as a world-wide reaction to a massacre of workers (and subsequent execution of other activists) by police on that same date in the year 1886- in Chicago Illinois, USA. The American government DID NOT want a Labor Day holiday to be connected with the memory of such an event and thus established one (LABOR DAY) on the first Monday of September. In many countries around the world , however, May 1st has remained the official day of celebrating labour.
When I thought about it in the park today, as I listened to speeches ( mostly celebrating the end of nuclear power in Japan) and read banners (demanding better working conditions, nuclear disarmament, protection of the Japanese PEACE constitution etc.), I thought of how in Japan, as well, the OFFICIAL labour Thanksgiving Day ( a national holiday) is in November and NOT on May Day. Still, as the first of May is often a part of a company`s week-long Golden Week Holiday ( because of the existence of other national hoildays at that time) many workers DO have a day off- or even better- a paid holiday.
Even companies with no holiday on May First allow their employees who are representatives of their unions to take off and join the demonstations. And since the weather is often fine on that date, there is no shortage of union offiliated people who want to get out of work for the day for a little spring outing.
The first May Day demonstrations in Japan were held in Tokyo ( Ueno park) in 1920. That year workers and leftists ( about ten thousand of them) gathered on may second ( which was a Sunday). There were demands for an 8-hour work week and government action to do something about unemployment. From the following, the rallies have been held on May first. Between 1936 and 1945, however, due to the climate of intense nationalism, militarization and right-wing violence- May Day demonstrations did not take place.
When the WWII had ended Japan was in physical and economic ruin- a perfect greeding ground for labor and left-wing activism. In 1946, after an 11 year hiatus, the May Day rallies returned to Japan- and with a vengeance. In that year more than a million people around the country joined in on some form of demonstration. About 50,000 of these gathered in front of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.
Seven years later, just after the American occupation had officially ended, what are probably the most notorious May Day demonstrations were held. In fact, 1952 is remembered as the year of the Bloody May Day in Japan (Chi no Medei, 血のメーデイ). Protesters who were all riled up in their opposition to the terms of the San Fransisco Treaty ( which had been signed in the previous year) tried to enter parts of the Imperial Palace which were off-limits. The police used tear gas and live ammunition. There were many casualties: Among the police there were 750 injured officers- 80 of them serious. On the the demonstrators side there were 200 injuries and one fatality. More than a thousand arrests were made.
Bloody May Day- Tokyo 1952
As May Day demonstrations continued to take place over the years and Japan`s labor unions continued to grow more and more powerful with the 1970s being their Golden Age. Since then there has been a precipitous decline in union influence ( in all the years I have been here in Japan I cannot recall there having been even one strike), but May Day events have still been held across japan each year and there have been calls by certain labor unions to make the day an official National Holiday. Has`nt happened yet, and might not ever.......
But this year (2012) was Japan`s 83rd May Day and the folks who I found gathered at Tsukuba`s Central park were not merely gloating over their success (aided by the huge nuclear disaster of last year- which had the nuclear industry crying Mayday, Mayday!) in ridding Japan of all nuclear power plants. There were various groups who are working to fight for what they believe are the most important issues facing the country- health-care, education, child-care, elder-care, the pension system, keeping Japan from remilitarization, nuclear disarmament and world peace.
I would to write some more about the fascinating story of May Day in post-war Japan and to describe some of the groups that I encountered at the May Day Rally in Tsukuba today ( and the opinions they expressed)- but alas, I am just too tired ( I have NO paid holidays!) to go on tonight........
so I will continue with this tomorrow,,,,,,,, or the next day.
A perfect May day for a May Day demonstration ( Tsukuba`s Central Park- 2012)
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A Deeper Look at the Fascinating Roots of Carp Streamers (Koi Nobori) and Other Children`s Day (KODOMO NO HI) Traditions
By Avi Landau
Carp streamers (Koi Nobori) fluttering in the wind by the shores of Lake Kasumigaura
In Ibaraki Prefecture, lovers of traditional Japanese culture usually look forward to the period between mid- April and early May. First there is the excitement of HANAMI ( Cherry blossom parties) and then there are the amazingly extravagant carp streamers ( koi nobori), which are raised up at the homes of families with boys, to be admired- and photographed.
