Yamabuki flowers are in full bloom in the sunny spot of the bush.  Speaking of Yamabuki, I immediately remember Ota Dokan.  When Dokan Ota tries to rent a Mino(straw raincoat) at a farmhouse, the daughter offers a branch of Yamabuki(Japanese kerria) instead of the Mino.  Her daughter responded that there was no Mino, in line with Waka “Seven-folded and double-flowered flowers are blooming, but I am sad that Yamabuki has nothing of the fruits”.   Dokan, who did not know the Tanka, got angry with his daughter and left.  It is well known that Dokan, who was ashamed of his ignorance later, mastered the field of Waka.  Dokan was a warrior in the Warring States period with many anecdotes such as being impressed by a frog trying to jump on a willow and becoming a master of calligraphy.  Dokan also built Edo Castle.  Ota Dokan must have been a military commander who excels in both literary and military arts.  Yamabuki is a flower that has been popular since the time of “Manyoshu”, and the bright reddish Yamabuki color is warm, not pure yellow.  Yamabuki color is also called golden color, and in the Edo period, “Yamabuki” was also a cant word for “bribery koban”.

薮の日だまりに山吹の花が色鮮やかに咲いています。山吹と言えば直ぐ思い出すのは太田道灌です。太田道灌が農家で蓑を借りようとすると、娘が蓑の代わりにヤマブキの枝を差し出します。娘は、『後拾遺集』の「七重八重花は咲けども山吹の実の一つだになきぞ悲しき」に準えて、蓑は一つもありませんと応えたのです。歌を知らなかった道灌は娘に立腹して立ち去ります。後にその無知を恥じた道灌は歌の道を極めたという話しは有名です。道灌は柳に飛び付こうとするカエルに胸に打たれ、書道の達人になったとか、こうした逸話が沢山ある戦国時代の武将です。江戸城を築造したのも道灌です。太田道灌は文武両道に秀でた武将だったのでしょう。山吹は『万葉集』の時代から親しまれてきた花で、純然たる黄色ではなく、鮮やかな赤みを帯びた山吹色は温かみを感じます。山吹色は黄金色とも呼ばれ、江戸時代には『山吹』と言えば「賄賂の小判」の隠語でもありました。