There were loquat fruits growing near the nearby field. Whenever I see loquat fruits, it always reminds me of my great uncle. My great uncle was a master of Joruri, using the stage name Tsurusawa Tomoharu. He had disciples in Shikoku and Awaji, and he would regularly go for their rehearsals. During my summer vacation of the third grade of elementary school, I accompanied him to a lesson on Awaji Island, and it was there that I was to perform “Awa Jurobei,” and underwent intense training. Many disciples and villagers gathered at our relatives’ house in Awaji. It must have been a presentation by the disciples. I earnestly performed the learned piece “Awa-no-Jurobei.” When I finished, everyone gave me a big round of applause. Being my first experience, I didn’t understand much of what was happening and was just surprised. However, I remember much more vividly that the kaiseki cuisine we had for lunch was delicious. It was a luxurious meal centered around dishes made with carp that they raise in the lotus pond, and it was the first time I had such a fancy meal in my life.

近くの畑の傍に枇杷の実が成っていました。枇杷の実を見ると決まって思い出すのが大叔父の事です。大叔父は鶴澤友春の芸名を持つ浄瑠璃の師匠でした。四国や淡路にお弟子さんがいて、定期的にお稽古に出かけていました。小学３年生の夏休みに淡島島のお稽古に付いて行き、そこで「阿波十郎兵衛」を語る事になり、猛特訓を受けました。淡路の親戚宅にはお弟子さんや村の人達が沢山集まっていました。お弟子さんの発表会だったんでしょうね。習った「阿波十郎兵衛」を一所懸命に語りました。語り終わると皆さんから大拍手です。初めての経験なので何が何だか分からず、びっくりした事だけは覚えています。その事よりもお昼に出た懐石料理が美味しかった事の方がよっぽどよく覚えています。蓮池で飼っている鮒料理を中心にした懐石料理で、生まれて初めての豪華料理でした。

At the entrance of the neighborhood, once again this year, a splendid peacock cactus is blooming. With its flower resembling the spread wings of a peacock, it seems fittingly named. However, rather than associating it with a peacock, it reminds me of the sun. It becomes even more intriguing considering that it originates from the desert regions of Central and South America. Glossy, translucent petals overlap and form an elegant shape, while delicate stamens, resembling silk threads, surround and protrude from the pistil, creating an appearance akin to a goddess of shamans. Deep within the core of the flower, there is an eternal depth, resembling a black hole, and if you gaze at it for too long, you may feel a mesmerizing illusion as if being drawn into it. In the same family as the peacock cactus, there is a cactus flower called “moonlight beauty,” which seems to represent the universe with its two flowers, the sun and the moon. By the way, the English name for the peacock cactus is Orchid Cactus (a cactus resembling an orchid).

ご近所の玄関先に、今年も見事なクジャクサボテンが花を咲かせています。羽を広げた孔雀の様な花の姿からクジャクと頭に付いたのでしょうが、孔雀と言うよりもやはり太陽を連想します。中南米の砂漠地帯を原産地とすると言うから尚更です。光沢のある透けるような薄い花びらが重なって整形をなし、絹糸のような繊細な雄蕊を群れ従えて突き出た雌蕊はシャーマンの女神の様です。花芯の奥はブラックホールの様に永遠の奥行きがあり、じっと見ていると吸い込まれそうな錯覚に囚われます。クジャクサボテンと同じ仲間に月下美人と言うサボテンの花がありますが、太陽と月、二つの花で宇宙を表している様に思えます。ちなみに、クジャクサボテンの英名はオーキッド・カクタス(ランのようなサボテン)と言います。

Lantana is starting to bloom all at once. This flower is undoubtedly a subject of the wanted worldwide. It has been designated as one of the top 100 invasive alien species in the world. Especially in tropical to subtropical climates, if not properly managed, it spreads everywhere through self-seeding, and in such climates, it is avoided as a “flower that should not be planted.” In temperate climates like Japan, where there are cold seasons, it withers in autumn, so it is not as serious an invasive species as in tropical regions, and it is even planted in gardens as an ornamental plant. Indeed, Lantana has recently become conspicuous. Even with a little soil, it spontaneously blooms alongside roadsides and stone walls. Lantana produces side shoots one after another from early summer to autumn and grows horizontally. Gradually, the flowers bloom, with numerous small flowers of about 1mm square crowded together in one place. As it continues to bloom, you can enjoy not only a single color but also a gradation of colors. That’s why it is called “Shichihenge” in Japanese, meaning “seven transformations.

