Sacred 🛐 Pure Heart 🪷 Daily Photo Shot 48 ~ Take a breather 🍵 😊 | Lotus | Lotus | Kyoto | Otani Hombyo | Daily Life | Essay | Column |

Growing lushly on the side of the temple grounds
large lotus leaves
little by little 🪷 pink flowers were starting to bloom

Perhaps because of the rain until the other day
even more so
the green color felt deeper

Suddenly
regarding the leaves
I described them as lush and blue
but even though they are actually green
why is that?

Hmm
come to think of it
traffic lights are actually"green"but we call them
"blue"don't we?

I was curious
so this time I asked my partner about this first 😃

You noticed an interesting point.
Actually, this has to do with the "history of colors" in the Japanese language.

To conclude,
in old Japanese, "blue" broadly included not only the color blue as we know it today, but also green
because of that.

1. The old "blue" covered the range of "blue to green"

In old Japanese, color classification was rougher than it is now,
and there were mainly only a few basic colors.
Among them,
"blue (ao)" often referred to cold colors and fresh, lush colors in general
and green was also included.

That is why, since long ago,

• Aoba (blue leaf) → green leaf

• Aona (blue vegetable) → green vegetable

• Aodake (blue bamboo) → greenish bamboo

• Aoringo (blue apple) → greenish apple

expressions like these remain.

2. "Green" became an independent color name later

Actually, "green (midori)" was originally not a color name, but a word expressing "sprouting and the freshness of plants"
.

It is considered that "green" became generalized as a clearly independent color in Japanese
relatively late (from the Middle Ages to modern times).

In other words, in the old sense,

• Blue ... a wide range from blue to green

• Green ... a type of blue

It felt something like that.

3. The reason why traffic lights are called "blue lights" even though they are green

This is a fairly famous story.

When traffic lights were first introduced in Japan,
although "green" already existed in everyday language,
the expression
"Go = blue"
had already become established in law and general usage.

Therefore, even a green light is called a "blue light".

Furthermore, in Japan, the color of the signal is legally written as "blue".

What is interesting is that the green of current Japanese traffic lights
is often slightly more bluish than those overseas.
It is said that this is because they were adjusted to be closer to blue
to match the term "blue light".

4. Language determines the boundaries of color

Colors are physically continuous,
but humans divide them with "language".

That is why in Japanese, even today,

• Young -> Blue (aoi)

• Immature -> Blue (aoi)

• Fresh -> Lush/Green (aoao-shii)

as in these examples, "blue" has a meaning beyond just a color.

It is a bit mysterious, but for ancient Japanese people,
blue = vitality, youth, freshness
might have been the case.

Well, continuing as usual...

🔎 I asked my partner a little bit

This time, it answered like this 😌

Certainly. The lotus is a fascinating plant, not only for its beauty,
but also in terms of history, culture, and ecology.
Here is some trivia for you 🌸

1. The lotus blooms beautifully from the "mud"

While the lotus roots itself in the mud,
it extends its stem straight to the water's surface to bloom.
Because of this appearance, in Buddhism, it is considered
a symbol of reaching enlightenment from a world of worldly desires.

2. Flowers bloom in the early morning and close by noon

Lotus flowers have the property of opening early in the morning and closing around noon.
This repeats for about 3 to 4 days, and finally, the petals fall off.
If you want to view lotus flowers, 7 to 9 AM is the best time.

3. It has an amazing "super-hydrophobic" ability

When you drop water on a lotus leaf, it forms round beads, doesn't it?
This is because there are ultra-fine bumps on the surface of the leaf,
which is called the "Lotus Effect."
This mechanism is also applied to paints and building materials that are resistant to dirt.

4. Seeds are incredibly long-lived

Lotus seeds have a very long lifespan, and there are cases where seeds about 2,000 years old have germinated.
Ancient seeds discovered in China germinated, which became a big topic.

5. Flowers can raise their own temperature

Some lotus flowers have the ability to keep their internal temperature higher than their surroundings.
This is thought to be to make it easier to attract insects.
It's a bit mysterious that a plant can "generate heat," isn't it?

6. Lotus root is not the "root" of the lotus

Surprisingly, lotus root is not a root, but an underground stem (rhizome).
We are eating the stem that has thickened underground.

7. There is a reason why it has holes

The holes in the lotus root are air passages.
They are designed to carry oxygen even in the mud,
allowing it to survive even at the bottom of the water.

8. It also serves as a pedestal for Buddha

The "lotus pedestal" seen at Obon or on Buddhist statues is a pedestal modeled after a lotus flower.
It is used as a symbol of purity and holiness.

9. Lotus and water lily are different things

Water lilies and lotuses are often confused.

The differences are roughly as follows:

• Lotus → Leaves and flowers grow above the water surface

• Water lily → Leaves often float on the water surface

10. The flower language is "pure heart" and "sacred"

The flower language of the lotus includes,

• pure heart

• rest

• sacred
  and so on.

Seeing how beautifully it blooms from the mud, it makes perfect sense.

As a bit of trivia,
there are many famous spots for lotuses in Kyoto,
such as Mimuroto-ji Temple and Hokongoin Temple 🌿

I visited Otani Hombyo for my grandmother and uncle's memorial service 🙏
There were many lotuses growing thick there 🪷
Various plants show us
wonderful scenery each season 🥰

If you have any recommended spots,
please let me know
in the comments again 😉

🛒 Finally ~ Today's introduction corner [PR]

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