After the passing of the “88th Night” (Hachijuhachiya) in Japan, it is time to start preparing for rice planting. However, since Japan is long from north to south, the timing of rice planting varies. The timing depends not only on the temperature difference, but also on the variety of rice, the growth period of the rice, and the weather of the year. Generally, the earliest planting takes place in Kyushu, where planting is finished by early April. The most common timing is from mid-May to early June, after the “88th Night”. In the Tokyo area, planting is often done in early June. The photo is of the scenery in Shiga Region, Otsu City, in the north of Shiga Prefecture, where rice planting is completed by the “88th Night”. Immediately after planting, there are no singing frogs, but when the leaves start to grow, a chorus of frogs begins. It is because many creatures, both in and out of the paddy fields, and they become food for the frogs, and the rice leaves are a good hiding place for them.

八十八夜が過ぎると田植えの準備を始める頃となります。とは言っても、南北に長い日本は田植えの時期はまちまちです。寒暖の差だけでなく、米の品種や稲の生育期間、その年の気候などによっても田植えの時期は異なります。一般的に、早いのは九州地方で、４月上旬頃までには田植えを終えます。一番多いのは、八十八夜の後、５月中旬から６月上旬頃です。東京近辺では、６月上旬からという所が多い様です。写真は滋賀県大津市の北部、志賀の風景ですが、この辺りは八十八夜までには田植えを終えます。田植えを終えた直後は鳴くカエルはいませんが、しばらくして葉が伸び出すと、カエルの大合唱が始まります。水田の中にも外にも多くの生き物が集まって来て餌にもなりますし、稲の葉がいい隠れ場所になるからです。いよいよ夏も間近です。

On the 88th day after the beginning of spring, today is known as “Hachijuhachiya” in Japan. This period marks the transition from spring to summer, and the weather becomes increasingly warm and mild. It is the time to prepare the rice paddies for planting and to begin the tea-picking season. According to legend, drinking the new tea harvested on this day can prevent illness. Compared to second flush tea, new tea has superior nutritional value and an exceptional taste. It has been accumulating nutrients since the previous autumn and is picked when these nutrients are fully stored, from the end of March to the beginning of May. This makes the new tea an exquisite and condensed flavor of tea. There are roughly three types of tea: green tea, oolong tea, and black tea, all made from the same tea plant. Green tea is made by immediately processing the picked tea leaves to prevent oxidation, black tea is made by completely fermenting the tea leaves, and oolong tea is made by partially fermenting the tea leaves. In the world, black tea accounts for 80% of tea consumption, while green tea is less than 10%. However, with the popularity of Japanese culture, green tea has been spreading globally as a healthy beverage.

立春から数えて88日目、今日は八十八夜です。春から夏の変わり目で、日増しに暖かくなり、気候も温暖なこの時期は、苗代の準備をする時期ですし、茶摘みのシーズンでもあります。「八十八夜に摘んだ新茶を飲むと病気にならない」という言い伝えがある様に、新茶は二番茶に比べて栄養も優れ、おいしさも格別です。前の年の秋からずっと養分を蓄えていき、3月の終わりから5月の初めくらいに、この養分をずっと蓄えてきたところで摘むので、新茶は格別にうまさが凝縮されているお茶ということになります。お茶には、大雑把に分けて、緑茶と烏龍茶と紅茶があります。どれも同じ茶の木からできます。お茶を摘んで、酸化しないようにすぐに熱処理をしているのが「緑茶」で、完全に発酵し赤くなったものが「紅茶」、途中で発酵を止めると「烏龍茶」になります。世界的にみれば、紅茶が80%で、緑茶は10%未満ですが、その緑茶も、日本ブームに乗り、健康飲料として世界に広がりつつあります。

Finally, May has arrived. Both work and school are supposed to start a new fiscal year from April, but until Golden Week, I couldn’t quite settle down and couldn’t really focus on work or studying. After Golden Week, I finally got the feeling of “Come on!”.  I wonder how everyone is spending their time in the middle of Golden Week. Before I surrendered my driver’s license, I used to go somewhere in Japan for a week. It’s the best season, not too cold or too hot, and everything feels fresh and sprouting. Nowadays, everywhere is overflowing with people and cars, so it’s nice to spend time at home as I please. Saying that, though I really wants it, I find me pretending I don’t.

