Sazanamiya, the capital of Shiga is deserted, perhaps old-fashioned wild cherry blossoms.

The “Flight from the Capital” is a famous chapter from The Tale of the Heike that is always included in high school classical Japanese textbooks. Tadanori was the half-brother of Kiyomori Taira, the head of the Taira clan. The Taira clan declined after Kiyomori’s death and fell on the path to destruction in the war against the Minamoto clan. Tadanori also died in battle in the Battle of Ichinotani.
Tadanori was also a master of waka poetry, and he studied waka under the court noble Fujiwara Shunzei. After the Taira clan fled the capital, Tadanori returned to Shunzei’s mansion in the capital with six attendants and entrusted his collected waka poems to Shunzei. Then he sang aloud “The road ahead is long, I send my thoughts to the evening clouds of 雁山 (Ganzan)” and left for the battlefield.
After the turmoil subsided, Shunzei, who was ordered by Emperor Go-Shirakawa to compile an imperial anthology of waka poems, secretly included the poem “Sazanamiya” in the anthology “Senzai Shū” as “Author unknown”.
The white magnolia tree standing on the shore of the lake now reminds me of this famous scene from The Tale of the Heike whenever I see such a landscape.

さざなみや 志賀の都は荒れにしを 昔ながらの 山桜かな

『平家物語』の「忠度都落」は高校の古文に必ず出てくる有名な段です。忠度は平家の棟梁である平清盛の異母弟にあたる人物です。平家は清盛の死とともに衰退し、源氏との戦で滅亡の道をたどりますが、忠度も「一の谷の戦い」で戦死します。忠度は和歌の名手でもあり、公家の藤原俊成を師と慕って和歌を習っていました。平家一族が都落ちした後、忠度は従者6人と共に都にある俊成の邸に引き返し、自分の書き溜めた和歌を俊成に託します。そして「前途程遠し、思ひを雁山の夕べの雲に馳す」と高らかに口ずさんで戦場に旅立ちます。争乱が収まって、後白河院から勅撰和歌集を作るように命ぜられた俊成は、その和歌集『千載集』に密かに「さざなみや」の歌を「詠み人知らず(作者不明)」として収めました。今目にするのは湖岸に佇む白木蓮ですが、こういう風景を見る度に、この『平家物語』の名場面を思い出します。

In a field where daffodils were blooming until recently, as I pass by today, I see clusters of blue-purple Musukari (grape hyacinths) blooming here and there. Each flower resembles a bunch of grapes, with its bell-shaped blossoms facing downward. They are truly peculiar flowers. And for good reason, as the origin of Musukari dates back approximately 60,000 years. In 1960, blue-purple Musukari were found offered at a site where Neanderthals were buried around 60,000 years ago in the Shanidar Cave in northern Iraq. Since then, Musukari have been known as the world’s oldest burial flowers. Also, Yaguruma-giku (the cornflower), which was found in the coffin of Tutankhamun in ancient Egypt 3,500 years ago, is also blue-purple. In Europe, traditionally, blue-purple flowers have been regarded as noble flowers and have appeared in artworks such as paintings and ceramics, as well as novels. It is said that Musukari first arrived in Japan around the beginning of the Meiji era. Since then, Musukari have been cultivated in Japanese gardens, parks, and the precincts of shrines and temples, gradually becoming popular as ornamental plants. Musukari begin to bloom around the time when everyone is captivated by cherry blossoms. They are small flowers that bloom close to the ground, but they are noble flowers with a history and tradition.

