I traveled to Awaji Island with my grandchildren, enjoying the refreshing breeze. It had been three years since I last saw them, who live in Shanghai, China. When we last met three years ago, it was early December 2019 when the first case of infection was reported in Wuhan, China, and the first case in Japan was confirmed on January 15, 2020. At that time, it was still the Chinese New Year, and many Chinese tourists had been flooding into Japan. No one could have predicted the pandemic that followed. The elder of my grandchild had just started first grade of elementary school at the time, and now, when we met again, he have become fourth-graders. I was amazed at how much they had grown and felt the speed of time passing and the rapid changes in history. It has been 18 years also since the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, and I am deeply moved by the sight of the rich greenery of Awaji Island and the progress of the recovery of the Hanshin area that we passed through on the way here.

恵風薫る淡路島を孫達と旅しました。中国上海に住む孫達とは３年ぶりの再会です。３年前に会った時、その前年の2019年12月初旬に, 中国の武漢市で第1例目の感染者が報告され、わが国においては, 2020年1月15日に最初の感染者が確認されていました。まだその頃は中国の春節で、多くの中国人観光客が 日本に押し寄せていて、その後のパンデミックは予想だにしていませんでした。上の孫がちょうど小学一年生になる年で、今度会った今年は小学四年生になるんです。逞しく成長した孫の姿に驚くとともに、歳月の経つ早さと歴史の変化の激しさを実感しました。阪神淡路大震災からも18年、途中通って来た阪神地区の復興ぶりと、今目にする淡路の緑豊かな光景にしみじみとした思いが過ぎります。

In the field, there stands a flower peach tree, covered in flowers from its base to its head. Its gracefulness is simply overwhelming. The flower peach is a variety of peach that has been cultivated for its ornamental flowers, and it reaches its peak bloom season around the time when cherry blossoms bloom. Peaches have been considered to bring good luck and ward off disasters in China since ancient times, and they are said to have been introduced to Japan during the Yayoi period. There are two types of peach trees: those that produce fruit and those that produce flowers. Fruit-bearing peaches have been cultivated and used as food since ancient times, but during the Heian period, the Peach Festival on March 3rd was established, and the viewing of peach blossoms became popular. Although peaches have been beloved by the Japanese people since ancient times, the cultivation of ornamental flower peach trees did not begin until the Edo period. Today, there has not been much progress in the breeding of flower peach varieties, and most of the cultivated horticultural varieties are those developed during the Edo period. There are several tree forms, including upright, drooping, and broom-like, and some varieties do produce fruit, but they are not suitable for consumption.

野っ原に、足元から頭のてっぺんまで花びっしりの花桃が立っています。その艶やかさには圧倒されるばかりです。花桃は、花を観賞するために改良された桃で、桜の花の咲く時期に前後して開花の最盛期を迎えます。桃は古来より中国では災いを除き、福を招くとされてきました。日本への渡来は古く、弥生時代といわれています。桃には実桃と花桃があり、実桃は古い時代から栽培され、食用に供されてきましたが、平安時代には3月3日の桃の節句が祝われ、桃の花が観賞されるようになりました。このように桃は太古から日本人に親しまれてきましたが、観賞用の花桃として改良が行われるようになったのは江戸時代に入ってからです。現在も花桃の品種改良はあまり進んでおらず、栽培されている園芸品種には江戸時代に作出されたものがほとんどです。樹形には立ち性、枝垂れ性、ほうき立ち性などがあり、実ができる品種もありますが、食用には適していません。

It has been almost a week since the cherry blossom declaration was announced, but the nearby cherry blossoms are only about 70% in bloom. The morning temperature is around 5-6 degrees Celsius, and during the day it is around 15 degrees, so there is a feeling of “Hanabie (flower cold)” . It’s too much trouble to go outside when it’s cold, and I tend to stay indoors. However, the sunshine that shines through the window feels warm and I tend to doze off. And the dream I had was like the picture as an image. A dream is a kind of hallucination that feels like a real experience during sleep. There are still many things that are not understood about sleep, but it has been found that there are REM sleep and non-REM sleep in brain activity during sleep, and in 1957 it was revealed that dreams are mainly observed during the REM sleep state. It seems that an average of 3-5 dreams are seen in one night, and incoherent dreams may be a result of overlapping of these 3-5 dreams.