Carp streamers fly over the nanohana and peach blossoms in Koga, Ibaraki Prefecture
Sure, you can see plenty of carp streamers ( of a more modest scale) and other childrens Day decorations anywhere you go in Japan in this season. But before May 5th, there could be no better way of savoring this season than taking a drive or a bike-ride in the Ibaraki countryside. You are sure to see plenty of this area`s abundant, breathtakingly large and colorful koi nobori waving proudly against the blue sky. It is quite a spectacle!
Let me tell you about how this, and other customs related to what is now called Children`s Day ( Kodomo no Hi) have evolved.
Carp streamers in Hanamuro, Tsukuba (2012)
When looking into the origins of various elements of Japanese culture, one often finds dual or multiple roots. Even beginning students of the Japanese language are confronted with this fact as they soon learn that there are two or more ways of reading kanji characters. There are even two ways of counting, the more purely Japanese way- hitotsu, futatsu, mitsu… and then the one based on the Chinese, ichi, ni, san.
It is especially interesting to keep this in mind when discussing Japan’s calendar of traditional annual events.This month’s standout special day is Children’s Day (子供の日, kodomo no hi) which has come to involve an array of festive decorations and foods. Most notably, there are the carp streamers (鯉のぼり), which can be seen proudly flapping in the wind (in this part of Japan, as I have already mentioned, we are lucky to be able to see especially large and elaborate ones) in people`s yards or balconies or displayed at shops and shrines. Inside people’s homes, or at restaurants and hotels we can also see the armor or warrior dolls (Go-gatsu ningyo) which have been put on display.
Carp streamers being lowered for overnight storage in the Ibaraki countryside
Now, much less commonly, you can see a plant called shobu (菖蒲, this is a relative of the yam and NOT the iris – the flower whose name has the same pronunciation and the same Kanji character!) ) on sale for use in the bath, and even more rarely in this part of Japan (though you can still sometimes see it), placed on roofs, along with some mugwort (蓬,yomogi). At wagashiya (Japanese sweet shops) and convenience stores, kashiwamochi and chimaki are on sale, as the special sweets of the season.
What does all this have to do with Children’s Day?
Carp streamers over the moat around Tsuchiura`s Kijo Castle ( The Turtle Castle- so called because in times of flood it looked like a turtle floating in a pond)
First let me say something about Japanese festive days in general. Certain days were recognized by the ancient Chinese as being pivotal seasonal markers. These came to be known as sekku (節句)
when adopted by the Japanese. To mark the seasonal changes, each sekku involved eating certain foods and displaying certain decorations. In those times the significance of these was usually one of keeping away bad luck or ritual protection.
The major sekku which are still widely celebrated in Japan are:
January 7: Nanakusa (seven herbs) no Sekku
March 3: Momo (peach) no Sekku
May 5: Tango no Sekku, or Shobu (calamis) no Sekku
July 7: Tanabata
September 9: Kiku (chrysanthemum) no Sekku
(It is interesting to note that the Chinese, and subsequently the Japanese are fond of ODD NUMBERED days and months.)
Armour and carp streamers on display in the lobby of Tsukuba`s Okura Hotel
It now being May, the festive day of the month is of course (as stated above), Tango no Sekku, which is now known as the national holiday, Children’s Day. However, since this particular date has been recognized as being special since ancient times, there have been meanings connected to it which have changed over the generations.
If you ask a Japanese friend about the significance of Children’s Day, they will explain that it is a day on which to celebrate boys and for families with boys to pray for their sons` and grandsons` healthy growth and success. This goes in tandem with March’s Momo no Sekku (March 3rd) which is a celebration of girls. They will also probably explain that carp streamers symbolize strength and perseverance - important masculine attributes.