少し前までは水仙の花が咲いていた野っ原に、今日通り掛かってみると、青紫色のムスカリが群れるともなく咲いています。一つ一つの花はブドウの房の様で、釣鐘型の形をした一粒一粒の花は全部下を向いて咲いています。なんとも風変わりな花です。それもそのはず、ムスカリの起源は約6万年前に遡ります。1960年、イラク北部のシャニダール洞窟から、約6万年前のネアンデルタール人が埋葬されていた遺跡に青紫色のムスカリの花が供えられていました。それ以来ムスカリは世界最古の埋葬花としても知られています。今から3500年昔のエジプトのツタンカーメンの棺に収められていた矢車菊も青紫色です。ヨーロッパでは伝統的に青紫色の花は高貴な花として扱われ、絵画や陶芸といった美術品や小説にも登場します。日本へムスカリが最初に入ってきたのは、明治時代の初め頃だと言われています。その後、ムスカリは日本の庭園や公園、神社仏閣の境内などで栽培されるようになり、観賞用の植物として広まっていきました。ムスカリは皆がサクラに夢中になる頃から咲き始めます。地べたに這いつくばる様に咲く小さな花ですが、歴史と伝統のある高貴な花です。

During this season, Japan’s mountains and seas offer abundant ingredients, delighting tourists from overseas. Bamboo shoots are among them. Today, I enjoyed bamboo rice made from freshly dug shoots in the morning. It’s the first of the season. Harvested bamboo shoots vary in texture at the tip, middle, and base, but bamboo rice allows you to savor all of them in a single bowl. Bamboo shoots lose freshness quickly after being dug up, becoming tough and increasing bitterness due to the rise in alkalinity. Ideally, they should be cooked or pre-treated to remove bitterness on the day of harvest. Although there are many types of bamboo, only about seven varieties, such as Moso bamboo, Hachiku bamboo, and Madake bamboo, are commonly eaten as bamboo shoots. Moso bamboo shoots are the most popular, in season from March to May, the earliest among bamboo shoots. They are consumed from Kyushu to Fukushima, with Kyoto’s Otokuni region being renowned for its premium quality. In Osaka, the bamboo shoots from the Kotsumi area in Kaizuka City are also highly regarded in luxury restaurants. Other premium varieties include the “Ouma bamboo shoots” from Kitakyushu City in Fukuoka Prefecture and bamboo shoots from Kanazawa City in Ishikawa Prefecture.

この季節、日本の山海の食材が豊富で、海外からの観光客を喜ばせています。タケノコもその中の一つです。今日は朝堀のタケノコで作った筍ご飯を頂きました。初物です。収穫されたタケノコには、先端、中央部、根元部分でそれぞれ食感に違いがありますが、一膳でその全てを味わえるのがタケノコの炊き込みご飯です。タケノコは掘り上げてからの鮮度落ちが極端に早く、時間が経つと固くなると同時に灰汁(あく)が増えてえぐみが増すため、掘って収穫したその日のうちに調理するか灰汁抜きして下ごしらえするのが理想といわれています。タケ類の種類は多いのですが、タケノコとして食用にされるのはモウソウチク（孟宗竹）、ハチク（淡竹）、マダケ（真竹）など7種類ほどです。普通タケノコといえば、モウソウチクのタケノコで、旬は３月〜５月、タケノコの中では最も早いです。日本では九州産から始まり、徳島、京都、静岡、関東地方、福島へと産地が北上して５月ごろまで食べられます。高級品の産地としては、京都の乙訓(おとくに)（現在の京都府向日市・長岡京市・大山崎町など)が有名で、京料理では春の食材として欠かせません。大阪市の高級料亭では、大阪府貝塚市木積（こつみ）地区産も珍重されています。そのほか、高級品としては、福岡県北九州市の「合馬(おうま)たけのこ」、石川県金沢市産タケノコなどが知られています。

On the way home from training at the gym, I stopped by a nearby housing complex. I had heard that the cherry blossoms in the complex had bloomed the day before, so I decided to have an impromptu flower viewing. I had expected them to be only about 5% in bloom, but they were already on the verge of full bloom. Inside the housing complex, tables are lined up along a row of cherry trees hung with red lanterns, and elderly people chat while eating something in the broad daylight. I’ve heard that the later it blooms, the earlier it will reach full bloom, but it’s too early. They might not last until next week. I had planned to visit the cherry blossoms at Hamadera Park nearby next Wednesday since the weather seemed good, but now I’m worried. Even on the news, there have been reports about cherry blossoms from yesterday to today. Overseas, it seems Washington’s cherry blossoms have already finished blooming, and those in Berlin, Germany, have begun to fall. Both are cherry blossoms transplanted from Japan and are now immensely popular. The beauty of cherry blossoms continues to touch people’s hearts throughout the ages, both in the East and the West. It would be wonderful if cherry blossoms bloomed abundantly in Ukraine, Russia, Gaza, and Israel, allowing everyone to share in the joy of spring.