開花宣言が発せられてからほぼ１週間経ちますが、近くの桜はまだせいぜい七分咲きといったところです。朝の気温は5、6度、昼間も15度前後ですから、全く花冷えといった感じなのでしょう。寒いと外に出るのは億劫で、どうしても家の中に引き篭もりがちになります。それでもやはり春、窓から差し込む日差しは暖かく、ついウトウトとしてしまいます。そして見た夢が、イメージとしては写真の様な夢でした。夢とは、睡眠中あたかも現実の経験であるかの様に感じる、一種の幻覚です。睡眠に関してはまだまだ分かっていないことが多いらしいですが、睡眠中の脳活動にはレム睡眠とノンレム睡眠があって、1957年に夢は主にレム睡眠の状態にみられる現象であることが明らかになったそうです。一晩に平均３〜５つの夢を見るそうで、支離滅裂な夢はこの〜５つの夢が重なるからでしょうね。

Yesterday, March 26th (Sunday), it rained cold throughout the country, making it Hanabie (cherry blossom chill). Even in Osaka, the temperature hardly rose from morning and stayed at around 13 degrees Celsius throughout the day, making it a cold day. Despite this, reports have come in from various parts of the country that the cherry blossoms have bloomed earlier than ever recorded. It is said that even in Washington D.C., USA, the cherry blossoms that were sent from Japan are blooming one week to ten days earlier than usual, causing quite a stir. Today, the rain has stopped in the morning, and although it is still chilly, the sunlight shining through the window is the warmth of spring. There are many beautiful words associated with cherry blossoms, such as “Hanabie”, “Hanahubuki” (cherry blossom storm), and “Hanaikada” (cherry blossom raft). I am looking forward to finding more ways to express the beauty of cherry blossoms as they continue to bloom.

昨日26日(日)は、全国的に冷たい雨となり、花冷えの一日となりました。 大阪でも朝から気温はほとんど上がらず、日中でも13度止まりで、肌寒い一日になりました。そんな中、全国各地からは、統計開始以来最も早く桜が開花したという開花情報が届きます。アメリカのワシントンでも、日本から送られた桜が、例年に比べて1週間から10日早く咲いて話題ななっているそうです。今日は朝方の雨も止み、まだ花冷えではありますが、窓から差し込む日差しは春の陽光です。花冷えもそうですが、花吹雪とか花筏とか、桜にまつわる美しい言葉が沢山ありますね。これからまだまだ桜が咲き続き、どんな言葉で桜の美しさを表わせるか楽しみです。

The sakura information released by the Japan Meteorological Agency has also changed from the announcement of the blooming to the announcement of full bloom. Tokyo, which was the first to declare the start of blooming, had already reached full bloom on the 22nd. Osaka is still at around 80% blooming and is expected to reach full bloom on the 28th, two days from now. This year’s blooming is breaking records everywhere, but there have also been instances of cold weather that make it feel like winter again, even after having had summer-like days. The blooming period is likely to be prolonged as a result. With the lifting of restrictions due to the pandemic, we see people having picnics under the full-bloomed cherry blossom trees on television. There are also more foreign tourists, and it seems that the lively atmosphere of the past is gradually returning. This year, we hope for a full recovery.

日本気象協会が発表する桜情報も開花情報から満開情報に変わりました。全国で一番早く開花宣言が出た東京はもうすでに22日に満開を迎えたそうです。大阪はまだ８分咲きといったところで、明後日28日が満開の予想です。今年はどことも記録破りの開花の早さですが、夏日があるかと思えば、冬に逆戻りした様な花冷えがあったりして、開花期間も長引きそうですね。コロナ禍からの解放もあって、満開の桜の下で宴会をする様子がテレビから流れてきます。外国人観光客の姿も多くなり、徐々に昔の賑わいも復活しつつある様で、今年こそ全面復活して欲しいですね。

♭♯♭ Seven Daffodils ♭♯♭

Amidst many daffodils blooming with their heads held low, I noticed a daffodil blooming with a straight, upward gaze. They seem to be declaring a fresh start, signaling the end of the COVID-19 pandemic this year. The Japanese narcissus, which bloomed continuously since the end of last year, has passed its peak, and now the daffodils are in full swing. Both types of narcissus are said to originate from the Mediterranean coast of Europe, but the Japanese narcissus has taken root in Japan since ancient times and has been named accordingly. In Europe, when people say “narcissus,” they usually refer to daffodils, which are also depicted in ancient Greek wall paintings. The scientific name of narcissus is Narcissus, which is famously derived from Greek mythology. The legend says that Narcissus, a young man, fell in love with his own reflection in a pool and turned into a narcissus flower, gazing at his own reflection, hence why all narcissus flowers seem to hold their heads low.

