At lunchtime, I noticed a sign for a seafood conveyor belt sushi restaurant, so I went up to the front of the shop. At the entrance, there was a bright red maple tree planted. In the backdrop, the sky was filled with early summer cumulus clouds, creating a rather peculiar scene. While there are indeed plants with red leaves during the transition from spring to early summer, there are not many trees as red as this one. I can’t say for certain, but it seems to be a maple tree called “De-shoujou.” Similarly, there are maples that have red leaves among their young foliage, gradually turning green, and then becoming red again in autumn. One well-known example is the “Nomura Maple.” There is also a maple called “Chishio (blood) Maple,” which is precisely like that. The phenomenon of tree leaves turning red is due to a pigment called anthocyanin, and it seems that various types of maples are born depending on the amount of this pigment. With that in mind, I entered the restaurant with a mixed feeling of early summer and autumn.

お昼時、海鮮回転寿司の看板が目に付いたので店の前まで行くと、入り口に真っ赤なモミジが植っています。バックの空には初夏の綿雲が一面に広がっています。なんとも奇妙な光景です。春から初夏にかけて葉が赤い植物は確かにありますが、こんなに赤い木はありません。確かなことは言えませんが、どうも「出猩々」というモミジの様です。同じ様に若葉の間は赤く徐々に緑色になって秋にはまた赤くなるモミジはあります。有名なところでは「ノムラモミジ」がそうです。その名もズバリ「チシオモミジ」と言うモミジもあります。木の葉が紅葉するのはアントシアニンと言う色素の性ですが、その加減で様々なモミジが生まれる様です。と言うことで、初夏と秋が入れ混じった気分でお店に入りました。