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

Spring is in full swing (2)

I'd like to show you Cherryblossoms again this time.

(1) Cherryblossom at Osaka Mint in Osaka city
About 130 kind of lovely rare cherryblossoms are  at best in Osaka Mint. So the Mint open gates for one week in this season. Many people visit to enjoy them. It's one of things Spring in Osaka district.
This year's flower that Osaka Mint chose is " 小手毬" (it means a small). Many flowers gather and bloom at the tips of twigs like a small ball.
The Osaka Mint is along Okawa-river. I put about  the cherry blossoms that were in full bloom along  Okawa-river on my last blog----Spring is in full swing (1)

Cherry blossom of green

The museum of Mint at night

This site close to the end

A lot of stalls along outside of the fence of the Mint line

(2) Cherryblossom at Buturyuji-temple in Nara                                 district                                            

This cherry tree is more than 900 years old and it's oldest and biggest in Nara district.  The circumference of the root of this tree is 7.7meters and its height is 16 meters. This temple grew the oldest tea that Kukai brought from Tang in nine century  .                   

           

 (3)  Cherryblossom at Hasedera-temple at Sakurai-city in Nara district

This temple is famous as "the Temple of Flower". Many kinds of flowers, for exsample cherryblossom, peony, hydrangea, etc entertain visitors for all seasons.

This temple was built in 686 and came on works of famouse writers till now. 

桜吹雪(petals of cherryblossom are flying down like snowstorm)

from inside of main hall

   (4)  又兵衛桜（Matabe-Cherry tree) at Uda-city in Nara district

We  call this cherry tree Matabe-Cherry tree after 後藤又兵衛（Goto Matabe). He was a samurai warrior around  17 century. He was a expert of a spear. But he died in battle of 大阪夏の陣（the battle between the Tokugawa and the Toyotomi). This cherry tree was adopted in the opening of NHK TV drama.

When I saw this tree I felt like a worrior that faces up to an enemy with spreading his arms wide. So it's a cherryblossom like a man, I wonder?

Then which cherryblossm is like a woman ? It's Ito-zakura in Kyoto-Imperial-Palace, I wonder? They wafted elegance like girls of aristocrat in Heian period. I put Ito-zakura in Kyoto-Imperial-Palace on my last blog.

Peach flowers were in full bloom back of it

This post is linked Our World Tuesday

Spring is in full swing (1)

I had a chance to see cherry blossom in three cities, Nara city,Osaka city, Kyoto city.

(1) Cherry blossom at Himuro-shrine in Nara city

This old cherry tree blooms the earliest in Nara park. It's  about 100  years old.

The drooping cherry at night

Another cherry tree

(2) Cherry blossom at Okawa-river in Osaka city

I walked  about 4 kilometers  from Tenma-bridge to around Sakuranomiya along the Okawa-river under a pink tunnel of the cherry blossom.
In the early morning few local were running or taking the dog for a walk.  In around noon a lot of people came to picnic under the cherry blossoms.  Many stalls starts to open.  They grill turban shells, squids or meats,etc. The smell from them was very appetizing.

A young  man was sitting on a large plastic mat spread ed  at the good point under the cherry blossom. Maybe he secures a place to have picnic dinner for his company from now.

  The water-bus  usually run in the river and takes us to Osaka-castle etc. During this season some boats also run.  I got on a small boat happened to come. But this didn't take me to Osaka-castle.

There is a line of Cherry blossom across the river

Osaka-castle  from the Genpachi-bridge

Nakanoshima-island from Tenma-bridge

              (3) Cherry blossom  in Kyoto city

The drooping cherry blossom (Ito-zakura) at Kyoto-Imperial Palace

    

Mikurumagaesi-cherry ( Emperor Gomizunoo in 17th century

made his vehicle retrace to check if  this cherry blossom has  single

petal or double-petal.  Mikuruma means vehicle and gaesi means retrace. The emperor  must had enjoyed to see the cherry blossom. This flower has  sweet smell.

                          

At Kyoto prefectural office

The name of this cherry tree is Kiritani. I like this flower.
At the garden of  a gardener  Sano Toemon

The House of Sano Toemon has been gardeners for generations.  He raises many kind of cherry trees he or ancestor collected. There were many kind of seed leaves or young trees of cherry  in his garden at the north- west of  Kyoto city.  He is also checking many cherry trees in some places as a Sakuramori (a  person who maintains or manages cherry trees.)