Persian Buttercup (Ranunculus Asiaticus) ラナンキュラス

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Persian buttercups (Ranunculus asiaticus) are native to Europe and West Asia but can be found in many places in Japan. The buttercup symbolizes "radiant charm," "attractiveness," and "dazzling beauty" and this is understandable given their layered petal details, which makes the bloom so gorgeous.

Ranunculus was originally yellow and single-flowered, but another variety of ranunculi was developed to meet people's demand for flowers which look like roses but bloom before roses. So, this multi-layered cultivar of ranunculus is a substitute for roses, but now the substitute is equal to or even more beautiful than the original. 

2026/1/18

Euonymus Japonicus (Japanese Spindle) 柾（マサキ）

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Evergreen spindle or Japanese spindle (Euonymus japonicus) is native to Japan, China and Korea and can be found across Japan. The plant produces greenish white flowers (which I've never seen) from May to June and fruits from October to January. The split red fruits show uniquely shaped bright orange seeds. The fruits resemble those of Pittosporum tobira (Japanese cheesewood), but their color (a bit orangish), shape (a bit bigger), and way of hanging is different from tobira. Japanese spindle is toxic in its entirety, including the fruits.

2023/1/14

2026/1/17

"Thousand-Flowered" Pink, Red, and White Japanese Camellias 千重咲きのピンク、赤、白の椿

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Japanese camellia (Camellia japonica) has many cultivars and this is one of them, "thousand flowered" Japanese camellias. You don't see stamens because their stamens (and pistils) have disappeared or degenerated, or changed into petals.  

The fact that these camellias have no stamens gave rise to one question for me, i.e. how a thousand flowered camellia dies. Will it fall off in its entirety like other usual Japanese camellias even though it has no stamens? The question occurred to me because the stamens of Japanese camellias (more specifically, the filament part) connect with petals, which allows their unique way of dying as opposed to sasanqua camellias, which die with petals falling off one by one without such connection. The answer is in the 7th photo. Even without stamens, a thousand flowered Japanese camellia falls off in its entirety. A Japanese camellia is a Japanese camellia whether it has stamens or not.  

2026/1/17

2025/2/19

2025/2/19

2025/2/19

White Prunus Mume (White Plum Blossoms) 白梅

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Chinese plum/Japanese apricot trees (Prunus mume) are native to China and came to Japan about 1,500 years ago. Since then, Chinese plum trees have been cherished (e.g., blossoms viewed and fruits eaten) by Japanese people. Today, a symbol of spring in Japan is cherry blossoms but during the Nara period (710 to 794), it was definitely Prunus mume blossoms as supported by the fact that Mannyōshū (i.e., the oldest extant collection of Japanese poetry compiled during the Nara period) includes more poems about plum blossoms than those about cherry blossoms. 

Scientifically, there is (or was) no white Prunus mume trees, but red Prunus mume trees have white flowers when they cannot produce enough anthocyanins to make flowers red (or pink). In other words, all the trees in this post tried to turn their flower color from white to pink (or even red) first, but they weren't able to produce enough anthocyanins, ending up creating white flowers. This explains why and how some plum trees have both red (pink) and white flowers. 

2022/2/15

2022/2/15

Wintersweet (Chimonanthus Praecox F. Concolor) ソシンロウバイ（蘇秦蝋梅）

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These are wintersweet blossoms. The plant is native to China and came to Japan at the beginning of the Edo period (1603 to 1868). Wintersweet blooms in January and February and of several types, you would mostly see Chimonanthus praecox ‘Luteus’/Chimonanthus praecox f. concolor in Tokyo. The blossoms of this type are yellow in their entirety while another type, Chimonanthus praecox 'Luteus,' has a purple red inner part. Despite their (i.e., both types) beauty, all parts of the wintersweet are toxic. 

