Walking through the plum grove with my mother (89) 🌸 Signs of an early spring [Photo Diary/Walking Essay]

Hello. This is Mikiko🌿's Seasonal Flower Calendar.
I have a backlog of outing photos recently, so please let me share them.

In this article, I will introduce the charm of the spring flowers and haiku I encountered at Hanegi Park in Setagaya Ward.

The other day, I went out with my mother to Umegaoka Station on the Odakyu Line to see the plum blossoms.
I already wrote an article about that. But since I was so excited about my first Starbucks visit, I could only share two photos of the plum blossoms.

The weather was nice that day and the plum blossoms were beautiful, so I took over 20 photos.
This time, I will introduce 6 photos, including the plum blossoms. Please note that the photos have been edited to be brighter.

White plum blossoms in full bloom

In the plum grove, while people with impressive SLR cameras were snapping away, I just launched my smartphone camera and took quick shots.

The winter sky on a clear day is so beautifully blue, it really feels great.

As I walked along, plum blossoms of various colors appeared, so I felt rushed to take pictures of this and that.

Vibrant red plum blossoms

Even with the same plum blossoms, the impression changes as if they were different flowers when the color is different.

This one is out of focus because I took it while walking, but pink is just so cute.

Cute even when out of focus

I wonder if the buds that look like they are about to bloom were knocked off by the snow the other day.

Yellow wintersweet (robai), which looks very similar to plum blossoms, was also blooming.
It seems they bloom earlier than plum blossoms, but I was still able to see the flowers.

Yellow wintersweet

I will briefly explain about wintersweet (robai).

1. Yellow flowers that bloom in winter
   It is a deciduous shrub that blooms with translucent yellow flowers during the cold period of January to February when there are few other flowers. It is cherished as a flower that heralds the arrival of spring.

2. Origin of the name
   It is written as 'wax plum' (robai) because the petals have a texture like 'waxwork' and a glossy sheen, and because it blooms in the 12th month of the old lunar calendar (rogetsu).

3. A very lovely scent
   It has a very strong, sweet, and fruity fragrance. It is often planted in gardens and parks, and you may notice it is in bloom by the scent drifting on the breeze.

4. Not a member of the plum family
   Although it has the word "plum" in its name, it is a different species (Calycanthaceae) from the rose-family plum. It was given this name because the shape of the flower resembles a plum.

It is one of the representative flowers of winter that lets us feel spring a little earlier than usual.

Surrounded by plum blossoms, there was also a haiku monument that made me feel the spring.

A verse that feels like spring

"Come outside, the spring moon is so close you could touch it" is a famous haiku by Teijo Nakamura, a representative female haiku poet of the Taisho and Showa eras.

What is the meaning of the haiku?

"Come outside (instead of staying inside the house). The spring moon is shining so beautifully and so close that it feels like you could reach out and touch it."

It is a verse that conveys emotion directly.

Points of appeal of the haiku

• Characteristics of the spring moon: The spring moon does not have the sharp coldness of the winter moon; it is hazy and has a soft, moist texture. The poet expresses this "softness" and "lustrousness" as "so close you could touch it."

• Strong call to action: By using strong words close to the imperative form, "Come outside," the author's irrepressible sense of exhilaration and passionate feeling—that she cannot help but invite someone to see such beauty—is conveyed.

• Tactile expression: Originally, the moon is something far away, but by capturing it with the sense of touch, "to touch," this haiku possesses a unique vividness and beauty.

I see, it is a night haiku, but it captures the cheerful mood of spring, making it perfect for plum blossom viewing!

The tea room where my mother attended a tea ceremony several decades ago still remained.
Do you know what a "tsukubai" in a tea room is?

A tsukubai in a tea room

A tsukubai is, simply put, a "stone washbasin" for purifying your hands and mouth before entering the tea room.

The main features and roles are the following three points.

1. A place to purify the mind and body
   Before entering the sacred space of a tea room, rinsing your hands and mouth serves to wash away the impurities of the outside world and purify your mind and body.

2. The origin of the name comes from "crouching"
   Unlike a standard washbasin, it is installed at a very low position. It gets its name from the fact that the user must adopt a "tsukubau (to crawl or crouch)" posture.

3. Encouraging a humble heart
   The act of bowing down to use a low-positioned tsukubai also carries the spiritual meaning of "lowering oneself and entering the tea room with a humble heart."

I have never attended a tea ceremony, so the sight of a tsukubai in a garden was unusual to me.
I have heard the name, but this might be the first time I have seen the real thing.

It is a symbolic fixture that evokes the atmosphere of "wabi-sabi" in the tea ceremony.
It was a stone washbasin that gave off a slight Edo-period vibe.
The water is clear, so I wonder if it is still in active use today.

My mother hurt her leg and can no longer sit in the seiza position, so she can no longer attend tea ceremonies.
Even so, she happily talked about events from decades ago as if they had happened just last year.
I think it is a wonderful thing to have places of memoriesthat you want to visit, no matter how old you get.

I also felt that I want to see many places while I am still able to move around.
I am learning from my mother the secret to enjoying one's later years.

#WalkingDiary #FavoritePhotos #Photo #Camera #Walk #Travel #Trip #Diary #Essay #DailyLife #Memories #Flowers #Family #Life #Learning #Seasons #Nature #Record #Column #Living #Spring #Monologue