The rice field is already covered with a young leaf color. As I walk along the ridge between rice fields, the sun shine during the rainy season is hard and makes me sweat. There is a tree standing in front of me, and it has flowers that are sober. I rushed into its shade. Looking closely at the flowers, I can see that it is a tree of Sendan. It’s a very lovely flower though it doesn’t stand out in the distance. I can understand well that Sei Shonagon loved this flower very much and that a tanka about Sendan was composed in the Manyoshu. By the way, “Sendan” means sandalwood in Chinese, and “Sendan” in the Japanese idiom “Sendan gives off a good scent from the time of young leaves” is sandalwood.

田んぼももう一面若葉色です。畦道を歩いていると、梅雨の晴れ間の陽光が照りつけ、汗ばんできます。先に一本の木が立っていて、地味ながらも花を付けています。急いでその木陰に入りました。花をよく見るとセンダンの木です。遠目には目立ちませんが、とても可愛い花です。清少納言がこよなく愛でて、万葉集にも歌われたこの花の美しさがよく分かります。因みにセンダン(栴檀)は中国では香木の白檀のことを指し、「栴檀は双葉より芳し」の「栴檀」は白檀のことで、中国語がすり替えられて使われています。