首をもたげて咲くラッパスイセンが多い中、キリリと上を向いて咲くラッパスイセンが目に止まりました。今年こそコロナ禍も終焉し、再出発を宣言しているかの様です。昨年暮から咲き続けたニホンスイセンも盛りを過ぎ、今はラッパスイセンが勢いづいています。どちらの水仙も原産地はヨーロッパの地中海沿岸の様ですが、ニホンスイセンは早くから日本に根付いた様でその名が付きました。ヨーロッパでは、水仙と言えばラッパスイセンを指す様で、古代ギリシャ時代の壁画にも描かれています。水仙の学名はNarcissus(ナルシス)ですが、これはギリシャ神話から来ていると言うのはつとに有名です。ナルシス青年が池に映る自分自身の姿を見て恋焦がれ、そのまま自分の姿を覗き込むように水仙（スイセン）の花に姿を変えたと言う言い伝えです。だからどの水仙も首をもたげているらしいです。

By the time cherry blossoms usually fall, the flowers of the Hana-Zuou tree are in bloom. They stand beside an inconspicuous shrine in the mountains, adding spring colors to the quiet shrine. The flowering period of the Hana-Zuou tree is usually around April, and it blooms abundantly with pinkish-purple flowers before the leaves come out. The appearance of the flower is favored by the Japanese, but even though it belongs to the same Hana-Zuou genus, it is famous in the West as a tree with negative legends and flower language. It is derived from the story of Judas, one of Jesus’ disciples, who regretted his sin after betraying Jesus and took his own life under the Hana-Zuou tree. From such a legend, scary flower language such as “betrayal” and “unfaithfulness” was given. It’s a nuisance story for flowers, isn’t it?

いつもなら桜の花が散る頃に咲く花蘇芳(ハナズオウ)の花が咲いています。山中の目立たない御堂の脇に立っていて、静かな御堂に春の彩りを添えています。花蘇芳の開花時期は例年なら4月頃で、葉が出る前に枝いっぱいに紫がかったピンクの花をたわわに咲かせます。花の姿は日本人好みの花木ですが、同じハナズオウ属でも、西洋ではネガティブな伝説と花言葉をもつ木として有名です。イエスの弟子のユダがイエスを裏切った後に、自分の犯した罪を後悔し、ハナズオウの木の下で命を絶ったことに由来します。このような言い伝えから「裏切り」とか「不信仰」などの怖い花言葉がつけられました。花こそ迷惑な話しですね。

When it comes to flowers, it’s cherry blossoms, and when it comes to cherry blossoms, it’s the Somei Yoshino. Starting with the Kanhi-zakura in Okinawa in January, and then the Kawazu-zakura in February, the Somei Yoshino in March, and the Ooyama-zakura in Hokkaido in May, the new spring in Japan looks like the whole country is overwhelmed with cherry blossoms alone. Among them, the Somei Yoshino stands out. When it comes to the declaration of blooming or the cherry blossom front, it’s all about the Somei Yoshino. The Somei Yoshino was named after being promoted by horticulturists from Somei Village in Edo during the late Edo period, but it spread nationwide during the high economic growth period after the war. Until then, the Yama-zakura, which has been familiar to the Japanese people since ancient times, was the cherry blossom of choice. The cherry blossom previously associated with flower viewing was the Yama-zakura. The “Yoshino cherry blossom” famous for being depicted by many poets and painters, including Saigyō, is also 80% Yama-zakura. Cherry blossoms that bloom in mountainous regions are sometimes referred to as “yamazakura,” but Yama-zakura is a particular type of cherry blossom and is one of Japan’s 11 “basic wild species.

