i wish to die
under cheery trees
along with the full moon
in spring in February

It is a Saigyo Tanka that everyone knows.  Hirokawadera Temple, located at the western foot of Mt. Katsuragi at an altitude of 959 meters on the prefectural border between Osaka and Nara, is known as the death place of Saigyo.  It seems to be the death place of Saigyo because Jiun Hoshi, who was called “Ima-Saigyo” in the Edo period 250 years ago, discovered the tomb of Saigyo in this area.  There is no hard evidence.  Saigyo was appointed as      Hokumen no bushi (the Imperial Palace Guards for the north side) at the age of 19, but at that time he must have met Taira Kiyomori, who had already been appointed as  Hokumen no bushi samurai.  I am very interested in what kind of interaction there was between Kiyomori, who later became the most powerful person, and Saigyo, who became a poet representing the times in the world of singing.  Saigyo, who excels in both literary and military arts and was popular with court wives, became a hot topic at that time as to why Saigyo left home at the young age of 23, and it is a mysterious Tanka Poet that has been attracting people’s attention even until now.

願はくは　花の下にて　春死なん　そのきさらぎの　望月のころ

誰もが知る西行の歌です。大阪と奈良の県境にある標高959メートルの葛城山の西麓にある弘川寺は西行終焉の地として知られています。今から250年昔の江戸時代に今西行と言われた似雲法師がこの地で西行の墓を発見したと言うことで西行終焉の地となっています。確たる証拠があるわけではありません。西行は宮中の警護にあたる北面の武士に１９歳で任官されますが、その時すでに北面の武士に任官されていた平清盛と相見えることになります。後に最高権力者になる清盛と歌の世界では時代を代表する歌人になる西行にどんな交流があったのか、とても興味のあるところです。文武両道に秀で、宮廷女房にも人気があった西行が23歳の若さで出家した経緯など、当時にも話題になり、そのまま今に至るまで人の関心を惹きつけている不思議な歌人です。

A lot of camellias that have bloomed have fallen into the undergrowth.  It looks like a camellia has bloomed on the ground.  The number of camellias that bloom and fall on the tree is the same.  It seems that this spring is finally over and summer has arrived.  I’m just confused by the speed of the seasons.  Speaking of camellia, the image that it blooms at the end of winter is strong next to the sasanqua that blooms in the middle of winter, but recently, the breeding has progressed, and some camellias bloom until around May.  Furthermore, it seems that the flowering time of camellia has changed considerably from the past due to the influence of recent climate change.  Rape blossoms are blooming, Chinese milk vetch flowers are blooming, and roses are about to bloom.  The area is already the scenery of early summer.

咲き切った椿が下草に沢山落ちました。まるで大地に椿が咲いた様にみえます。木に咲く椿と落ちた椿の数が同数です。いよいよ今年の春も幕を閉じて夏の到来です。季節の巡りの速さに狼狽えるばかりです。椿といえば、真冬に咲く山茶花に次いで冬の最後に咲くイメージが強いですが、最近は品種改良も進み、５月頃まで咲く椿もあります。最近の気象変動の影響を受けて椿の開花時期も昔とはかなり変わってきているようです。菜の花が咲き、蓮華草が咲き、バラも咲きかけています。辺りはもう初夏の風景です。

I found a small camellia tree in a corner of the promenade where cherry blossom viewers come and go.  Three camellia flowers that are about to drop are in bloom.  This is Otometsubaki.  One of them is wonderful.  The flower with such perfect appearance are rarely seen.  It has petals with pale pink hues and tidy arrangements, which is a beauty that cannot be expressed in any words.  The original species of camellia are in Japan, and they are Yabutdubaki and Yukitsubakiit.  They are now 2,000 types of camellia in natural and artificial mating.  As the flower words “modest splendor” and “unpretentious grace” suggest, Camellia with the glossy green leaves and flower that blooms without completely opening is displayed in the tea room, and there are many lovers all over the world.

花見客が行き交う遊歩道の片隅に小ぶりの椿を見つけました。今にも咲き落ちそうな椿の花が三つ。オトメツバキです。その中の一つが見事です。これほど完璧な姿の花は滅多に見られません。淡いピンクの色合いといい、花びらの付き方といい、どんな言葉でも言い表せない美しさです。ツバキはCamellia Japonicaと言われるように原種は日本にあり、ヤブツバキとユキツバキです。自然交配や人工交配で今では2,000種類ものツバキがあります。「控えめな素晴らしさ」「気取らない優美さ」と言う花言葉通り、光沢のある緑の葉、開き切らずに咲く花は茶室にも飾られ、世界中にも多くの愛好家がいます。

This year’s cherry blossoms are vigorous. Usually, it starts to fall about a week after it is in full bloom, but there is no sign of it.  Kirishima-tsutsuji that being to bloom from the time the cherry blossoms begin to fall are in full bloom without waiting.  Kirishima-tsutsuji which was born from the natural crossing with Miyama-Kirishima, which bloom in Kirishima Highlands, and Yamatsutsuji, blooms bright red like the flower of the land of fire.  The pale cherry blossoms and the crimson Krishima-tsutsuji contrast.  Starting with this, various flowers will bloom one after another.  That flower blooms, this flower blooms, I imagine the flower that will bloom while looking at the calendar, and every day I am thrilled while making a schedule.

