“Washigamine Cosmos Park” in Aridagawa Town, Wakayama Prefecture, is the largest cosmos spot in the prefecture where about 1 million cosmos flowers bloom every year in the fall. The cosmos blooming in the area of Washigamine at an altitude of about 586m sways in the breeze, the Arida River looks like it’s winding under my eyes, the Kii Channel sea is shining golden in the setting sun, this large panorama that spreads out in front of you is autumn in Japan.
Entering the mountain a little, the sweet scent of Akebi can be smelled. When I look up, there are many Akebi entwined with the trees, some of which are ripe and split vertically. It is said that Tengu (Japanese long-nosed goblin) came in the middle of the night and brilliantly split the largest Akebi in a straight line. And he would come to eat after one or two nights. It is said that if you eat this Akebi before the Tengu comes to pick it up, you will be able to spend the winter without any illness. There are many Akebi on Mt. Rokko, which is one of the 100 famous mountains in Japan in Kobe, and at that time, I often crossed the summit of Mt. Rokko (932m) from Ashiya and aimed at Arima Onsen.
On the way back from Taima-dera Temple in Nara, as I walked along the winding slope, glittering flowers like Higanbana were shining in front of the house. There are still Higanbana, but I can’t find them anymore around here. Look closely, it is not Higanbana, but a flower that looks a lot like Licorice. But Licorice is not such a glittering flower. I took a picture with my smartphone that it might be a new variety, and went home to check it out. It was a flower called Nerine, and it was also a flower of a variety called Diamond Lily. It was a very lucky day.
There is “Michi-no-Eki Aito Margaret Station” in Higashiomi City, which is located in the eastern part of Lake Biwa and where the countryside spreads. The “Cosmos Garden” was opened on October 5th. The cosmos is still one-third in bloom, and the blue leaves stand out. The cosmos flowers in full bloom are also spectacular, but I also like the cosmos flowers of these days. It is good that each flower is big and fresh. The customers are still sparse, and I can enjoy the cosmos slowly to my heart’s content. From now on, it seems that the days of visiting Cosmos will continue.
“The life of a flower is short, and there are many things that are painful.” They says that Fumiko Hayashi, the author of “Hourou-Ki (Wandering Record)”, often wrote this word on shikishi (fancy paper). And now it seems that as if only the word was walking alone. The rhythmic wording of the 7-5-7-5 sound style and the “acceptance impermanence” that flows to the bottom of the Japanese mind are well overlapped, which probably left a lot of people’s hearts. Some flowers, such as “Gekka-Bijin (Moonlight Beauty),” bloom only for one night, while others, such as “Udonge,” bloom only once every three thousand years, and there are various ways of life. It is also human nature that we seek “eternity” even if we know that it will not come true.
Jorougumo (Prostitute spider) is spreading a splendid net getting the rising sunshine in the grove. In the middle of the net, a female with a body length of about 3 cm stretches her long legs to the full and waits for food. At the edge of the net, there is a male, sometimes a few, with about half sizes of the female. When the female catches a game and begins to eat it, the male approaches the female with a chance to mate, exhausts all sperm, and returns to its original point before itself is eaten by the female. Sometimes it is found and eaten by females, and sometimes males compete with each other and the losing male is eaten by females. After successfully mating, the male returns to its original location and keeps watch there until the female lays eggs, this time keeping other males away from the female. I feel like knowing the abyss of life. By the way, the name of the male is also Jorougumo.
This year, the scorching heat has closed and I feel that autumn has suddenly arrived. Probably because of that, the remnants of summer and the scenery of autumn are mixed everywhere. Even today, when I stroll along the coutry road, a splendid lily is in full bloom. Speaking of lilies, it is one of the representative flowers of summer, so this lily is probably the last lily of this year. The variety is probably Takasagoyuri. The origin is Taiwan, and it is a wild species that is widely distributed in Japan. Many varieties of them are crossed with Easter lilies native to Japan and are indistinguishable.
It’s “Summer day” in the afternoon and I cannot sleep without a comforter at night. “Summer day” don’t mean that it’s hot and unbearable, and if I have a thin comforter at night, I can sleep soundly, and it may be the best time of the year. At one point, there was an eye-popping price of vegetables, and the early Samma fish that I had been waiting for was too expensive, and I was disappointed. But now, there are sales battles that make me wonder which new rice is really delicious. I’m looking forward to going to the supermarket with persimmons, tangerines, pears and grapes.
It’s a perfect autumn day except that the remnants of summer clouds stay low in the mountains far ahead. I can only hear the sound of leaves rubbing against the breeze. The spacious park is covered with all green. Only one set of bench tables in the sun is conspicuous. It is a mysterious landscape, whether it is the off-season of people’s visit or it is a coincidence. A long time ago, when I was in elementary school, when it was quiet for a moment in a noisy classroom, someone shouted, “God ran!” I still remember that it was a good expression. This scene now is perfect for that expression.
Until just the other day, bright red Higanbana was in bloom, but this time, pure white Nira flowers are blooming in the traces. Nira, which appears in both Kojiki and Manyoshu, seems to have been associated with people from quite old time. Nira, which is said to be synonymous with stamina vegetables even in modern times, has a high β-carotene content and is rich in other nutritional components, and is said to be effective in relieving fatigue and improving health. It is used for various stamina dishes.
