This flower has various names such as “Manjushage”, “Manjushaka”, and “Higanbana”. “Manjushaka” is a name that comes from Sanskrit “manjusaka” and means “a flower that blooms in heaven”, which means a congratulatory flower. On the other hand, there are also some scary names such as “Dead person’s Flower”, “Ghost Flower”, and “Hell Flower”. At first glance, it is gorgeous, but it is a mysterious flower hiding devilish character. While the flowers are in bloom, there are no leaves at all, and when they are finished blooming, the leaves come out, and the bulb looks like lily bulb, but they contain deadly poison.

この花は「マンジュシャゲ」「マンジュシャカ」「ヒガンバナ」のように様々な呼び方があります。「マンジュシャカ」はサンスクリットからきた名前で「天界に咲く花」と言うことでおめでたい花と言う意味があります。一方、「死人花（しびとばな）」「幽霊花（ゆうれいばな）」「地獄花（じごくばな）」のようなちょっと怖い呼び名も付いています。姿といい、形といい、咲き方といい、一見華やかですが、魔性を秘めた不思議な花です。花が咲いている時は葉は全くなく、咲き終わると葉が出て、球根はユリネそっくりですが、猛毒が含まれています。

The golden rice is spreading all around, and the bright red cluster amaryllis are scattered and blooming. It is a blissful time and the paradise of this world to sit on the engawa where the cool autumn breeze blows, eat the hagi, and look at the scenery of the equinoctial week in front of me. Autumn equinoctial week is a time when only the lives that have survived the harsh heat, bloomed, and lived can be met and enjoyed.

黄金色に実った稲がいちめんに広がり、真っ赤な彼岸花が点在して咲いています。涼しい秋風が吹き寄せる縁側に座って、お萩を食べながら、前に広がる彼岸の景色を見ているこの時こそ至福の時であり、此の世の極楽というものです。厳しい暑さを凌いで咲き、実り、生きながらえた命だけが邂逅し、交歓できるひと時が秋のお彼岸です。

When I go down the village road, it becomes a fork, and a small shrine stands at the corner. Jizo is enshrined inside and is watching over the people who pass by. It’s usually a murky and inconspicuous shrine, but the cluster amaryllis is in full bloom around it, and it’s a lively landscape even if there are no people. When I ring the bell with the red string and put the money in the money box of the candy can, the sound of some money will bounce back. It makes me heartwarming to think of Tsuji Jizo, who has been protecting the villagers and the passers-by on rainy days, windy days, snowy days, and hot sun days.

里道を行くと分かれ道になっていて、角に小さな祠(ほこら)が立っています。中にはお地蔵さんが祀られていて、道行く人を見守っています。普段なら殺風景な目立たない祠でしょうが、周りには今を盛りの彼岸花が咲いていて、人はいなくても賑やかな風景です。赤い紐の付いた鈴を鳴らし、菓子缶のお賽銭箱にお金を入れると、何枚か入ったお金の音が跳ね返ってきます。雨の日も風の日も、はたまた雪の日も炎天下の日も、里人を守り、道行く人を守り、こうして幾星霜も年月を重ねてきた辻地蔵のことを思うと、ほのぼのとした気持ちになります。

The annual “Scarecrow Contest” is held in September every year at the Tanada (the terraced paddy fields) in the “Inabuchi District” of Asuka Village, Nara Prefecture, which is famous for the Takamatsuzuka Tomb. The terraced paddy fields, which are one of the most famous spots for Higanbana (cluster amaryllis) in the prefecture, are lined with Scarecrows who applied from all over the country, and many tourists come to see the “original scenery of rural areas”. However, this year, as in the case of the whole country, both the “Scarecrow Contest” and the “Higanbana Festival” have been canceled to prevent the infection of the new coronavirus. Last night, I had a dream of having an online date with Scarecrow by means of ZOOM which became a hot topic this year.

高松塚古墳で有名な奈良県明日香村の「稲渕地区」の棚田では、毎年9月になると恒例の「かかしコンテスト」が開かれます。県下有数の「彼岸花」の名所でもある棚田には、全国から応募した案山子が並び、「農村の原風景」を見るために多くの観光客が押し寄せます。しかし今年は全国の例に漏れず、新型コロナウイルスの感染防止のため、「かかしコンテスト」も「彼岸花祭り」も中止になりました。昨晩は、今年一気に話題になったZOOMで案山子とオンラインデートする夢をみました。

“Neither heat nor cold lasts beyond the equinox”. It is the equinoctial week of autumn from today. The temperature this morning was 21 ° C and yesterday morning was 27 ° C, which is exactly what the saying goes. I admire this maxim because everything is record-breaking and extreme weather continues these days. The movements of the people at the radio calisthenics held in the nearby park are also freely. I could hear crickets crying from the grass, and I finally realized that it was autumn.

暑さ寒さも彼岸まで。今日から秋のお彼岸です。今朝の気温は21°で、昨日の朝の気温は27°でしたから、まさに格言通り。何もかもが記録破り、異常気象続きの昨今ですから、この格言に敬服します。近くの公園で開かれているラジオ体操会の人達の動きも伸び伸びとしています。草むらからはコウロギの鳴き声も聞こえ、やっと秋になったと実感する今朝でした。

Once Kudzu has taken root, it entangles with utility poles, covers trees, spreads into the wilderness, and it can no longer be controlled. In North America, it was brought from Japan as a forage crop and for wilderness greening and soil erosion prevention, but due to its fertility, it is now designated as a harmful invasive alien species. However, starch that can be obtained from kudzu is used as a high-class foodstuff such as kuzdu-yu, and kudzu is a medical material for a popular cold medicine such as kakkonto, and is also useful as a material for textiles and handicrafts. Now, hiding in the leaves of Kuzunoha, sphenoid flowers that emit a sweet fragrance of dark blue purple are blooming beautifully in tufts.