今年の桜は元気です。満開から大体１週間経てば散り始めますが、その気配はまったくありません。桜が散り始める頃から花開くキリシマツツジが待ち切れずにもう満開です。生地霧島に咲くミヤマキリシマとヤマツツジが自然交配して生まれたキリシマツツジは、火の国の花らしく真っ赤に花を咲かせます。淡い色の桜と真紅のキリシマツツジは対照的です。これを皮切りにこれから様々な花が咲きます。あの花が咲き、この花が咲く、カレンダーを見ながらこれから咲く花を想像し、予定を立てながら胸をときめかす毎日です。

This year’s floral raft is more luxurious than ever.  Probably because a lot of cherry blossoms bloomed and scattered all at once.  I think I saw a typical cherry blossom phase that suits the Japanese temperament.  It was this year’s cherry blossoms that gave us a new courage to get rid of the depressed mood of the corona.  I would like to take a floral raft and go on a pleasure trip, but can’t be let that.  As the number of people infected with the new coronavirus nationwide exceeds the peak level of the second wave, doctors in the field are raising a sense of crisis that “there is a high possibility that the fourth wave will begin.”  Under these circumstances, it seems that the Olympic torch relay is continuing, but the excitement is only on the spot and at the time, and the rest is really an apathetic mood.  I feel that “Tokyo Olympics is a phantom” is good.

今年の花筏（はないかだ）はいつにも増して豪華です。沢山の桜がどっと咲き、一度にパッと散ったからでしょう。日本人の気性に合う桜の典型的な姿を見る思いです。コロナ禍で鬱屈した気分を払い除け、また新たな勇気が湧く今年の桜でした。このまま花筏に乗って物見遊山と行きたいところですが、現実はそうは行きません。新型コロナウイルスの全国の感染者数が第2波のピークの水準を超える中、現場の医師達は「第4波の始まりの可能性が高い」と危機感を募らせています。こんな中、オリンピックの聖火リレーが継続中らしいですが、盛り上がっているのはその場その時限りで、後は白けムード。「東京オリンピックは幻」がいいような気がします。

There are two major rivers in Osaka, the Yodo River and the Yamato River.  The Yodo River flows from Kyoto, and the Yamato River flows from Nara,  across the Osaka Plain into Osaka Bay.  Since ancient times, both rivers have been important rivers connecting Nara, Kyoto, and Osaka.  It was also an indispensable river for water transportation and farming.  These two rivers, which meander in the Osaka Plain, were at the same time the cause of the great flood and were always the opponents of the battle with the inhabitants.  Both rivers have now flowed straight into Osaka Bay due to major renovations during the Edo period.  The Nagase River, which runs through the center of Yao City, is a remnant of the former Yamato River. During the Yamato River era, the width of the river was 200 meters, but now it is about 5 meters in water.  In early spring, cherry blossoms are in full bloom on both banks, and many carps are poking at the petals that have fallen on the gently flowing river surface.

大阪には淀川と大和川の二大河川があります。淀川は京都から、大和川は奈良から大阪平野を横切って大阪湾に流れ込みます。古代から奈良、京都、大阪を結ぶ重大河川でした。水運に農耕に欠かせない河川でもありました。大阪平野で大きく蛇行するこの両河川は、同時に大水害の元凶でもあって常に戦いの相手でもありました。今では両河川とも江戸時代の大改修で真っ直ぐ大阪湾に流れ込むようになりました。八尾市の中心部を貫流する長瀬川は旧大和川の名残りで、大和川時代は川幅が200メートルありましたが今では5メートルほどの疏水になっています。春先には両岸には桜が咲き乱れ、緩やかに流れる川面に落ちた花びらを沢山の鯉が突いています。

The cherry blossoms around are already in full bloom. The full fledged flowers also bloomed from the buds of the little branch that grew from the trunk. It seems that the cherry blossoms are in full bloom nationwide, and we are gaining momentum for the new year starting tomorrow.  I sympathize with the students and students who are unable to attend the graduation and entrance ceremonies, but I hope that all of them will believe “inscrutable are the ways of heaven” and aim for a new leap forward.  High school baseball is about to end, and professional baseball has begun.  Corona is also worried about the signs of the fourth wave, but society as a whole is starting to move.  This momentum does not stop.  It seems that general intake of the vaccine has started, so it seems that we can get out of the fear of corona infection with a little more patience.  Under the bright sun, this summer we want to go out to the sea and mountains to the fullest.

