walking around in the field of Oze(尾瀬)

My husband and I spent our last weekend at Oze(尾瀬).

Oze is a huge highland marsh, a wide basin, on the borders between three

prefectures, Gunma, Fukushima and Niigata. ( map is here)

Actually where we visited was Oze field,a part of the marsh, located

1,400 meters above sea level.

As the field is a basin surrounded by mountains visitors have to descend for

there from a certain point called Yama-no-hana, literally a nose of a mountain,

foot by foot on a narrow boardwalk and partly on stone steps.

As the boardwalk is slippery, even some experienced hikers are getting down on it very  prudently.

For a begginer like me it took more than one hour to get the plateau.

To have this view after some hard walking was so cool and relaxing.

Some bogs are gentle reminders of the huge marsh.

It was just after the official announcement of the end of the rainy season

in Kanto region, but in this area the season was not yet over, and we had faint flurry. 

人ひとり想ふひそかさなんとなく雨が似あふも尾瀬のはつ夏　今野　寿美（１９５２～）

　

I'm walking in the field of Oze

letting be a person on my mind,

It goes quite well with

jot and quiet rain

of early summer

(Sumi Konnno)

On the highland with lower temperature, a little rain and breeze, I felt it was

like early summer as the poem says, while the Meteorological Agency told that

it was like high summer around my residential area during the days.

This field is famous for Mizubashou(水芭蕉）,or skunk cabbage, but their season

is almost over.

 Instead, コバイケイソウ（小梅蕙草、Veratrum stamineum）are in full boom now and the flowers protect themselves with their poison from be eaten by bears as many flowers of skunk cabbage are done.

I found several Nikkou-kisuge, or Hemerocallis on the field as well.

The season of the field colored with the light orange of the flowers will come soon.

in a garden of deity

とほき世のかりょうびんがのわたくし児田螺はぬるきみづ恋ひにけり　

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　斉藤　茂吉（1882～1953)

A water snail,

a come-by-chance

of  a heavenly bird

in her previous life,

is longing for lukewarm water

Mokichi Saitō

I visited the garden of Ume-no- Miya shrine in Kyoto 

as this garden of deity is famous for seasonal flowers. 

Now, the beginning of rainy season, is the time of flowering of sweet flag

( sort of iris), and we can see some water lilies on the pond, and some

azaleas are still blooming at the edge.

When I read the tanka poem I wrote above, I  imagined something

but I didn't understand it well.

Mokichi is one of the most famous tanka poets who gave traction

to the tanka field before and after the second World War, and in this one it seems that not only  he himself feels like a water snail but also he gives equivalent characteristics to the both, the bird living in Heaven according to Buddhism and such common creature as water snail which I used to find often in paddy fields especially in this season. 

Viewing Shoubu(菖蒲)or sweet flags which look like some imaginary birds I walked around the garden.

At the back yard it looks a little wilder and different aspect can be observed.

In the shadow we can also see a sort of hydrangea, 草アジサイ.

I think the English name shows the character of this species of flower quite well because hydrangeas fancy some moist place being necessity of a lot of hydrogen as if they are longing for water.

アジサイ is written as 紫陽花 that signifies purple sunny flower.

I like the Japanese name but they are not always purple nor sunny.

Appreciating these different flowers I felt closer to them and somehow got familiar to the former tanka poem by Mokichi and then I left the garden.  

looking back my days in Golden week

There are three main vacations (not private) in Japan; one is New Year's day,

Obon vacation, traditionally Buddhism custom at the mid of August, and Golden week, the first week in May including the final two or three days in April.

Golden week is over and the ordinary days came back to me.

That of my family was not gilded but really descent; my three sons and his family (one is married and they have a little daughter) visited us ( my husband and I)in turn, and we enjoyed some home made dish together, 

and when we were alone we drove shortly in the countryside avoiding traffic jam, and we spent a day in a town nearby.

This is out of the scenes we saw alongside of a river where we stopped by.

The river, Kizu(木津） river,runs near the border of Nara and Kyoto. 

On the bank we saw some golden yellow area in the field of weed and shrubs.

These flowers which look like rape blossoms are カラシ菜, or Mustarｓ, Brassica juncea.

They were immigrants as edible plants and became wild gradually, and in this season the tiny massive flowers color along some rivers and rail roads.