The story of Tango no Sekku, however, is much more complicated than this, and its history and the origin of its customs are now unfamiliar even to most Japanese.
In ancient Japan (and still today), this is the season for planting rice*. At this time of year, in order to pray for abundant crops, fertility in general as well as for removing impurities from the village, young women ( called 早乙女, saotome) would spend a day isolated in a special women’s huts called onna no ie (女の家). This hut would be covered with a plant called CALAMIS (SHOBU, in Japanese) and mugwort, which in ancient China were believed to have purifying powers (because of their strong smells). Remnant features of this ancient practice can be seen surviving in the Heisanbo Festival held each May 5th at a small Kashima Shrine in Dejima, on the shore of Lake Kasumigaura.
In the Nara Period (710-794), the Japanese would decorate themselves with garlands of shobu and later in the Heian Period it was common (and still is) to decorate homes with these protective plants. At this time tall poles would also be set up by rice fields to welcome the God of Fertility.
This photo shows shobu (calamis) stems and mugwort (yomogi) on the roof of one of the old samurai residences which are open to the public, in Sakura City, Chiba.
Later when Japan came under military rule, the Japanese name for the plant shobu, came to held significant for its homonym, 尚武, shobu, which means reverence for martial arts. Thus, the plant shobu has remained a part of Tango no Sekku throughout the generations and many Japanese still use it in their baths on this day for driving away evil and fortifying the body. It is surprising that most Japanese today confuse the traditional shobu with HANA SHOBU, which are irises. These extremely beautiful purple flowers can often be seen being usued as INCORRECT symbols of Tango no Sekku, at shops, etc.
It was during the years of military rule that Tango no Sekku came to be associated with boys. One possible explanation for this can be that it had originally been a day to isolate women, and that left the boys to be celebrated!
Kashiwamochi- this season`s festive sweet. with the leaf wrapping peeled half off
Kashiwamochi as it looks when it is bought or served- with this particular sweet, dont eat the leaf!
Kashiwamochi, the traditional sweet most commonly associated with Tango no Sekku is a pounded rice cake wrapped in the leaf of a Japanese oak. Eating this sweet in this season is an original Japanese custom and signifies the connection between generations, as these trees don’t lose their leaves until fresh leaves have appeared!
Eating chimaki, a conically shaped paste wrapped tightly in leaves, is a custom which originates in China. May 5th in China, is the memorial day of the great poet scholar Qu Yuan (屈原, read Kutsugen in Japanese) who was famed for his loyalty. On the 5th day of the 5th month, men would throw offerings into rivers (he drowned in one) in his honor. At one point, many men at different locations dreamed that it would be better to wrap these offerings in purifying leaves. This became standard practice, and is common today in Japan.
Raising carp streamers probably is a continuation of the native practice of setting up poles near the rice fields to welcome the rice god. Since Tango no Sekku came to be a day of celebrating boys, Japanese in the Edo Period (1600-1868) adopted the carp as a symbol of success. This is because of the ancient Chinese story of the carp struggling upriver and transforming into a dragon.
Another interesting reason for the samurai to have admired carp was the fact that this powerful fish, struggles desperately when caught, but when placed on the cutting board, it resigns itself to its fate, and dies with what the Japanese warrior class thought to be DIGNITY.
Anyway, the merchants of the Edo Period always tried to emulate the ruling warrior class. They were, however, forbidden from hanging a family crest. Carp streamers were raised in their place, with one family trying to outdo the other in extravagance.
This custom spread throughout Japan and can especially be enjoyed in Ibaraki where farmers often display fantastic and very expensive koi nobori sets to celebrate their male offspring. The reason for this is that farmhouses in Ibaraki are on average the largest in Japan and many families have large yards (within compounds) in which to raise the high poles needed for the giant streamers.
For those who live in smaller abodes there are appropriately-sized streamers and even tiny origami or cloth carp.