いよいよ５月になりましたね。仕事も学校も４月が年度替わりで、４月から新しい年度のスタートのはずなんですが、ゴールデンウィークまでは何となく落ち着かず、本腰を入れて仕事にも勉強にも取り組めなかったですね。ゴールデンウィークが過ぎてやっと「さあ！」という感じです。今はゴールデンウィークの真っ只中、皆さんどんな過ごし方をしているんでしょうね。運転免許証を返上する前は、一週間かけて、日本のどこかへ出掛けていましたよ。寒くもなく暑くもなく一番いい季節ですものね。何もかもが新鮮で萌え出る勢いがあります。今は昔と違って、もうどこに行っても人と車で溢れかえっていますから、こうして家で好きな様に過ごすのも乙なものです。と言って痩せ我慢しています。

Today is Botan Day on the flower calendar. Botan has long been revered as a noble flower and referred to as the “king of flowers” or the “flower of royalty.” Botan was originally brought to Japan from China during the Nara period as a medicinal plant, but there is also a theory that they were brought back by the Buddhist monk Kukai. After that, they were improved through breeding in Japan and became popular among the nobility during the late Heian period, and were eventually cultivated in temples throughout the country. During the Edo period, they spread among the general population, and most of the botan varieties we see today were improved during this time. There are many famous botan spots throughout Japan, but in Kansai, the botan at Hasedera Temple, which has a history of a thousand years, is particularly famous. Botan  is synonymous with Hasedera Temple, and the 150 varieties and 7,000 botan plants blooming throughout the temple grounds delight visitors.

今日は花カレンダーで牡丹の日です。牡丹は昔から高貴な花として重用され「百花王」とか「花王」と言われてきました。牡丹は、もともとは薬用として中国から奈良時代に渡来したとされますが、弘法大師空海が持ち帰ったという説もあります。その後日本で品種改良が加えられ、平安貴族の間にも流行し、平安時代の後期には各地の寺院でも栽培されるようになりました。江戸時代には一般庶民の間にも広がり、今の牡丹はそのほとんどがこの時に改良された品種です。日本各地に牡丹の名所は沢山ありますが、関西では、千年来の歴史がある長谷寺の牡丹が有名です。長谷寺といえば牡丹、牡丹といえば長谷寺と言われるほどです。境内の随所に150種、7000株のぼたんが咲き誇り、参拝者の目を楽しませてくれます。 

Finally, this year’s Golden Week has begun. After three years, the once-in-a-century pandemic is finally approaching an end. The flow of people around the world has changed significantly, and it seems that many foreign visitors are also coming to Japan. According to JTB’s estimates, the number of foreign visitors to Japan is expected to be 21.1 million (66.2% compared to 2019) or 550.6% more than the previous year. While a rapid recovery in the number of visitors from countries such as Korea, Thailand, and Singapore can be expected, the recovery in demand from China is assumed to fully begin after July 2023, with a subsequent rapid recovery. Japan had set a target of 60 million foreign visitors before the pandemic, so the current number is only a third of that goal, but it is expected to increase exponentially by the time of the Osaka Expo in 2025. The world should become more peaceful in proportion to the number of foreign visitors to Japan. We also hope that the “Hiroshima Peace Pilgrimage City” declaration or something bolder will be announced at the “G7 Hiroshima Summit 2023” starting on May 19th.

いよいよ今年のゴールデンウィークが始まりました。100年に一度のパンデミックも３年を経てやっと収束に近づいています。世界の人の流れも大きく変わり、日本にも多くの外国人客が訪れている様です。JTBの推計では、訪日外国人数は、前年比550.6%の2110万人(2019年比66.2%)になるそうです。韓国、タイ、シンガポールなどからの訪日客の急回復が期待できる一方、中国からの訪日需要は23年7月以降に回復が本格化し、その後、急回復すると想定しています。パンデミック前には、訪日外国人数を6000万人に目標設定にしていた訳ですから、まだその三分の一ですが、2025年の大阪万博までには加速度的に増加するでしょう。日本を訪れる外国人数に比例して世界は平和になるはずです。５月19日から始まる「G7 広島サミット2023」にも、もっと大胆に、「広島平和巡礼都市」宣言くらいをぶちあげて欲しいものです。

There is an old water purification plant along the Yamato River in Asakayama, Sakai City, Osaka. About 2,500 azaleas, including those over 80 years old and newly planted ones, are planted over a total length of about 600 meters, making it one of the most famous tsutsuji spots in Osaka. Normally, they continue to bloom until after Golden Week, but recently they have not lasted that long. They reach their peak in mid-April and start to decline noticeably in the latter half of the month. After the tsutsuji, the satsuki (Rhododendron indicum) bloom vigorously. Satsuki blooms in May, as its name suggests, but Satsuki is also an old name in the lunar calendar, and corresponds to June in the Gregorian calendar. In other words, Satsuki probably bloomed around June in the past. Therefore, global warming has been gradually starting over a hundred years ago and has been accelerating in the past 10 to 20 years, turning from quantity to quality in terms of physics. It seems that the world still lacks a sense of urgency about its severity.