In autumn this bank is covered with Japanese pampas grass, and I glanced at a bird among dried pampas grass' stalks. I thought it was a lark because I could hear their gentle chirp above me. But it may not be a lark and it flew away soon and disappeared.

The narrow path between Mustards' flowers leads us to the riverside.

When my sons were much younger we occasionally came here for enjoying barbecue.

In those days we took a former dog called Lucky who died at her seventeen years old.

I hesitated to have a dog again but my husband was eager about having one for taking a walk together. Ten years has passed since Daisy became my beloved second daughter taking after Lucky in many ways.

In the river there is not abundant of water because of few rain in recent days.

The sky is pale blue as well as the river, and it let larks' song fall continually.

ふかぶかとあげひばり容れ淡青（たんじょう）の空は暗きまで光の器　高野　公彦

 The pale blue sky

gets some larks into it

and became a vessel of light

 which darkens 

the bottom of my eyes

Kimihiko Takano(1941～)

numerous fresh leaves

Being pleased to the season full of greenery I visited Kyoto last week.

I saw many tourists from foreign countries; some seemed to enjoy walking

and some rested beneath trees which had plenty of young leaves on them.

Among the green foliage I found some red maple leaves which have just opened up. 

Later I checked the name but there are too many to identify it as the same 

species. Do you know its name?

The main purpose to visit Kyoto was to see an exhibition held in Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art (京都市立美術館).

The museum is just next to a great Torii gate of one of most famous shrines in Kyoto, Heian Jingu.

The overwhelming vermilion of the gate made contrast favorably with fresh green leaves around there.

As for the exhibition we could see Vincent Van Gogh' works which were painted during his sejourns in Paris( 1886~1888). At this time Gogh, being supported by his brother, played active roles in colorful works influenced by some artists especially impressionists and in establishing his own style on perspective and also planar composition influenced by Ukiyo-e from Japonism.

It is hard to believe now that his works didn't sell except one in his life.

It is said that he painted some shooting buds represented by wheat as symbol of his inner energy, and the following tableau caught my eye like a ray of hope among his secure jobs.

image from Web site

I also walked nearby the museum and stopped by a temple called Nanzen-ji which has a great two-storied gate.

Between the pillars of the gate the greenery landscape on the temple ground is seen as a tableau.

Some red leaves of maple trees are faintly observed as well.

I carefully took a photo not to bother the girl who looked doing meditation. 

憎しみか官能かふいに燃え立ちて＜万緑叢中紅一点＞　小島ゆかり(1956~ )

I don't know whether 

it would be hatred or sensuality

which flamed up suddenly

but I know that I'm a woman

amid numerous young leaves
Yukari Kojima 

farewell to Sakura

Of Japan's 600 or so kinds of sakura or cherry blossom, around 80 percent are Somei-yoshino', hybrid plants which were interbred around end of Edo and the beginning of Meiji era (1868~).

Somei-Yoshino' (Cerasus ×yedoensis)

This kind of sakura has abundant blooms comparing wildlife species represented by Yama-zakura which blooms at the same time of shooting young leaves.

Yama-zakura (yama=mountain zakura=sakura , Cerasus jamasakura)

Information by the weather bureau  always tells about the blooming of Somei-yoshino' and its front line which goes up toward north along Japanese archipelago.
This year it was told that unexceptionally earlier bloom of sakura in some regions.

Yesterday weather forecast predicted gale-force winds and rain for the following a couple of days and it was right.

Seeing the weather through a window I remember the last viewing of cherry blossom while out for a walk in Nara Park.

I prefer some rustic flavor to stylish man made park, so I mainly walked on a field where many old cherry trees and maple ones are mingled. This field is located next to a small cozy area trimmed by many Somei-Yoshino's.

There we can see many Somei-yoshino' with pinkish white cute blossoms and also some Yama-zakura ,much older species, which  blooms a little quietly.

These are bloom of Somei-Yoshino'

This is of Yama-zakura

Some cherry trees already started to shed petals, and some deer looked as if they were eating fallen ones.

That one which looks like a rabbit is an old trunk

Although I had still much time before dusk I thought of the following tanka poem seeing the boughs above me.

誰かうしろになみだぐみつつ佇つごとし夕ぐれが桜のいろになるころ　花山　多佳子(1948~)

Behind me

someone might stand there

with moistness of eyes

as dusk became to be tinged with

hue of cherry blossoms

Takako Hanayama