ジムでトレーニングの帰り、近くの団地に寄りました。一昨日団地のサクラが花開いたということを聞いていたので、早速の花見です。せいぜい５分咲きくらいだろうと予想していましたが、もう満開一歩手前です。 団地内の赤提灯が掛けられたサクラ並木にはテーブルが並び、昼日中からお年寄り達が何か食べながら談笑しています。開花が遅いと満開も早いとは聞いていましたが早すぎます。この分では来週いっぱいまで持たないかもしれません。来週の水曜日は天気も良さそうなので、近くの浜寺公園のサクラを見に行く予定にしてましたが、心配になってきました。テレビのニュースを見ても、昨日から今日にかけてサクラに関するニュースばかりです。海外では、ワシントンはもう咲き終わったそうですし、ドイツ、ベルリンのサクラも散り始めているそうです。どちらも日本から移植されたサクラで、今や大人気だそうです。サクラの美しさは古今東西変わらず人の心を打つ様です。ウクライナにもロシアにも、ガザにもイスラエルにもサクラがいっぱい咲いて、春の喜びを共に分かち合いたいものです。

Once the eagerly awaited cherry blossoms finally begin to bloom, it seems like no sooner have they started than news of their full bloom comes from all directions. It’s a flurry of activity. The cherry blossoms that are currently the talk of the town are the Somei Yoshino variety. However, in Kyoto’s Arashiyama and Nara’s Mount Yoshino, both renowned cherry blossom spots in Kansai, the majority of cherry blossoms are Yamazakura. Yamazakura, with its many variations among wild species, has been deeply ingrained in the Japanese psyche since ancient times. Until the late Edo period when Somei Yoshino was cultivated and became mainstream from the Meiji era onwards, cherry blossom viewing primarily revolved around Yamazakura. Most of the cherry blossoms mentioned in waka poetry since the Heian period are also Yamazakura. Due to the significant variations among individual specimens and the differing flowering times even within the same region, the cherry blossom viewing season was longer. Somei Yoshino, being a cloned cultivated variety, blooms uniformly in the same area with no variation in appearance among the trees. Many famous cherry trees hundreds of years old are also Yamazakura. Although there is no legal basis, along with chrysanthemums, Yamazakura is considered Japan’s national flower.

待ちに待ったサクラがやっと咲き始めたかと思えば、もう満開だという知らせがあちらこちらから聞こえてきます。慌ただしいことです。こうして今話題になっているサクラはソメイヨシノです。しかし、関西でもサクラの名所として知られる京都の嵐山や奈良の吉野山のサクラはほとんどがヤマザクラです。ヤマザクラは古来日本人に最もなじみが深かったサクラであり、江戸時代後期にソメイヨシノが開発されて、明治時代以降に主流になるまでは、花見の対象と言えば主にヤマザクラでした。平安時代以降の和歌に詠み込まれたのもそのほとんどがヤマザクラです。ヤマザクラは野生種のため個体間の変異が比較的大きく、見かけも種々であり、同一地域にあっても個体ごとに開花期が前後するため、花見の期間も長かったわけです。栽培品種のクローンであるソメイヨシノは、どの木の花も見かけは変わらず、同一地域では一斉に咲くのが特徴です。樹齢何百年と言う各地の名物ザクラもそのほとんどがヤマザクラです。法的な根拠はありませんが、キクと共に日本の国花と見なされているのもヤマザクラです。