Finally, there are the dolls and armour which are displayed. Grandparents often spend thousands of dollars on a display for their grandsons, though if you want some dolls for yourself you can get the same exact dolls for a song at second hand shops (since many Japanese would not buy or are even afraid of used dolls!). These dolls became popular in the late Edo Period as emulating the Samurai class was all the rage for the merchants and then farmers. These dolls and armour are displayed to pray for boys success and health and can be found in a myriad of forms.
On a gray and rainy day a lonely Koi Nobori pole stands without its colorfull carp
After the war, since the day had been associated with warriors, the name was changed to the more egalitarian Chidren’s Day, though girls and boys are still actually celebrated separately.
There are many other, more obscure decorations for this season, but I have written too much already, so go search them out for yourselves.
For an interesting way to spend Childrens Day, see my article-
http://blog.alientimes.org/2008/05/up-in-arms/
or head out to the curious and very rustic Heisanbo Festival -
http://hpcgi2.nifty.com/tradevents/wiki.cgi?p=HeisanboFestival
A woodblock print on display at the National Museum in Ueno
* One thing that always complicates Japanese culture is the fact that the calendar was changed! In 1871 the government adopted the Western Calendar and as a result the SEKKU as they are celebrated today fall about one month earlier in the year than they usually did. In some areas of Japan certain SEKKU and other festivals and holidays and celebrated according to the old calendar.
Interestingly, however, in the case of Tango no Sekku this one month difference does not now make much of a difference because the rice transplanting season has also moved up about one month earlier in the year- so the raising of the long poles still coincides with the ancient tradition of set up poles by the paddy fields before transplantation.
My own carp streamer- hanging from the ceiling ( I don`t have- and can`t afford, the requisite wooden pole
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FUKANBO ( The Bottomless Paddy Field)- a Bone-Chilling Folktale From One of Tsukuba`s Old Villages
By Avi Landau ( a retelling of a tale heard from an elderly woman in Toyosato, the north-western part of what is now Tsukuba City)
These days, with all the modern machinery and know-how, young people growing up in rice-farming families have it easy. They have know idea how much time we had to spend or what back breaking labor we had to endure to finally reap in our crop of rice. Yes , its hard for my grandkids to try and understand what life was like when I, their old granny, was a young girl. They certainly could not imagine what things were like back in the days when MY OWN granny was young.
Every year, when the the sparrows come back to our neighborhood to ready their nests and the water is being released into the rice fields- turning our little village into what looks like an island in the middle of a lake- I can`t help but remember a story which was told to us children by our mothers and grandmothers- and a scary story it was, too!
You see, way back when, there were certain rice fields which were FUKANBO*. Now these days I dont reckon that there are any of them anymore, and most young people have probably never even heard the word. So, let me tell you then just what a FUKANBO is. It`s a bottomless rice field- a man-eater, a horse-swallower, an ox-obliterator- an abbyss. When someone or something got sucked down into the mud in one of them while plowing or transplanting they were never seen or heard from again.
Now right here in our village there was a family whose paddy field was a FUKANBO. Still they were able to grow rice in it every year by using long planks as stepping boards laid out across it when it was flooded.
But, as you could imagine, the first son of the family which owned that field had a very hard time finding anyone willing to be his bride. To everyone`s surprise, though, in the end he did- and a beautiful and kind-hearted young woman she was, too.
The husband`s love and affection for his new bride, made his mother extremely jealous ( as you can imagine), and even more than was the usual case back then, the mother-in-law bullied her daughter-in-law and gave her no rest from torment or from long and hard work.
Still, each night the young wife would find consolation in the kindness of her loving husband, who always listened to her with a sympathetic ear.
When spring came around things became extremely busy for the whole family ( and for the rest of the village) as preparations were made to transplant the rice seedlings. But more than anyone, it was the young daughter-in-law, under the supervision of her mother-in-law, who had to bear the greatest burdens of the work.
When their field, the FUKANBO, was ready for the seedlings, the planks were set so that the very deep and soft mud could be walked across. The family worked late into the evening, but still the job was not completed. Exhausted, the mother-in-law announced that she would be calling it a day and that her daughter-in-law should stay on until the transpalntation was finished.