ランタナが一斉に咲き始めています。この花、世界ではれっきとしたお尋ねもの。世界の侵略的外来種ワースト100に選定されているんです。特に熱帯～亜熱帯気候の土地では、よほどきちんと管理してないとそこかしこにこぼれ種で増えてしまい、そうした気候の土地では「植えてはいけない花」と忌避されています。日本のような寒い季節がある温帯気候の土地だと、秋季には枯れてしまうので、熱帯地方ほど深刻な侵略種ではないためか、園芸植物として庭にも植えられているほどです。確かにランタナはここ最近急速に目につく様になりました。道路脇や石垣など少し土があるといつの間にか一群れのランタナが咲いています。ランタナは初夏から秋まで次々とわき芽を増やし、横に広がって成長していきます。花は1mm四方の小さな花が一か所にいくつもひしめき合って徐々に花が咲ます。咲き進むたびに花色が一色だけではなく、グラデーションのような花色が楽しめます。和名で「七変化」と呼ばれる所以です。

Queen Elizabeth,” a magnificent flower with a serene flower path of 12cm, blooms with large blossoms befitting a queen. This renowned flower was named in honor of Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom, who ascended the throne in 1952. “Queen Elizabeth” was created in 1954 by Dr. Walter Lemmerts, a genetics professor at the University of California. Last year, Queen Elizabeth, after a reign of 70 years, passed away at the age of 96. This year, Queen Elizabeth seems lonely.
“Queen Elizabeth” achieved the prestigious status of being inducted into the Hall of Fame at the World Rose Convention held in Pretoria, South Africa, in 1979. The roses inducted into the Hall of Fame are considered “beloved flowers around the world” and are selected by the World Federation of Rose Societies, which consists of 37 countries. They represent the beauty chosen based on their ease of cultivation in any environment and their universal aesthetic appeal. Since the selection of “Peace” in 1976, a total of 18 varieties have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, with the most recent being “Flower Carpet Rose Pink” in 2022.
The stage for the 20th World Rose Convention, which will take place in 2025, will be set in Japan, specifically in Hiroshima Prefecture, where the Fukuyama Convention is scheduled to be held.

悠々とした花径12cmの、花の女王らしい大輪の花を咲かせる「クイーン・エリザベス」。1952年に女王となったイギリスのエリザベス女王の戴冠にちなんで命名された名花です。「クイーン・エリザベス」は1954年にカリフォルニア大学の遺伝学の教授Dr. Walter Lemmertsが作り出しました。そのエリザベス女王は昨年、在位70年を経て96歳の生涯を閉じました。今年のクイーン・エリザベスは寂しそうに見えます。
「クイーンエリザベス」は、1979年に南アフリカのプレトリアで開催された世界バラ会議で殿堂入りを果たしています。殿堂入りのバラとは、世界37か国からなる世界バラ会連合が、3年に1回開催する世界バラ会議において選出する「世界中で愛されている名花」です。世界中のどの環境でも育てやすく普遍的な美意識から選ばれた美しさを持つ、栄誉あるバラたちです。1976年に「ピース」が選出されてから、2022年の「フラワーカーペット ローズ ピンク」まで、今までに18品種が殿堂入りしています。
次回2025年に行われる第20回世界バラ会議の舞台は、日本。広島県にて福山大会が行われる予定です。

The seasonal word for strawberries is early summer. This refers to the time until the 1960s when the prevailing notion was that strawberries were in season from spring to early summer. It was a time when outdoor cultivation of strawberries was dominant. Subsequently, the use of artificial methods such as greenhouse cultivation became popular, creating a spring-like environment to promote early growth. This enabled strawberries to be harvested from around November to December. This technique was developed to meet the increasing demand for strawberries during the Christmas season and to produce high-quality strawberries during the winter period. As a result, now we can enjoy delicious strawberries for a long period of time, and it can be said that the peak season for strawberries is from winter to early summer. The term “strawberries ” is no longer applicable as a seasonal word for early summer.
Western strawberries are said to have been introduced to Japan in the late Edo period, around the 1830s. Since they were brought by Dutch ships, they were called “Oranda Ichigo” (Dutch strawberries) at that time. As agriculture modernized during the Meiji period, various seeds and seedlings from Europe and the United States were introduced, and commercial cultivation using foreign varieties began around 1900. It is said that there are approximately 30 varieties of strawberries available in the market currently, but the number of registered varieties is about 150, and there are about 30 varieties in the process of registration application and disclosure.

