In terms of peach production, Osaka ranks around 30th in the country, but it is home to the peach with the world’s highest sugar content, certified by Guinness. It is the peach from Kishiwada City’s Kanechika area, where the peach orchard is currently in full bloom. Across the country, cherry blossoms are also in full bloom. While many people flock to see the cherry blossoms, there is no one here in Kanechika’s peach orchard. What is the reason for this difference? While you may know that cherry blossoms are Japan’s national flower, there is no other country in the world where the entire nation takes such an interest in a single flower. The long-awaited cherry blossoms, which bloom on a peaceful spring day with the warm sun shining down , are beautiful and perfect for leisurely viewing, but they quickly scatter and are gone. It is precisely in line with the Japanese sentiment. It also leads to Bushido, which says, “Flowers are Sakuragi, people are Samurai.” In contrast, the peach blooms continuously from early March to mid-April, and its flowers are robust and long-lasting, with the added anticipation of the delicious peach fruit to come. This creates a greater sense of expectation for the fruit than the blossom.

桃の生産量では全国で30番前後の大阪に、糖度世界一でギネス認定された桃があります。岸和田市包近の桃です。今その桃園の花が満開です。相前後して全国ではどことも桜が満開。桜には多くの人が押し寄せていますが、ここ包近の桃園には誰もいません。この違いは何でしょう。桜が日本の国花であることはご存知だと思いますが、世界的に見ても、ひとつの花に全国民がこぞってこれほど関心を持つ国はありません。待ち焦がれて、陽がのどかに射している春の日に咲く桜は美しく、のんびりと静かに桜を見ていたいのに、あっという間に散ってしまう桜は、日本人の心象にぴったりなのです。「花は桜木、人は武士」の武士道にも通じます。その点、桃は３月の初めから４月半ばまで咲き続け、花持ちはしっかりしていますし、その先に美味しい桃の実が成ります。その期待の方が大きいのです。

Cherry blossoms seem to be in full bloom in most areas of Japan except for the snow country. They are blooming almost a week earlier than usual this year, but due to the cold weather, the period for enjoying cherry blossoms seems to be longer. This year might be a great year for cherry blossoms. Even in the nearby park, cherry blossoms are in full bloom around the iris pond. The blue sky is reflected on the water surface, and the green young leaves, which I did not notice before, are also reflected. The spring breeze still feels chilly at times, and the cherry blossom petals flutter in the wind. A family of waterfowl suddenly appeared from somewhere and swam, separating the cherry blossom petals that covered the water surface. The scenery around me sways without a sound, making me feel like I am watching a silent movie. While feeling the happiness of being able to nestle in the hurried yet peaceful spring, I prayed for world peace and a safe and healthy year.

日本全国、雪国を除くほとんどの地域でさくらは満開の様です。例年に比べてどことも一週間近く早いそうですが、花冷えもあり、桜を鑑賞できる期間も長い様で、今年はさくらの当たり年かも知れません。近くの公園でも、菖蒲池の周りはさくらがパノラマ状態です。水面には青天が映し出され、気が付かなかった緑の若葉も映っています。時折吹く春風にはまだ肌寒さが残り、その都度花吹雪が舞い上がります。どこからともなく現れた水ガモの親子が、水面を覆ったさくらの花びらを分けて泳いでいきます。音もなく揺れ動く辺りの景色は、まるでサイレント・ムービーを見ている感じです。慌ただしくも長閑な春に身を寄せられる幸せを感じつつ、世界平和と今年の無事息災を祈りました。

I enjoyed fishing with my grandchildren at a sea fishing pond located near the Naruto Bridge. While I have gone sea fishing before, this was my first time catching fish in a pond like this. The fishing equipment was simple and tailored to the pond, with a hook and bait attached to a rod that had no reel or float. After waiting a few minutes with the bait on the hook submerged in the sea, I felt a pretty strong tug. I caught a big sea bream that was wriggling left and right in the water, shimmering with a sparkling cherry blossom color. It was quite a challenge to pull the bent fishing rod back and put it into the net. My grandchild, who is still in elementary school, couldn’t handle it. Finally, we managed to bring it up to the floor, but it was still jumping around. It was a large sea bream, possibly 30cm long. My grandchildren were overjoyed, and we took some commemorative photos. Within less than an hour, we managed to catch four more similar large sea breams.

鳴門大橋のすぐ近くにある海上釣り堀で孫達と釣りを楽しみました。海釣りはしたことはありますが、こんな釣り堀で魚を釣るのは初めてです。釣具は、タナどりもこの釣り堀に合わせてあって、リールも浮きも付いていない至って簡単なものです。針に餌を巻き付け、釣竿の先を海面に沈めて待つこと数分、かなり強い手応えがあります。釣れました。糸の先にはかなり大きな鯛が海中で左右にもがいています。キラキラと桜色に輝いています。弓形になっている釣竿を引き寄せ、タモ網に入れるまでが大変。まだ小学低学年の孫ではとてもとても手に負えません。やっとの思いで床に上げましたが、跳ね回っています。体長30cmはあろうかと思える大鯛です。孫達は大喜び。早速記念撮影です。こうして１時間足らずの内に、同じ様な大鯛を４匹も釣りました。

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。