White lilies are blooming all over
At some point, white lilies began to bloom all over the slope by the side of the road.
Takasago lily it seems.
Takasago refers to Takasago, the country of Takasago, which is Taiwan. Therefore, it is also called the Takasago lily or Taiwan lily. It is written that this lily was introduced to Japan for horticultural purposes in 1924. Speaking of 1924, someone born in that year would be 97 years old this year. It seems to be a flower from around that time.
After the Takasago lily blooms, it produces many seeds. Since those seeds have light bags attached, they ride the wind and fly far away. As a result, it can sometimes look like a field of white lilies.
The flowers bloom from July to September.
Before the Takasago lily blooms, the orange-colored Tiger lily blooms. Tiger lilies multiply by bulbils. Black, seed-like bulbils form between the stems and leaves. Buds sprout from these and they increase. Since bulbils have weight, they do not fly very far. Tiger lilies bloom in clusters in one place. They do not spread and bloom all over like the Takasago lily.
The name Tiger lily is also quite something. Usually, "oni" (demon/ogre) is attached to large species of the same family, such as the giant water lily, but in the case of the tiger lily, it seems it was named for its red-demon-like color.
Speaking of lily names, there is the Ubayuri (giant lily) lily. It blooms with beautiful white flowers. It is an elegant flower that does not open wide like the Takasago lily, but finishes blooming while keeping its mouth slightly closed. Unlike ordinary lilies, this lily produces round leaves. Those leaves wither early, so only the flowers bloom. Around the time the flowers bloom, because there are "no leaves," it became known as Ubayuri (old woman lily) based on the pun that "no leaves" (ha ga nai) sounds like "no teeth" (ha ga nai), implying an old woman who has lost her teeth. What a terrible name.
The Japanese lily that is a relative of the Takasago lily is the Easter lily. It has leaves that are slightly thicker than those of the Takasago lily, but there is now something called the Shin-teppou lily which is a crossbreed with the Takasago lily. Because they are the same family, they crossbreed easily.
The Easter lily blooms from April to June.
In the Ogo region of Kobe, they are improving the breed of the Easter lily to create varieties like Miss Ogo and Princess Ogo, and are trying to connect this to regional revitalization.
In the Ogo region, Japan's native Easter lilies are cultivated in vinyl greenhouses, while the exotic Takasago lilies have become accustomed to the Japanese landscape in their wild form.
The Casablanca, known as the "Queen of Lilies," releases an intense fragrance from its large petals. This was a Japanese Gold-banded lily that was brought to Europe by plant hunters during the Meiji era. It was created through selective breeding in the Netherlands. Although its origin is Japan, no one thinks of the Casablanca as a Japanese flower.
When watching the Olympics, there are many times when I don't know which country an athlete is from. I feel like there are many Black athletes representing France. I find myself thinking, "Oh, this is France?" It is the same in Japan. When I think of famous athletes, how few of them are purely Japanese.
Commissioner of the Japan Sports Agency Koji Murofushi has the real name Alexander Koji Murofushi, and his mother is Romanian. Everyone accepts him as the Commissioner of the Japan Sports Agency without thinking anything of it.
No one thinks anything of Asuka Cambridge, who has a different skin color and runs the 100m, even though he doesn't look like a "flesh-colored" Japanese person. Rather, I feel sorry that he wasn't chosen as a representative for this Olympics. Even though he wasn't chosen as a representative, his commercial before the Olympics was cool. I suppose he had signed a commercial contract before the representatives were decided. His real name is Asuka Antonio Cambridge, and his father is Jamaican.
People of various skin colors are becoming representatives of Japan.
Flowers originating from various countries are blooming in the fields of Japan.
White Takasago lilies color the Japanese summer.