いちごの季語は初夏です。これは、「いちごの旬は春～初夏」という考えが一般的だった1960年代頃までの話で、屋外で栽培されるいちごが主流だった時代の話です。その後、ハウスなどで人工的に春の環境をつくる促成栽培が普及し、いちごは11～12月頃から収穫できるようになりました。これは、いちごの需要が爆発的に増えるクリスマスにあわせて、品質の高いいちごを冬の時期から収穫するために考えられた技術です。その結果、現在では「いちごの旬は冬～初夏」と言えるほど、長い期間美味しいいちごが食べられるようになっています。いちごの季語は初夏ですと言えなくなったわけです。日本に西洋いちごが入って来たのは江戸時代末期の1830年代といわれています。いちごはオランダ船によって持ち込まれたので、当時はオランダイチゴと呼ばれていました。その後、明治時代に農業が近代化されるにつれ、欧米からさまざまな種苗が導入されるようになり、1900年ごろには外国品種を使った営利栽培が始まりました。現在市場に流通しているいちごは約30種あるといわれていますが、品種登録数は約150種、さらに品種登録出願公表中が約30種あるそうです。

There is a place I always want to visit around this time of year. It’s a small marsh in the nearby mountains, where I can meet Kawataro-kun, a kappa who spends his days fishing. I first met Kawataro-kun at the banks of Kappa Bridge in Kamikochi. He was abducted by a kappa who had settled in the Azusa River and was forced to live in a completely different world from the human realm, a world that was the opposite of everything he knew. In the kappa world, romance is driven by the females, and they find amusement in things that humans consider serious, while taking seriously things that humans find amusing—it’s a completely upside-down world.
At first, it was not boring due to the novelty, but eventually, he started to long for the human world. Finally, he managed to escape the kappa world with great difficulty, only to find himself confined to Room 23 of a psychiatric ward. There, his companion was Ryunosuke Akutagawa. Akutagawa also passed away, and eventually, Kawataro-kun settled near this marsh, living a life immersed in fishing all day long.

毎年この時期になると行きたくなる場所があります。近くの山の中に小さな沼があって、そこで日がな一日魚を釣っている河童河太郎くんに会うためです。河太郎くんと初めて会ったのは、上高地の河童橋の袂です。河太郎くんはここで梓川に住み着く河童に拉致され、人間世界とはまるで正反対なkappaの国で生活するのを余儀なくされました。恋愛はメスが積極的で、人間の真面目に思う事を面白がり、面白がる事を真面目に思う、まるであべこべの世界です。最初は物珍しさもあって退屈しませんでしたが、やがて人間世界が恋しくなりやっとの思いでkappaの世界を脱出しましたが、待ち受けていたのは精神病棟23号室です。そこで話し相手になったのが芥川龍之介です。その彼も死に、やがて河太郎くんはこの沼の近くに住み着いて、日がな一日魚釣り三昧の生活を送っているという事です。

This afternoon, the weather is clear and sunny as if yesterday’s heavy rain was just a lie. The trees along the streets, now lush with leaves, are vibrant and full of life. The lilies, blooming in various colors as seen in the photo, are also thriving. However, I was shocked by yesterday’s heavy rain. The smartphone alerts kept ringing incessantly. It was my first experience with such a thing. Even while watching TV, the term “linear rain band” keeps appearing frequently. This word seems to have started being used recently. Although the word itself seems to have already existed as a meteorological term, it appears that it became commonly used in Japan after the Hiroshima landslides caused by heavy rain in August 2014, during the 26th year of the Heisei era. According to the analysis by the Meteorological Research Institute of the Japan Meteorological Agency, the frequency of “concentrated heavy rain” brought about by phenomena such as the “linear rain band” has increased by about twice over the past 45 years. Especially during the rainy season, it is said to be approaching four times the previous frequency. The main cause seems to be global warming after all.