花と言えば桜、桜と言えばソメイヨシノです。１月の沖縄県のカンヒザクラ（寒緋桜）から始まって、２月のカワヅザクラ(河津桜)、３月のソメイヨシノ(染井吉野)、5月の北海道のオオヤマザクラ（大山桜）まで、日本の新春は桜一色の様相です。その中でもソメイヨシノは傑出しています。開花宣言とか桜前線と言えば、全てソメイヨシノを中心に語られます。ソメイヨシノは、幕末の頃に、江戸の染井村の植木職人らによって売り出されたのでソメイヨシノの名が付きましたが、全国的に広がったのは、戦後の高度成長期の頃からです。それまでは、花見と言えば、古来より日本人になじみのあるヤマザクラでした。ソメイヨシノ以前の花見といえばこの桜だったのです。西行を初め、多くの歌人や画家が表した桜で有名な「吉野の桜」も８割はヤマザクラです。山地に咲く桜を総称して山桜と呼ぶこともありますが、ヤマザクラは歴とした桜の一品種で、日本の11種の「基本野生種」の一つです。

Great Yamato, of all lands most supreme! Enclosed by ranks of verdant banks on surrounding hills, Great Yamato unmatched for beauty!
Yamato Takeru, the son of Emperor Keikō, the twelfth emperor of Japan, was a skilled warrior who conquered the Kumaso and Izumo regions in the west in a blink of an eye. He was then ordered to lead an expedition to the east, where he achieved victory after victory, ultimately bringing peace to the region. Finally, on his way back to his beloved homeland of Wa, he fell ill and passed away at Mt. Ibuki. His parting poem was this waka, as he transformed into a white swan and flew towards Yamato. “Mahoroba” is a beautiful word in the Yamato language, representing the graceful and elegant land of Japan.

倭は国のまほろばたたなづく青垣山ごもれる倭しうるはし
第十二代天皇である景行天皇の皇子、ヤマトタケルは武に優れ、西征して熊曾建と出雲建をあれよあれよという間に討伐、続けて東征を命じられます。そこでも連戦連勝を重ねついに東国を平定します。ようやく愛する故郷である倭へと家路につくのですが、なんとその途中、伊吹山で病を得てその地で亡くなってしまいます。その時残した辞世の歌がこの和歌です。ヤマトタケルは白鳥になって大和の方へ飛んでいったそうです。「まほろば」は音も美しい大和言葉です。秀麗の国、日本を表すのにふさわしい言葉です。

Today is a holiday for the Spring Equinox. It is designated as a national holiday under the Holiday Law, and the moment when the sun passes the vernal equinox point is defined as the “spring equinox”. The day that includes the spring equinox is called “Shunbun”, which is designated as a day to “praise nature and cherish living things”. By the way, “Shubun” is designated as a day to “honor ancestors and remember those who have passed away”. In the 24 solar terms, the seven days from March 18th to 24th are designated as “Shunbun”, also known as the “spring equinox week”. Today is the middle day of that “spring equinox week”. In the old calendar, it was designated as the day of the “Spring Imperial Ancestral Festival”, which is still one of the ceremonies held in the Imperial Palace every year, as part of the major festival held twice a year on the Spring Equinox and Autumn Equinox (Autumnal Imperial Ancestral Festival). In ancient agricultural societies, where agriculture was the center of life, this day was also very important for determining the timing of planting crops. On this day, people eat “Botamochi” (sticky rice cake filled with sweet bean paste), and together with “Ohagi” (sweet bean paste mixed with glutinous rice) eaten on Autumnal Equinox Day, the red beans are believed to have a purifying effect and are offered as an offering to ancestors.

今日は春分の日で祝日です。祝日法でも定められていて、太陽が春分点を通過する瞬間が「春分」と定義され、春分を含む日のことを「春分日」とし、「自然をたたえ、生物をいつくしむ日」とされています。ちなみに、「秋分日」は「祖先をうやまい、なくなった人々をしのぶ日」とされています。二十四節気では、３月18日から24日までの７日間が「春分」で、「春彼岸」とも呼ばれています。今日はその「春彼岸」の中日にあたります。旧法では「春季皇霊祭（しゅんきこうれいさい）」の日とされ、現在でも行われている宮中祭祀の一つで、毎年2回、春分の日と秋分の日（秋季皇霊祭）に斎行される大祭の日でもあります。農業が中心の古代の生活において、農作物の作付けの時期を見極めるのにとても重要な日でもあったわけです。この日はこし餡の牡丹餅を食べますが、秋分の日に食べる粒餡のお萩とともに、 小豆は邪気を払い、魔除けの効果があることから食され、ご先祖様への供物として普及したようです。