大阪堺市浅香山の大和川沿いに旧浄水場があります。そこに樹齢80年を超えるツツジと新しく植えたツツジが約2,500本、総延長約600ｍにわたって植えられています。大阪でも有数のツツジの名所です。例年ならゴールデンウィークが過ぎるまで咲き続けるのですが、最近はそこまで持ちません。４月の中旬過ぎにはピークを迎え、下旬には衰えが目立ちます。ツツジに続いて咲くサツキがもう勢いよく咲いています。サツキはその名の通り皐月に咲くので付いたのですが、皐月も旧暦の呼び名で、新暦では６月に当たります。つまり、サツキは昔は多分新暦の６月頃に咲いたのでしょう。つまり、地球温暖化はもう百年も前から徐々に始まっていて、この10年20年の間に加速度的に増加に転じ始めているのです。物理学でいう量から質に転じ始めた訳ですね。世界はまだまだその深刻さの切迫感が足りない様です。

From fossils, we know that wild roses were already distributed throughout various regions in the northern hemisphere 30 million years ago. It is said that their origins can probably be traced back to 70 million years ago. Human interest in roses can be traced back to more than 2000 years ago, as evidenced by the “Epic of Gilgamesh,” which describes roses as “the flower of eternal life.” Since then, roses have been one of the most widely admired flowers. While each flower has its  flower language, roses are exceptional. There are countless flower languages  to describe roses, including their color, hue, number, condition, and combination with other flowers. You can see the depth of interest in roses. Nowadays, there are said to be 30,000 to 100,000 varieties of roses, and possibly even more. However, there are no true blue roses, as there is no genetic expression for the color blue in roses. Recently, Suntory created a genetically modified rose that is quite blue, which generated a lot of attention, but it still doesn’t have the natural blue color of a flower like the gentian.

化石から、野生のバラは３千万年も前にすでに北半球の各地に分布していたことが分かっています。その起源はおそらく７千万年まで遡れるだろうと言われています。人間との関わりは、英雄王ギルガメッシュを描いた「ギルガメッシュ叙事詩」に、「バラは永遠の命…」と記されていることから、紀元前2000年以上前にはすでに人の関心の対象になっていたことが伺われます。それ以来、バラは花のうちでも最も広く関心を持たれてきました。花にはそれぞれ花言葉がありますが、バラは格別です。花の色はもちろん、その色合い、本数、花の状態、組み合わせ等々、数え上げたら切りがないほどです。バラに対する関心の深さが伺われます。今では、バラの品種は３万〜10万、おそらくそれ以上だと言われています。ただ青いバラだけはありません。バラには青を発現する遺伝子がないからです。サントリーが最近、遺伝子操作でかなり青いバラを作り出し話題になりましたが、まだまだリンドウの様な花本来の青い色ではありません。

In the midst of continuous rain, fuji (wisteria) is blooming its last flowers. This year, all the flowers are blooming one to two weeks earlier than usual, and closing earlier as a result. The fuji is the same. Although the cool weather has caused the flowers to last a little longer, they are now waiting to be pruned. Knowing this, bees are gathering in swarms to seek the last bit of nectar. Under the rain, groups of umbrella-toting flower viewers are visiting the nearby shakuyaku garden in small numbers. When the rain clears, it will be time for the shakuyaku. I’m not the teacher Makino from the morning drama, but my fun of chasing flowers continues. However, the news of Ukraine and Sudan can’t escape from the back of my mind.

雨が降り続ける中、フジが最後の花を咲かせています。今年はどの花もそうですが、例年に比べて一二週間早く花を咲かせ、その分早く花を閉じます。フジの花も同じです。このところ肌寒い天気が続いたので、花持ちは少し伸びましたが、もう剪定を待つばかりです。それを知ってか、ミツバチが最後の蜜を求めて群がっています。少し離れたところにある芍薬園には雨の中、傘をさした花見客が三々五々訪れています。雨が上がれば今度はシャクヤクです。朝ドラの牧野先生ではありませんが、花を追う楽しみは続きます。しかし、頭の片隅から、ウクライナの事、スーダンの事が離れません。

