The beach is so dazzling in early summer sunlight. There is no figure, only the sound of waves is heard. An abandoned ship that has decayed on the white sands caught my eye. When approaching, the thorny roses are entwined over the bow and flowers are blooming. I couldn’t control the emotional heightening. My thoughts spread, deepened, and tears began to ooze out.

初夏の日差しが眩いほどの浜辺です。人影もなく、聞こえてくるのは波音だけ。入江に朽ち果てた廃船が一隻目に止まりました。近づいてみると舳先にノイバラが絡まり花を咲かせています。心の高まりは隠せません。思いは広がり、そして深まり、涙が滲み出てきました。

The Shimoda Kaido is known as Shimoda Michi once and is a 70km route from Mishima Juku on the Tokai Do via Shuzenji, Yugashima, Amagi Pass, Kawazu-Nanataki, and Yugano to Shimoda. At the end of the Edo period, Shoin Yoshida, who had planned an America stowaway, crossed the Amagi Pass and aimed for Shimoda in order to go aboard a Black Boat. American diplomat Harris to the contrary went to Edo from Shimoda in order to conclude the US-Japan Amity and Trade Treaty. It became more famous for being the stage of Yasunari Kawabata’s “Izu Dancer”. In the early summer, the Izu Kogen, which crossed the Amagi Pass, has young grass fluttering in the wind, and a vast ocean spread far ahead.

下田街道は、昔、下田路と呼ばれ、東海道の三島宿から、修善寺、湯ヶ島、天城峠を越えて、河津七滝、湯ヶ野を経て下田に至る行程およそ70kmの道です。幕末には、アメリカ密行を企てた吉田松陰は黒船に乗り込むために天城峠を越えて下田を目指し、アメリカの外交官ハリスは日米修好通商条約締結のため、松陰とは逆に下田から江戸に向かいました。川端康成の『伊豆の踊子』の舞台になったことで、一躍有名にもなりました。天城峠を越えた伊豆高原は、初夏、若草が風になびき、遙か前方には大海原が広がっています。

I went to Kenninji Temple in Kamakura to see the peony. Speaking of Zen temples, I have a strong impression that it is associated with ink painting and is a monotone world, but the Kenninji temple I visited was too different from my image. Peony was in full bloom, and the trees were decorated with young leaves. Just on that day, there was an event of zazen and sermon , so I participated in zazen and organized zazen for one hour, but all the while the peony did not disappear from my head, and finally I can’t attain the state of selflessness.

鎌倉の建仁寺に牡丹を見にでかけました。禅寺と言えば水墨画を連想し、モノトーンの世界と言う印象が強いのですが、訪れた建仁寺は大違い。牡丹が咲き誇り、木々は若葉で彩られています。ちょうどこの日は座禅と法話の会があったので、座禅に参加し、一時間の座禅を組んだのですが、一時間の間ずーっと牡丹が頭から消えず、とうとう無我の境地には至りませんでした。

The Nichinichiso shown in the photo is a new variety called “Nichinichiso cup bloom” and is very popular. The Nichinichiso is a flower that blooms with a lot of energy even under the hot summer sun with smiling. Strong against exhaust gas, durable and long-lasting, it continues to bloom from early summer to autumn. However, the life of each flower is short, a few days. Madagascar island in the Indian Ocean, as the English name is Madagascar periwinkle, is native to the island. And it was introduced to Japan in the Edo period as early and has been loved by the common people to this day.

写真の日日草は「日日草のカップ咲き」と呼ばれる新品種で、とても人気があります。日日草は、夏の炎天下にも元気いっぱい、微笑むように咲く花です。排ガスにも強く、丈夫で長持ち、初夏から秋口まで咲き続けます。と言っても、一つ一つの花の寿命は短く、2、3日です。英名がMadagascar periwinkleと言うようにインド洋に浮かぶマダガスカル島が原産ですが、日本には早く江戸時代には伝わり、庶民にも親しまれてきました。

Mangekyo,kaleidoscope, is one of the hydrangea varieties that has become very popular at once, shining in the “Japan Flower of the Year 2012″. “Shimane Prefecture Hydrangea Study Group” created this flower by adding breed improvement from “Kumiko Hydrangea” of western hydrangea. The name comes from the fact that each petal that creates a gradation color that gradually fades from the center gathers and looks like a kaleidoscope. It is always in a short supply flower despite being traded at high prices.