As the sun set, the terrified young woman worked through her weariness, and while bent over with face near the flooded field`s water surface she tried to catch a glimpse of her husband, who she hoped would come to the rescue and take her back home.
Little did she know that her husband, himself worn out by the day`s work, was already back at home soaking in the bath.
It got darker and darker.
The husband, warmed and soothed by the hot waters, got out of the tub and into his futon. He soon fell into a deep sleep.
When he woke up the next morning, he realized that his wife had not come home.
In a crazed panic he rushed out and ran to the FUKANBO. He dropped to his knees in grief when he saw, there in the middle of that terrible field, floating in the water- all that remained of his wife: her straw hat!
For year`s after , each spring when that field was filled with rows of young rice plants, the spot at which the young bride had been lost in the mud was left unplanted. A terrifying empty brown square in a sea of green- a reminder of the terrible thing that happened.
* The word FUKANBO is a blending of two Japanese words- FUKAI (深い), deep- and TAMBO (田んぼ) rice field.
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Japan Becomes a WATERWORLD as the Rice Fields are Flooded in Preparation for TAUE (pronounced TA OO EH)- rice transplantation
By Avi Landau
The sun disappears behind the hill upon which the old Konda Fortress once stood ( in Konda Tsukuba)
An amazing transformation!
If one were to have a window-seat on a daytime flight out of Narita airport in mid-April, looking down below upon the Kanto Plain, one would see densely packed clusters of houses,the small scattered dark green islands of evergreen trees (mostly cedar) which grow on uncultivatable hills ( many of which are actually ancient burial mounds!), and between them, the dull, lifeless, brown and straw-colored spaces where the rice is grown between May and October. Then, if that same person would fly back to Narita about two weeks later, again with a seat by the window, he or she would probably gasp in astonishment when looking down below, as they would have witnessed what is surely the most dramatic annual landscape tranformation which takes place in this area (where there is practically no long lasting snowfall)- the creation of a veritable WATERWORLD as the rice fields are flooded in preparation for the transplantation of the young rice plants.
The just flooded paddy fields in Konda, Tsukuba
The scene from ground level can be just as impressive, but in a different way, with the mirror-like surfaces of the flooded fields dotted with egrets, ducks and herons. Then, at night, there is the crazed chorus of frogs who sound as if they just CANNOT contain the sheer joy of having been so well watered.
Last year, with the nuclear accident in neighboring Fukushima Prefecture and subsequent reports of radioactive contamination in vegetables here in Ibaraki, there were concerns about whether there would be rice growing at all anymore. Fortunately, the government gave the go-ahead to farmers in this prefecture ( though not to those in certain partsFukushima), and even before I heard the official pronouncement last year, I had realized the decision had been made because I could see the fields in my neighborhood being flooded and heard the frogs come to life ( a heartening sound it was indeed) !
This year (2012), I am happily experiencing the same thrill.
Tsukuba as a WATERWORLD!
In Japan, the first week of May has a string of national holidays in it making up what is known as Golden Week. The original intention behind the creation of what is now a popular time for the Japanese ( and foreign residents in Japan) to go on a vacation, or just take a well needed rest, was to provide the rice farmers, most of whom also work regular jobs,with the time to do the rice transplanting. Since the 1970`s and the widespread availability of mechanical transplanters, this task has become much, MUCH easier than it used to be, when nearly everyone in the village would have to lend a hand to help complete the long, backbreaking labor. Now, with the help of the machines (which most of Tsukuba`s rice farmers own), the work can be done by one person, in less than an hour (for one field).
A farmer stirring up the fertile mud (shirokaki) in one of Hojo Tsukuba`s famous paddy fields ( April 30th, 2012)
If you take a walk, bike ride, or drive, around the Tsukuban countryside this week (like Ive been doing for the past few days), you will be able to see the transplantation (ta ue 田植え, in Japanese), for yourselves. The farmers are usually very friendly and happy to chat about rice production. If you are lucky, they might even let you try your hand at some transplanting (though the farmers who let me have a try surely regret that they had- my rows were all crooked!).