On March 31st (Sunday), at Matsuo Temple in Izumi City, Osaka Prefecture, there was the Spring Festival. This year, the cherry blossoms are finally about one-third in bloom. Ascending the stone steps, the ascetics blow conch shells. Following them are young chigo (child of festivity) dressed in matching happi coats. After offering prayers in front of the main hall, the fire ritual, goma, begins. Matsuo Temple is said to have been founded during the Hakuhō era, approximately 1350 years ago. It is said to have been established by En no Gyōja. Flourishing from the Nanboku-chō period to the Muromachi period, it is said to have possessed a vast estate of 7000 koku, with 308 temple residences, and a warrior monk force numbering in the thousands, making it a considerably large temple. During the Warring States period, it was destroyed after being defeated by Oda Nobunaga, but was rebuilt by Toyotomi Hideyori. Subsequently, the temple’s influence gradually declined, and during the Meiji period, it was subject to anti-Buddhist policies, leaving only the main hall enshrining the Bato Kannon, making it the only remaining structure among the Saigoku Sanjūsan-sho pilgrimage sites. Within the temple grounds stands quietly the Matsuo Temple Camphor Tree, designated as a natural monument of Osaka Prefecture boasting an age of 700 years. Gazing up at this colossal tree, with a height of 38 meters and a circumference of 10 meters, one cannot help but be struck by the sacred atmosphere and the timeless vitality it embodies.

3月31日(日)大阪府和泉市の松尾寺で、春季大祭がありました。今年は桜もやっと三分咲きです。行者達が法螺を吹きながら石段を登って行きます。その後に揃いのはっぴに身を固めた稚児達が従います。本堂の前でお参りした後護摩行が始まります。松尾寺の開山は白鳳年間と言いますから、今からおよそ1350年ほど昔です。役行者によって開かれたといいます。南北朝から室町時代にかけ最も栄え、口伝では寺領７０００石、寺坊３０８、僧兵は数千人を数えたと言われますから、随分大きな寺であったわけです。戦国時代、織田信長に敗れ諸堂宇は破却されましたが、豊臣秀頼により再建されました。その後、寺勢は次第に衰え、明治時代の廃仏毀釈で西国三十三所では唯一馬頭観音を祀る本堂のみ残りました。敷地内には樹齢700年を誇る府天然記念物に指定されている巨木「松尾寺のクス」が静かに佇んでいます。高さ38m、幹周り10mというこの巨木を見上げれば、神聖な空気と共に時間を超えた生命力に心打たれます。

An old cherry tree that has turned sideways due to its weight is overgrown with cherry blossoms, and many cherry blossoms are blooming there without extending their branches. We call such cherry blossoms ‘Dozaki-sakura’. Somei Yoshino puts out leaves after the flowers fall and synthesizes nutrients through photosynthesis. With delayed flowering, it’s uncertain when nutrients will reach the lower trunk. An anxious trunk blooms flowers, puts out leaves, and creates its own nutrients to prevent collapse from the base. This is the mechanism of Dozaki-sakura. Though it appears as a beautifully crafted bonsai-like trunk-blooming sakura, knowing its mechanism is deeply moving. Old cherry trees, mentioned to be hundreds of years old, indeed deserve the attention. Similarly, man living up to 100 years is quite an accomplishment, and it holds value in itself. Research reveals there are over 90,000 centenarians, with 90% being women, which is also astonishing.