万華鏡は、「日本フラワー・オブ・ザ・イヤー2012」に輝き、一気に人気が広がった紫陽花の一品種です。「島根県アジサイ研究会」が西洋アジサイの「クミコ・アジサイ」から品種改良を加えて創り出されました。中心部から徐々に色が薄れるグラデーション・カラーを生み出す一つ一つの花びらが寄り集まって、まるで万華鏡のように見えるところから、その名が付きました。高値で取り引きされているにもかかわらず、常に品薄の花です。

The young leaves of the water lily are shining. Flowers seem not to be the main but to be an accessory. I thought it would be nice to take a nap on this leaf. The flower word for water lilies is “a pure heart.” The scientific name “Nymphaea” comes from the water fairy Nymph. German poet Heine saw the water lilies and deplored;”I don’t know where women are angels or where they are devils.”. In this way, water lilies are also regarded as flowers with a magical potential somewhere. In any case, the idea that water lilies are so beautiful is the same everywhere.

睡蓮の若葉が輝いています。花が添え物のようです。この葉の上で昼寝したらさぞ気持ちいいだろうな、と思いました。睡蓮の花言葉は「清純な心」。学名の「Nymphaea」は水の妖精Nymph に由来します。ドイツの詩人ハイネが睡蓮の花に因んで、「女性はどこまでが天使で、どこからが悪魔なのかわからない。」と慨嘆したように、魔性を秘めた花といい伝えられている所もあります。睡蓮はそれほど美しい花という思いはどこも同じなんですね。

Almost no one is in the park because of the coronavirus or because it’s during the day. A wheelchair slowly is moving along the flower path in the park. Maybe they are an old mother and her daughter. Whether they are talking about something or just looking at the flowers, I can feel the gentleness from the wheelchair’s moving. It’s the “summer day” today, but a cool breeze occasionally is blowing. The breeze carries a lovely rose scent from the adjacent rose garden.

これもコロナウイルスの影響なのか、それとも日中のせいなのか、人気のほとんどない公園の花道を、多分親娘なんでしょう、車椅子がゆっくり進みます。何か語らっているのでしょうか、それともただ花を見ているだけなんでしょうか、車椅子の歩みに優しさが感じ取れます。今日も夏日ですが、時折涼しい風が吹いてきます。その風に乗って隣りのバラ園から優しいバラの香りが流れてきます。

When looking at iris, most of Japanese people always remember a famous Japanese tanka poem. It is a tanka composed by Narihira Ariwara. If you’re interested in Japanese tankas and hear that it’s a poem about Kakitsubata iris, the first thing that comes to your mind is this poem. This is because almost 100% of school textbooks adopts this tanka. The content of the song is not familiar to high school students, but it is probably adopted because many of the tanka techniques are used in this short poem with 31 sounds. Not only that, but in the old days, seven tankas have been sung in Manyoshu, and until today, they are so familiar that they can be seen everywhere in this season.

から衣　着つつ慣れにし　妻しあれば　はるばる来ぬる　旅をしぞ思う

日本人であれば、誰もが一度は目に触れたことのある和歌です。和歌に興味があって、カキツバタと聞けば、まず思い浮ぶのはこの歌です。高校の古文の教科書にはほぼ100%載っているからです。歌の内容は、高校生には馴染み難い内容ですが、この31音で歌われた短い歌の中に、短歌の技法が数多く駆使されているから採用されたのでしょう。それだけではなく、カキツバタは古くは万葉集にも七つ歌われていて、今日まで、この季節になると何処にでも見かけるほど馴染み深い花です。

The temple gate remains closed in spite of during the day in mid-May. Today is “the summer day” in addition to the corona shock, so there is no figure. Only the bright red poppy flowers that bloomed in front of the gate are shaking slowly. It’s quiet also in the city, but here I can enjoy the tranquility.

五月も半ば、昼間だというのにお寺の門は閉ざされたままです。夏日のせいも加えて人影はありません。門前に咲いた真っ赤なケシの花だけがゆったりとゆれています。街中も静かですが、ここには静謐(せいひつ)を堪える楽しみがあります。

Under the clear sky without clouds, a elegant western-style building standing on a hill is surrounded by bright red Matsubagiku that looks like a castle wall. I’m almost dazzling. Each flower of Matsubagiku is small and looks like a chrysanthemum, but it is a completely different variety from chrysanthemum. The flowers open at dawn and close in the evening. In addition to being resistant to high temperatures and dryness, it grows into large communities, so some of them have been planted in flower beds or stone walls in alleys and have become wild.

雲ひとつなく晴れ渡った空の元、丘に立つ瀟洒な洋館を城壁のように真っ赤な松葉菊が取り囲んでいます。眩いばかりです。松葉菊は一つ一つの花は小さくて菊の花のようですが、菊とは全く別品種です。松葉菊は夜明けと共に花を開き、夕方にはしぼみます。高温や乾燥に強い上に、大きい群落になるので、路地の花壇や石垣などに植えられ、野生化しているものもあります。