The terraced paddy field in Asuka

What scenes are included in Japanese original scene?
One of them is the  terraced paddy field, I think.
 Rice has been grown as the staple food  at many parts of Japan from the remote past.

Terraced paddy field

Rice planting was already over

Rice field expanded in plains. But  villagers don't have large plains have cultivated the side of the mountains like the steps and irrigated them and made rice paddies. We can see the beauty as the fruit of  their pains in the rice terraced field. There is good relationship between nature and human there.

Misty rice terraced field.   It was rain.

Here, the rice terraced field in Asuka village( 明日香村）I visited is about one hour from Nara city by train to south. Since it's rainy season now, greens were soft and water for irrigation run fast ,plenty. The  rice planting was over,so  young green leaves of rice were depicting lots of beautiful  lines in the paddy field with plenty water. When farmers plant sprouts of rice  by their hands one by one not by machines , these beautiful lines are made, I heard.
 Something moved and  hid under the mud hurriedly as often as I stepped on the ridge.  Fixing in the mud, I found they were tadpoles.

Farmers also  have to do many things from now  to get rice in Autumn. Mowing, management of water,protecting from harmful insects or typhoons etc. I don't know well about farmer's work but thank you farmers. I like new rice in autumn very much.

Sunflowers beside the terraced paddy field

                       

Thistle at the ridge

I don't know the  name of this flower

There is an ancient tomb near there. It takes about 20minutes walk from this  rice terraced field.
This tomb is said to be the tomb of Sogano Umako(蘇我馬子）. He was in the center of politics for 54years in Asuka period( A.D.593~A.D.694) but since his grandson was assassinated in the coupdetat, this family was getting overthrown.
So here Asuka village is  around a capital in those days. Many remains  scatter around there.

The tomb of Sogano-Umako

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



                    At the garden in our house

(click pictures to enlarge)



peach

Greens and the tunnels along the Muko-river

A part of Japan Railroadways Fukuchiyama-line(福知山線） was changed from the riverside route to the mountain route for electrification and double-track before 26 years .
The riverside route between 武田尾駅(Takedao-station)　and 生瀬駅（Namase-station)　that is not used is still remained now.
The rail was removed but the sleepers continue for 7kilometers along the Muko-river. It has 5tunnels and a railroad bridge on the Muko-river.
There was a signboard written "Keep out. Even if you have an accidents, we JR Western Japan will not be responsible to you" at the entrance. But we dared to step into the old train line site.

Sleepers continue

The exit of a tunnel

The Muko-river

A big stone and azalea

sleepers run into green

A railroad bridge leads to a tunnel

Rusty iron matches greens

There was as black as pitch inside the tunnels. The tunnels were long (one of them was 300meters long)and curved. We couldn't see even one meter ahead. Only a flashlight was reliable for us. I was terrified of that darkness. It's like a test of our guts. I heard sounds something dripping down at around the center of the tunnel. Happily nothing appeared there.

She brings a flashlight

When I was walking on the sleepers I remembered the movie"Stand by me"by Stephen King. Though I passed my youth long long ago.

Greens was so beautiful. But here is only about 30 kilometers north of Osaka city.

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