Stirring up the soil in Hojo, Tsukuba (2012)
Some of you (from non-rice growing regions), might be wondering what I mean by TRANSPLANTING, instead of just plain PLANTING. Well, let me explain a bit about what the farmers have to do in the early stages of the rice cultivation cycle, between late March and early May(of course timings are different in warmer regions like Okinawa and parts of Kagoshima where farmers can get TWO rice harvests per year).
Young rice plants (NAE) in trays, awaiting transplantation
In most regions of Japan, the process of growing rice begins in late March. It is then that the rice seeds are planted in soil in seedling trays (IKUBYO-BAKO, 育苗箱), which are then placed in incubators (IKUBYO-KI, 育苗機) which maintain temperatures at about 30 degrees centigrade. After about 3 days, white shoots appear and when these reach a length of about one centimeter, the trays are moved to large greenhouses, where they will be grown under controlled temperatures for about one month and the plants reach a length of 7 or 8 cm. These days in Ibaraki, and the rest of Japan, this process is often now taken care of by NOKYO, Japan`s huge and powerful agricultural cooperative. In past ages, however, rice seeds were planted in soft muddy soil, and then the seedlings which survived were transferred to the flooded fields.
In Mid-April, just as the cherry blossoms are often starting to drop away, the farmers begin preparing the fields. This is called Ta Okoshi (田おこし) in Japanese (literally- Awakening the Fields). After the stagnant and freezing winter months the soil must be plowed. Of course in the old days, this was again BACKBREAKING labor for both humans and beasts of burden (horses and oxen). Todays tractors do the works 15 times more efficiently. The soil is usually plowed up to a depth of 12-15 cm, optimalfor the rice plants to take strong root.
When the plowing is done, the fields are also fertilized. In the old days, the fertilizer was of course all organic (fermented plant and animal waste matter), but now most farmers also use chemical fertilizers.
A look into a green-house in Tsukuba`s Higashi-Oka neighborhood- young rice plants ready for the wet fields
Then, at the end of April, the fields are flooded. This characteristic of rice culture , which involved a communities sharing of water resources is often pointed out by Japanese scholars as being the main reason for Japan`s having developed its unique group oriented culture (but is Japanese culture the same as that of other rice growing cultures which shared water resources?).
In the earlier days of rice cultivation in Japan, this all important crop could only be grown near wetlands, lakes or rivers. Water would be diverted to fields just before transplantation. In later years, new rice fields could be developed by the creation of canals and reservoirs. These days, rice fields are flooded and drained with pumps and built-in pipes, which make everything much more effecient.
While the fields are being flooded, the fields are plowed again, to mix the water and soil well and to make the soil surface under the water even, so the young plants will stick out of the water at the same height. This process is called Shirokaki (代かき)
Finally, in the first week of May, we get to the part that you can witness this week at various places around Tsukuba. The trays of seedlings are brought out and placed in the tractor-like transplanting machines. It always amazes me how the farmers make such straight beautiful rows .
Dont miss having a look at this absolutely fundamental element of Japanese culture.This will not require much effort on your part as no matter where you are in Tsukuba, you can never be very far from a rice field (tambo). The flooded fields are most photogenic in the early morning and at sundown.
As one paddy field has been flooded, the water starts to seep into the adjacent one ( Mt Hokyo-Zan, a popular hiking spot for local residents can be seen in the background)
A few hours later
Transplanting the old fashioned way in Hojo, Tsukuba (April 2, 2012)
the
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Japan Turns Yellow as NANOHANA (rapeseed blossoms) Take Over the Spring Landscape- revisited again
By Avi Landau
A field of bloomimg nanohana rolls out towards the horizon near Lake Kasumigaura- April 25th,2012
The cherry blossoms might be Japan`s most famous flower of spring (or ANY season for that matter), but alas, in any particular part of Japan, the pulsating pink, cloud-like canopies that they create usually last for just a few days. As the delicate petals start to fall away, filling us with a deep sense of MUJO (無常), the passing nature of all things, the ground does remain a scattered pink for another day or two. But it is at this time that the true color of Japanese spring begins to set in and then completely dominate the rural scenery. I am talking about the wavy yellow carpets of nanohana (菜の花) which take over the riverbanks, roadsides, vegetable field borders and just about any other undeveloped open space.When looked at from a distance, the clusters of little flowers blooming on the tall and slender stems can create a dreamlike scene, especially when they stretch to the horizon filling the air with their pasty, intoxicating scent.