Since the cherry blossoms have already fallen, it can no longer be called “flower chill.” Although we had warm weather for a while, these days it has been quite chilly. According to the 24 solar terms, we are currently in the 6th term called “Grain Rain,” during which the generous rains from the sky, which are also blessings, pour down on the many grains on the ground. Each solar term is further divided into three segments of 5 days each, called “initial, middle, and final,” and starting from today, the 25th, we enter the second segment of “Grain Rain” called “frost stops and seedlings sprout.” This is the time when it’s getting warmer, frost no longer falls, and seedlings grow rapidly. Farmers are starting to prepare for planting rice, and there is a lot of energy and excitement in the air. Nearby parks are covered with fresh green leaves, and preparations have been made for people to relax and enjoy, but there are hardly any people around due to the cold weather. Golden Week starts from this weekend, and I’m sure it will be crowded with many people by then.

桜も散ってしまったので花冷えとも言えません。しばらくの間はポカポカ陽気が続きましたが、このところ肌寒い日が続いています。二十四節気で言えば、６番目「穀雨」の季節で、その名の通り、地上にあるたくさんの穀物にたっぷりと、天からの贈り物でもある恵みの雨がしっとりと降り注いでいます。一つの節気には、さらに三区分して、初候、次候、末候と各５日間の候がありますが、今日25日からは、「穀雨」の次侯「霜止出苗(しもやんでなえいづる)」です。ぼつぼつ暖かくなって、霜も降らなくなり、苗がすくすくと育つ頃です。農家では田植えの準備が始まり、活気にあふれてきます。近くの公園も、青葉若葉に覆い尽くされ、憩う人達の準備も整いましたが、この肌寒さでほとんど人影がありません。今週末からはゴールデンウィークが始まります。その頃にはきっと多くの人達で賑わうことでしょう。

There are two types of wisteria in Japan: Nodafuji and Yamafuji. When we simply say “fuji,” it usually refers to Nodafuji. In kanji, it is written as 野田藤 (Noda-fuji), which is named after a place called Noda in the Fukushima Ward of Osaka City. In ancient times, except for the current Uemachi Plateau, most of the Osaka Plain was covered by the sea. The wild species of Nodafuji drifted to the area and its beauty gradually became known. It is said that about 600 years ago, Ashikaga Yoshitaka, the second shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate, wrote a famous poem about it, and the name “Noda” became well-known nationwide. Later, Toyotomi Hideyoshi visited the area as a spectator, and “Yoshino cherry blossoms, Noda wisteria, and Koyo autumn leaves” became known as the three major sights. During the wisteria season, many visitors come to see the Nodafuji. Even now, “Nodafuji” is scattered around Osaka City, mainly in the Fukushima Ward, and is known as one of the “three major wisteria spots in Japan,” along with “Ushijima no Fuji” in Kasukabe City, Saitama Prefecture, and “Kasugano no Fuji” in Kasuga Taisha, Nara Prefecture. Among them, in Izumi City, southern Osaka, there is a magnificent wisteria trellis that exceeds 30 meters in width and 27 meters in depth, blooming from a single tree over 40 years old. This town, which prospered as the Shindachi-juku on the Kumano Kaido road in the past, is now visited by many flower viewers. By the way, the back of the 5,000 yen bill to be issued in 2024 will feature the flower of the wisteria.

フジにはノダフジとヤマフジがあります。どちらも日本原産で、単にフジと言う時にはノダフジを指します。漢字で書けば野田藤で、野田は大阪市の福島区にある地名です。昔、大阪平野は今の上町台地を除いてほとんどが海でした。そこに流れ着いたのがノダフジの原種です。その花の美しさは次第に知られる様になり、今から約600年前、室町幕府二代将軍・足利義詮（よしあきら）が詠んだ歌が有名で野田の地名が全国的なものになったと言われています。その後、豊臣秀吉も見物に訪れるなど、「吉野の桜・野田の藤・高雄の紅葉」は三大名所と言われ、藤の季節には訪れる人が絶えなくなりました。今でもなお、「野田の藤」は「牛島の藤」（埼玉県春日部市）・「春日野の藤」（奈良春日大社）と並び「日本の三大名藤」の一つとして福島区を中心に大阪に点在しています。中でも、大阪南部の泉南市には、樹齢40年を超えるたった一本の木から幅30m、奥行27mを超える見事な藤棚に咲くノダフジがあります。往時、熊野街道の信達宿として栄えたこの町には今多くの花見客が訪れています。ちなみに、2024年に発行される五千円札の裏にはフジの花が採用されています。