重さに耐えきれず横向きになった桜の古木にノキシノブが生い茂り、そこにたくさんの桜の花が枝を伸ばすことなく咲いています。こんな桜のことを胴咲き桜と呼んでいます。ソメイヨシノは花が散ってから葉を出し、光合成をして栄養分を作ります。開花が遅れ、この分ではいつになったら下部の幹まで栄養分が回ってくるか分かりません。焦った幹は花を咲かせ、葉を出して自ら栄養分を作り、根本からの倒壊を防ごうとしているのです。これが胴咲き桜のメカニズムです。見た目には盆栽仕立ての美しい胴咲き桜ですが、そのメカニズムを知ったら身につまされます。よく樹齢何百年という桜の古木が話題になりますが、なるほど話題になるだけのことはあると合点します。人もそうで、100歳まで生きるということは大変なことで、それだけで価値のあることです。調べてみると、100歳以上の人は９万人を超えるそうで、その９割が女性だそうです。これもまた驚きです。

The cherry blossoms have begun to bloom as if the dam has been cut.The temperature feels as warm as early July. People are coming out as if they are tired of waiting for this day. With the start of the new fiscal year, television broadcasts scenes of entrance and initiation ceremonies. It’s the time when energy surges the most throughout the year. Along the riverside cherry blossom trees, red lanterns are lined up, and strips of paper with haiku and tanka sway in the spring breeze. Amidst the cherry blossom trees, bright red flowers bloom where the line of trees breaks. Upon closer inspection, they are Kirishima azaleas. Befitting the Azaleas of the Land of Fire, they possess a redness akin to magma erupting from the earth. Kirishima azaleas were originally cultivated during the Edo period as a horticultural variety known as “Edo Kirishima.” After 1656, when Azaleas native to Mt. Kirishima were introduced to Edo, which had the highest level of horticultural culture in the world, the variety was improved and became very popular throughout Japan. Among them, Noto became the largest hub. In Noto, there are over 500 ancient trees aged over a hundred years scattered throughout. Every year during this season, many people from all over the country flock to Noto in search of Kirishima azaleas. However, this year, this cannot be hoped for. I pray for the swift recovery of Noto.

桜が堰を切ったように咲き始めました。気温も７月上旬の暖かさとか。人もこの日を待ちくたびれたかの様に繰り出しています。新年度ということもあって、テレビでは入学式や入社式の様子が流れています。一年でも最も活力がみなぎる時です。川沿いの桜並木には赤提灯が並び、俳句や短歌を読み込んだ短冊が春風に揺れています。桜並木が途切れた所に真っ赤な花が咲いています。近づいてみると霧島ツツジです。火の国のツツジに相応しく、まるで大地から噴き出るマグマの様な赤さです。キリシマツツジはそもそも江戸霧島という園芸品種で江戸時代に作り出されました。世界最高水準の園芸文化を極めた江戸に霧島山自生のツツジキが入った1656年以降、品種改良され日本中で大流行しました。中でも能登は日本一の集積地になりました。能登には樹齢百年以上の古木が500本以上点在しています。毎年この時期には、能登の霧島ツツジを求めて全国から多くの人が押し寄せます。しかし今年はこれも望めません。能登の一日も早い復興を祈ります。

The enchanting figure of Yang Guifei, dozing lightly in a tipsy state, was described by Emperor Xuanzong as ‘still not enough sleep of  Hana-kaido.’ This is said to be the origin of the flower language ‘beauty sleep’ associated with Hana-kaido. The buds, hanging red, unfurl into pink blooms, making Hana-kaido a symbol of beauty since ancient times. In Japan, it is known to begin blooming just as the Somei Yoshino cherry blossoms reach full bloom and start to fall. Among the same family, almond blossoms first, followed by Somei Yoshino, and then Hana-kaido, but this year, due to the delayed cherry blossom season, Hana-kaido bloomed concurrently with Somei Yoshino. However, unlike cherry blossoms, Hana-kaido are characterized by a long flowering period of over a month. In Japan, before Hana-kaido, there were Mi-kaido. Mi-kaido bear fruits about 2 centimeters in diameter, which become edible when ripe and were also called Nagasaki apples. Subsequently, Hana-kaido mainly for ornamental purposes were introduced during the Edo period. While small red fruits resembling apples may develop after flowering, they are not edible.