The Japanese have long used nanohana as a food. Archaeological evidence shows that certain nanohana were eaten in the Yayoi period (330BC-300AD), and other species are mentioned in the earlest of Japanese writings (The Kojiki and The Manyoshu) If you are invited to a Japanese home in spring you might very well be served them in the form of OHITASHI ( the leaves , stems and flowers boiled and then flavored with with soy sauce), or my favorite- KARASHIAE (the same, but with some hot mustard added).
Nanohana blossoming along Tsukuba`s Hanamuro River
It was in the Edo Period (1600-1868), however, that nanohana (also called ABURANA) really came into their own as new techniques were devised for extracting oil (canola oil) from their seeds. This is called NATANE NO ABURA in Japanese, and it is still used for cooking. What made it so important in past ages, though,was that it was the main fuel used for lights and lanterns ( before that fish oil and sesame oil were used). You might also be surprised to learn that the oil from these same flowers can be used to run deisel engines!
It was probably because the oil made from the nanohana was used to LIGHT UP Edo (Tokyo), that the great Haiku poet Buson (1716-1783) wrote this, one of the most famous of all Haikus- Nanohana ya Tsuki wa higashi ni Hi wa nishi ni (Nanohana-with the moon in the east and the sun in the west!), in which the flowers which provided the fuel for artificial illumination stand between the day and night as the sun is about to set on a spring day. It is also probably because of this poem that the Japanese often associate the beauty of nanohana with dusk.
Another interesting tidbit which I remember when thinking about nanohana, is that these flowers are offered at the grave of the most famous of all Tea Masters and man of impeccible taste- Sen-no-Rikyu(1522-1591), on his memorial day, April 21. This is because the banks of the Yodo River were lined with them as he composed his final reminiscences, as a boat carried him to the spot where he was to commit ritual suicide (under the orders of Toyotomo Hideyoshi).
Nanohana no karashiae as part of a dinner in Tsukuba- DEELISH!
There are several varieties of plant which are referred to as nanohana, and if you see a field of them you might want to ask the farmer if they are for eating or for oil, or which vegetable they are (cale, broccolli, mustardseed etc…).
Stopping to smell the nanohana in Tsukuba
Even when writing in ENGLISH I prefer to use the Japanese word nanohana over the off-putting rape blossom.There is NO connection, however, between these flowers and violence against women in either English or Western culture. It is just that the latin word for turnip is rapus, and the nanohana is a member of the same family. Thus rape blossom means the turnip flower, and to tell the truth that does not have a very nice ring to it either!
Nanohana blooming beneath carp streamers in Koga, Ibaraki
Apparently nanohana ( rapeseed plants) as well as sunflowers ( himawari) absorb alot of radiation. For this reason, those who live in the areas more strongly affected by the leak at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima HAVE NOT enjoyed eating locally grown NANOHANA since last year ( how many years will it be before there will be no concerns over this?).
Interestingly, despite the fact that it sucks up radiation, the SEEDS of the rapeseed flower are not contaminated. These flowers are actually believed to help clean up radioactive soil, and have been planted in Fukushima Prefecture ( in the worst affected areas).
Ironically, this idea of removing radiation was first put into action by good-willed Japanese who wanted to help the area affected by the Chernobyl accident recover.
You can read about their project here:
http://www.rri.kyoto-u.ac.jp/NSRG/reports/kr139/pdf/tomura.pdf
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