電柱に絡み付き、立木を覆い、荒野に広がり、いったん葛が根を下ろしたらもう手が付けられません。北アメリカでは、飼料作物として、また荒野の緑化や土壌流出防止用にと、日本から持ち込まれましたが、その繁殖力の強さから、今では有害な侵略的外来種に指定されているほどです。しかし一方で、葛から取れるデンプンは、葛湯のような高級食材、葛根湯のような人気風邪薬にも利用されたり、織物や手芸品の素材としても重宝されています。今、その葛の葉に隠れて、濃紺紫色の甘い芳香を発する蝶形の花が房になって美しく咲いています。

Gerbera now has a variety of flower colors and flower shape variations such as single, double, spider bloom and semi-double, and it has a cheerful and bright atmosphere, and it is bustling with flower shops. The gerbera in the photo is called Gerbera jamesonii, which is an original species native to Africa. The crimson petals are thin and the number is small, but the looks is clear and it has the style of an African queen. By crossing with several other original species, a large number of horticultural varieties have been cultivated, and now there are 2000 varieties, and new varieties are born almost every year.

今やガーベラは、多彩な花色と、一重、八重、スパイダー咲きやセミダブルなど花形のバリエーションがあり、陽気で明るい雰囲気をもつ花で、フラワーショップの店頭を賑わせています。写真のガーベラはガーベラ・ヤメソニーと言い、アフリカ原産の原種です。真紅の花弁は細く、枚数も少ないのですが、目鼻立ちがはっきりしていて、アフリカの女王の風格があります。ほかのいくつかの原種との交配により、多数の園芸品種が育成され、いまでは2000種にもなり、毎年のように新品種が生まれています。

Hagi is one of the seven autumn herbs and is a representative plant of autumn. Nowadays, various flowers are on the market, and Hagi flowers are not noticeable. However, Hagi has been familiar to Japanese people since ancient times than the cherry blossoms that represent spring, and is the most read in the Manyoshu. Hagi is also a flower that symbolizes women, just as there is a truly passionate song in the tanka of Princess Shikishi, “Haji blooming on the coast of Mano is rubbing the flowers like waves coming together and is blooming like writhing with love”. It is a tanka by Princess Shokushi, who loves Sadaie Fujiwara but does not get what he wants, comparing her painful heart to Hagi flowers.

萩は秋の七草の一つで秋を代表する植物です。今では様々な花が出回っていて、萩の花は目立ちません。しかし、萩は春を代表する桜よりも古くから日本人に親しまれ、万葉集でも最も多く読み込まれています。式子内親王の歌に「寄せかへる波の花摺り乱れつつしどろにうつす真野の浦萩」と言う誠に情熱的な歌があるように、萩は女性を象徴する花でもあります。藤原定家に心を寄せはするがままならない、式子内親王の千々に乱れる我が身を萩に擬えた歌です。

On July 15, only 197 saury were first landed in Hiroo, Hokkaido, and weighed 20.9 kg. This was less than half of last year, which was said to be a record poor catch. In the first auction, the bid was sold at a record high of 41,040 yen per kilo, and it was surprising to say that the price was a shocking price of 5,980 yen per fish at the store. It is said that there are various causes of poor fishing, but the most important cause is probably the rise in seawater temperature due to global warming. This is because the sea area where Pacific saury roam is no longer near Japan. Recently, at a nearby supermarket, the price of a new item was 498 yen (excluding tax), the price of two items was 980 yen, and the price of frozen items was 200 yen.

7月15日、北海道広尾町で初水揚げされたサンマはわずかに197尾20.9kgで、記録的な不漁と言われた昨年の半分以下だったそうです。その初競りでは1キロあたり4万1040円の過去最高値で落札され、店頭ではなんと1尾5980円と衝撃の値がつけられたと言うから驚きです。不漁の原因はいろいろと言われていますが、やはり一番の原因は地球の温暖化による海水温の上昇でしょう。秋刀魚が海遊する海域がもう日本近海ではなくなったからです。近くのスーパーでは、新物で一尾498円（税抜）、二尾で980円、冷凍物は二尾で200円という値が付けられていました。

A Blue heron stops on the railing of a wooden promenade over a swamp and is shaking its head. It seems to be a young bird. If it is an adult bird, it must have a partner. Young birds that hatch from eggs take two years to become adults. The Blue heron is monogamous and acts as a family until the chicks grow up, and does not flock. A blue heron has bluish-gray feathers and is called Blue heron in Japanese, but is called Gray heron in English. It is the largest of the herons, and the herons in Hokkaido migrate, but the herons south of Honshu are resident birds.

沼地に架かる木製の遊歩道の手摺りに青鷺が一羽ポツンと止まって首を振っています。若鳥らしい。成鳥なら必ず相方がいるはずです。卵からから孵った若鳥は２年掛かって成鳥になります。青鷺は一夫一婦制で雛が成長するまで一家で行動し、群れることはありません。羽根は青味がかった灰色で日本では青鷺と呼びますが、英語ではGrey heron と呼びます。鷺の仲間では一番大きく、北海道の青鷺は渡りをしますが、本州以南の青鷺は留鳥です。