辺りの桜はもう満開です。溢れんばかりの勢いで、幹から生え出たばかりの木の芽からも一人前の花を咲かせています。全国的にも桜は満開だそうで明日から始まる新年度に向けて勢いを付けています。卒業、入学の式典もままならない生徒・学生諸君には同情しますが、万事塞翁が馬を信じて新たな飛躍を目指して欲しいものです。高校野球も無事終わりそうだし、プロ野球も開幕しました。コロナも第４波の兆候が気掛かりですが、社会全体が動き出しています。この勢いは止まりません。ワクチンの一般摂取も始まったそうですから、もう少しの我慢でコロナ感染の恐怖から抜け出せそうです。明るい太陽のもと、今年の夏こそ、思いっきり海や山に繰り出したいものです。

The cherry blossom front has already reached Sendai.  Many of the cherry blossoms this year bloom earlier than normal, and Hiroshima and Matsue also bloom on the 11th, and it seems that there are many places that are the earliest in the history of observation.  The cherry blossoms form flower buds that bloom the following spring in summer, and the flower buds that have once entered dormancy are exposed to low temperatures for a certain period of time in winter and wake up from dormancy (breaking dormancy), and then grow and bloom as the temperature rises.  Very strong chills often flowed in this winter, but the temperature in November, which is the entrance to winter, was quite high, so the breaking dormancy was not enough, but the effect of the large high temperature in February and March was effective.  Due to its effect, this year’s flowering seems to be much earlier than normal.  This winter was the first weather condition also for Sakura.

桜前線は早くも仙台にまで達しています。今年のさくらは、平年よりかなり早い所が多くなっていて、11日に広島で開花し、松江も14日に咲くなど、観測史上最も早い開花となっている地点が多いようです。桜は夏に翌春咲く花芽を形成し、いったん休眠に入った花芽が、冬季に一定期間低温にさらされて休眠から覚め(休眠打破)、その後の気温上昇と共に成長して開花に至ります。今年の冬は、たびたび非常に強い寒気が流れ込みましたが、冬の入り口である11月の気温がかなり高かったため、休眠打破は鈍かったのですが、２月３月の大幅な高温の影響が大きいため、今年の開花は平年よりかなり早くなったようです。桜にとってもこの冬は初めて経験する気象状況であったわけです。

The winter fireworks of Lake Kawaguchi, which had been postponed in the corona, blossomed even in March.  It’s hard to say winter fireworks in March, but it’s still snowing around Lake Kawaguchi, so let’s call it a remnant of winter fireworks.  The image of a fireworks display is that you wear a yukata and watch it while fanning it with a fan, but now that fireworks displays are held somewhere throughout the year, fireworks are not a seasonal word for haiku.  From April, there will be a lot of fireworks festivals nationwide.  At one point, there were many places where the displays was canceled due to the influence of Corona, but it seems that it will be resumed in most places due to financial reasons and the limits of patience.  Since fireworks also had a role of exterminating evil spirits, I hope that the fireworks will also get rid of corona.

コロナで延期されていた河口湖の冬花火が３月に入って花開きました。３月に入って冬花火でもありませんが、河口湖周辺はまだ雪がぱらつきますから、冬花火の名残りということにしましょう。花火大会といえば、浴衣を着て団扇で煽ぎながらのイメージですが、今では花火大会も一年中どこかで開かれていますから、花火は季語になりません。４月からも全国の花火大会が目白押しです。一時はコロナの影響で中止する所も多かったですが、経済的な理由や我慢も限界と言うことでほとんどの所で再開されるようです。花火にも厄祓いの役割があった訳ですから、コロナも退治してくれることを願います。

Speaking of firefly squid, Toyama Bay is famous.  During the spawning season from March to May, millions of firefly squids rush near the coast and shine in the dark night.  This is known as a rare phenomenon that is unprecedented in the world, and it is also called toyama squid at the same time as firefly squid in English.  In Toyama Bay, especially from the right bank of the Joganji River to Uozu City, it is designated as a national special natural monument as the “firefly squid group sea surface”.  It seems that the unique terrain of Toyama Bay, which suddenly deepens from the coast, contributes.  Firefly squids live at a depth of about 200 m during the day, but they surfaced all at once at night due to spawning, and some of them were launched into shallow water and sounded like “Kyun, Kyun”, invite melancholy.  In order to prevent its rapid decay and parasite worms, it can be boiled in boiling water as soon as it is landed, or it can be frozen or refrigerated and lined up in food supermarkets and fresh fish stores in the Tokyo metropolitan area, etc.

ホタルイカといえば富山湾が有名です。３～５月の産卵期には海岸近くまで数百万匹のホタルイカが押し寄せて闇夜に光り輝きます。これは世界でも例のない珍しい現象として知られており、英名でもfirefly squidと同時にtoyama squidとも呼ばれます。富山湾の中でも特に常願寺川右岸から魚津市にかけては「ホタルイカ群遊海面」として国の特別天然記念物に指定されています。海岸から急に深くなる富山湾独特の地形が寄与しているようです。ホタルイカは日中水深200ｍ前後の所に生息していますが、産卵のため夜一斉に浮上し、中には浅瀬に打ち上げられ「キューン、キューン」という音を出して鳴いているようにも聞こえ、哀愁を誘います。腐敗が早いのと寄生虫を防ぐ為、水揚げするとすぐに熱湯で茹でるか、冷凍・冷蔵で首都圏などの食品スーパーマーケットや鮮魚店に並べられます。