今日の午後は、昨日の豪雨が嘘の様な、まさに天晴れなお天気です。葉が生い茂ってきた街路樹も生き生きとしています。色取り取りの花を咲かせている百合達も写真の通りです。しかし、昨日の豪雨にはびっくりしました。ともかくスマホからの警報が鳴りっぱなし。こんな事は初めての体験です。テレビを見ていても「線状降水帯」と言う言葉がやたら出てきます。こんな言葉が出始めたのはつい最近です。言葉自体はすでに気象用語としてあったらしいですが、日本でこの用語が頻繁に用いられるようになったのは、平成26年(2014年)年の８月豪雨による広島市の土砂災害以降らしいです。気象庁気象研究所の分析によると、「線状降水帯」などでもたらされる「集中豪雨」の頻度がこの４５年間で約２倍に増えてきているとのこと。特に梅雨時期は約４倍に迫っているそうです。原因としては、やはり地球温暖化が理由の１らしいです。

Stokesia blooms from early summer to summer, and its cool-looking flowers leave a lasting impression. The flower is associated with the meaning of “pure and modest maiden” due to its appearance. It continues to bloom from around June to October and is highly valued during the period when there are few flowers in midsummer, as it is very robust and can bloom well even in partial shade. Due to its flower color, it harmonizes well with both Japanese and Western styles, making it popular as a purple-themed cut flower in summer and also beloved as a flower for flower beds. On the other hand, in Western culture, blue and purple are considered colors that symbolize “sadness,” hence it has the floral language of “remembrance.” As it is also called ‘Ruri-giku’ in Japanese, there was a lot of interest in the azure-colored Yaguruma-giku flower-like flower. Stokesia is a hardy perennial native to the southeastern United States and was introduced to Japan in the 1910s. It is a rare flower with only one species in its genus and without any closely related species.

初夏から夏に咲く花らしく、涼しげな花が印象的です。その花の見た目から「清楚な娘」という花言葉が付いたそうです。花は6月頃から10月頃まで咲き続け、とても強健で半日陰でもよく咲かせるため、真夏の花の少ない時期にはとても重宝されています。花色によって和風、洋風ともに調和するので、夏の紫系の切り花としても人気があり、花壇用としても親しまれています。一方、西洋では青や紫は“悲しみ”をあらわす色だとされていて、「追想」という花言葉が付きました。和名でも「瑠璃菊」と呼ぶ様に、瑠璃色の矢車菊に似た花に関心が向きました。ストケシアは北アメリカ南東部原産の耐寒性多年草で、日本には1910年代に渡来しました。近縁種をもたず１属1種の珍しい花でもあります。

The entrance of the apartment building is filled with a profusion of rose flowers. It’s truly amazing. It instantly brightens up the mood. This sensation is not just my personal feeling, but rather something imprinted in the DNA of humanity as a connection between flowers and humans. In the 1960s, in the Shanidar Cave in Iran, several types of pollen, including Saw-wort and Oxeye Daisy, were discovered in large quantities along with the fossils of Neanderthals who lived during the Paleolithic period approximately 50,000 to 60,000 years ago. The discovery sparked discussions. Dr. R.S. Solecki, the American archaeologist who made the discovery, suggested the theory that Neanderthals had a sense of mourning for the deceased and had the custom of burying them with flowers as grave goods.
One clear example of floral tributes adorning a cemetery is the cave cemetery in Mount Carmel in northern Israel, dating back approximately 12,000 years. Fragrant herbs such as mint and sage, after returning to the soil, left their traces engraved in the soft mud. By offering flowers as a tribute to the deceased, which is the greatest sorrow for humans, they found solace and we do so.

マンションのエントランスに籠いっぱいにバラの花が盛られています。えらいものですね。気分が一変に晴れやかになります。この感覚は私個人の感覚ではなく、花と人間の関わりとして、人類の脳裏に刻み込まれたDNAによるものなんでしょうね。1960年代にイランのシャニダール洞窟で、今から推定五〜六万年前の旧石器時代に暮らしていた ネアンデルタール人の化石とともに、ノコギリソウやヤグルマギクなど数種類の花粉が大量に発見され、話題になりました。発見者のアメリカ人考古学者R・S・ソレッキ博士は、「ネアンデルタール人には死者を悼む心があり、副葬品として花を遺体に添えて埋葬する習慣があった」との説を唱えたそうです。 明らかに墓地を花で飾った献花の例としては、イスラエル北部カルメル山の洞窟にある、約1万2000年前の墓地があります。ミントやセージといった香りのある草花が土に還った後、その痕跡が柔らかい泥に刻まれていたそうです。人間にとっていちばんの悲しみである死者への弔いにも花を手向ける事によって、慰みを得たわけです。