ほろ酔いでうとうとしている妖艶な楊貴妃の姿を、玄宗皇帝が「海棠の眠り未だ足りず」と称したことから「美人の眠り」という花言葉がハナカイドウについたとされています。蕾は赤くうな垂れて、花開くとピンク色になるハナカイドウは昔から美人の代名詞として使われるほどです。日本では、ソメイヨシノの花が満開になり散り始める頃、後を追うように咲き始めることで知られています。同じ仲間では、まずアーモンドの花が咲き、続いてソメイヨシノ、そのあとハナカイドウという順ですが、今年は桜の開花が例年より遅く、ソメイヨシノと平行する形で花開いた様です。ただ、桜と違ってハナカイドウは一ヶ月以上も咲き続ける花期の長いのが特徴です。日本にはハナカイドウより先にミカイドウが入ってきました。ミカイドウは実が直径２センチ大で、黄熟すると食用となり、別名をナガサキリンゴとも言われました。そのあともっぱら観賞用のハナカイドウが江戸時代に入ってきました。花が咲いた後、林檎に似た小さな赤い実ができることはありますが食用にはなりません。

When we speak of cherry blossoms, we think of Saigyo. Speaking of Saigyo, here is his next poem:

“I would wish to die
Under the cherry blossoms
In springtime’s embrace
At that moment of perfect beauty
When the moon is full”

On February 16, 1190, Saigyo peacefully drew his last breath while gazing at cherry blossoms at the Hirogawa Temple in Kawachi (now Kawanancho, Osaka Prefecture). He was 73 years old. His graceful departure, just as depicted in his poem, left a deep impression on people and has been passed down through generations, especially among poets. The cherry blossoms he mentions are not the Somei Yoshino variety but the mountain cherry blossoms, which typically bloom later than Somei Yoshino. February 16, the day of Saigyo’s passing, corresponds to mid-March in our calendar. Moreover, when we say “Mochizuki,” it falls on the day of the full moon, which falls on March 25th this year. The cherry blossom season in Osaka Prefecture started on the 29th of March this year, with full bloom expected about a week later. The Hirokawa Temple is located on the hillside of Osaka Prefecture, so the mountain cherry blossoms there would bloom even later. Therefore, the environmental conditions on the day of Saigyo’s passing would be quite different from this year. Cherry blossom blooming patterns vary each year, and the natural environment during Saigyo’s time would have been significantly different from today. Hence, I believe Saigyo’s poem remains valid as it reflects the prevailing conditions of his time. As for Saigyo’s death, religious scholar Tetsuo Yamazaki suggests that Saigyo, around February 15, the day of Buddha’s death, decided to end his life and, after several days of fasting and abstaining from water, passed away of his own volition. It is a theory worth considering.

桜と言えば西行。西行と言えば次の歌です。

願はくは　花の下にて　春死なむ　そのきさらぎの　望月のころ

西行は1190年2月16日、河内の弘川寺（大阪府河南町）で桜を見ながら静かに息を引きとりました。享年73。歌の通りの見事な最期は人々に感銘を与え、歌人をはじめ、多くの人達によって語り継がれてきました。花とはもちろん桜ですが、西行の言う桜はソメイヨシノではなく山桜です。山桜は普通ソメイヨシノより遅れて咲きます。西行が亡くなった２月16日は今の３月中旬頃です。しかも望月と言うことになると満月の日ですから、今年であれば３月25日に当たります。今年の大阪府の開花が29日であり、満開は１週間後でしょうし、山桜が満開になるのはその後です。しかも弘川寺は大阪府では山手にありますから、山桜が満開になるのはさらに遅れるでしょう。と言うことになれば、西行の亡くなった日の環境は今年とは随分異なることになります。桜の開花状況は毎年異なりますし、西行の生きた時代と今とでは、自然環境も随分異なるでしょうから、西行のこの歌も通説通りでいいと思います。ちなみに西行の死について、宗教学者の山折哲雄氏が、西行は釈迦の命日の2月15日ごろに自分も死のうと決断し、そのために幾日も断食・断水をし、自らの意思で絶命したと言う説を唱えています。傾聴に値する説です。