Wisteria in the wood of Kasuga

Spring brings lots of flowers. Now wisteria are in full bloom in Nara park.

There is the popular wisteria as "砂ずりの藤（sunazuri-no-fuji)" at the world heritage site, Kasuga-Grand-Shrine. Sunazuri-no-fuji means that the point of wisteria's clusters almost reach the grand. I heard the cluster's length were around 1.5m till last springs. But I couldn't see those long clusters on the day in their full bloom in this year. So I went there to see them after two days again but they had already started  withering. I wonder what's the matter with them? I'd like them to grow longer next year.
So I visited Man-yo-botanical garden(the garden of Kasuga-Grand-Shrine). Lots of wisteria flowers  welcomed me with sweet smell.

This is 砂ずりの藤. But they don't touch the ground.

Also wisteria is the crest of Kasuga-Grand-Shrine. Kasuga-Grand-Shrine was built in  8th century       by the Fujiwaras family and it's the family shrine of the Fujiwaras. This family was a key member of the aristocracy  till around Edo-period. The crest of the Fujiwara family was wisteria. I saw the crest on the lantern on the night of the burning of the dead grass on Mt.Wakakusa.(here's a link to my blog about burning the dead grass on Mt.Wakakusa)

This is the wisteria-crest of Kasuga-Grand-Shrine

Incidentally this is also a kind of  wisteria-crest of Kofukuji-temple. So this temple was built by the ”Fujiwara-family”

          At the garden of Kasuga-Grand-Shrine

Wisteria-Garden occupies a plot in the garden

 These are about to reach ground.

Wisteria is leguminous plant

Talking of wisteria, I remember some "Wisteria-maidens".
One is the "Wisteria-maiden" in Kabuki.(Japanese dance-drama)
A wisteria nymph takes the shape of a wisteria maiden and dances  in Kabuki.
There is  the pine  symbolize men on the stage and the wisteria symbolize women and a wisteria nymph dances, complaining she can't control a man's heart.
Please click here to see this dance on You-Tube.


This dancer is a famous Kabuki actor Tamasaburo Bando". Can you believe this dancer is a man? Kabuki is played by only men. So the role of woman is played by a Kabuki actor called "女形（onnagata or oyama)". They play the role of woman more femininely than women.


Next, I remember 押絵羽子板(osie-hagoita)-this is a kind of ornament that has a shape of a figure  made by cardboard and it is wrapped by beautiful silk cloth and is stuffed with cotton  to make relief and it is pasted on a rectangle board with handle. Many of  figures on the board are maidens from  kabuki.
When I was a small girl I used to decorate  羽子板（hagoita) like this at the alcove  on the new year.  And  mine was the  羽子板of  wisteria-maiden. I liked it.

a 羽子板of wisteria- maiden

  This is a wisteria made of porcelain   

This post is linked Our World Tuesday