2025/1/12

2025/1/12

2025/1/12

2025/1/12

2025/1/12

Daffodil (Narcissus) スイセン（水仙）

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Daffodils (Narcissus) are native to southern Europe and North Africa and came to Japan in the Heian (794-1185) or the Kamakura period (1185-1333) through China and have been cherished in Japan since then. Their Japanese name in Chinese characters is "suisen," the same as their Chinese name, which translates into "legendary water spirit" after their innocent, pure, and immortal appearance and growth by the water. 

There are various types of daffodils (e.g., yellow daffodils and double-flowered daffodils) and their flowering season differs. Narcissus tazetta var. chinensis  (i.e., Japanese daffodils) flowers from December to February while the European ones from February to April. 

2026/1/10

2026/1/10

2024/2/2

Buddhism Terms are Puzzling - "Other Power" vs. "Own Power" 自力 vs. 他力

I'm from a Buddhist family, so technically I'm a Buddhist, specifically from the Jodo Shinshu or True Pure Land school. This school (hereinafter "the True Pure Land school") was founded by Shinran (1173-1263) during the Kamakura period (late 12th century to 1333) and is the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan. The school teaches that enlightenment can be realized only through "tariki," which literally translates into "other power."  

Kenilworth Ivy (Cymbalaria Muralis) ツタバウンラン（蔦葉海蘭）

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The Kenilworth ivy (Cymbalaria muralis) is native to Europe and came to Japan at the beginning of the Taisho period (1912-1926). Now, the plant can be found across Japan. The plant is said to flower from spring to autumn but I've seen it flower in winter for the last couple of years. Despite its innocent appearance, the Kenilworth ivy is very hardy. Many websites in Japan deal with how to remove the plant. The Kenilworth ivy is known to produce purple flowers but it produces white flowers, too.

2026/1/8

2026/1/8

Bermuda Buttercup (Oxalis Pes-Caprae) オオキバナカタバミ（大黄花酢漿草）

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The bright yellow caught my eye. Bermuda buttercups (Oxalis pes-caprae) are native to South Africa but can be found across Japan. The oxalis usually blooms from March to May but I think it flowers almost throughout the year or am I mistaken? The Bermuda buttercup's leaves have purple spots, which is a key to distinguishing them from other oxalises. They're hardy and flower nearly throughout the year, which makes me think of growing them myself.  

2021/4/10

2025/1/4

Chinese Cucumber and Pumpkin Beetle 黄烏瓜と黒瓜葉虫

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Chinese cucumbers (Trichosanthes kirilowii) are native to China and Japan. They're dioecious, producing white "hairy" flowers from June to September and fruits from August to October. The fruits are green at first and then turn yellow. They're edible but not tasty. Someone says on the internet that he would never eat it unless famine comes😆. It's not so difficult to find Chinese cucumber flowers in Tokyo but not so when it comes to the fruits. It seems Chinese cucumbers are removed when the flower season is over.     

When you see the flowers, you would likely see pumpkin beetles (Aulacophora nigripennis), too. Pumpkin beetles are harmful but their tininess, agility and color contrast between orange and black never fails to bring me a smile.  

2022/6/28

2024/6/12

Japanese Taj Mahal and Family War 本願寺は父子戦争の結果

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I've never been to the Taj Mahal but felt as if I had been there.

This is Tsukiji Hongwanji temple (whose website is only in Japanese) in Tsukiji Tokyo. It was first built in 1617 but rebuilt in 1934 after being burnt down in a fire in 1923 based on the design by Chuta Ito, a Japanese architect who studied Indian architecture. So, no wonder that I was reminded of the Taj Mahal when looking at this Japanese temple.

Tsukiji Hongwanji temple is one of more than 10,000 temples across Japan of the Jodo Shin shu school, the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan with Nishi Hongwanji temple in Kyoto as the head temple.

Kyoto has several Hongwanji temples including the two most famous ones, i.e., Nishi Hongwanji temple (the head temple) and Higashi Hongwanji temple, and they have an interesting background as outlined in the table below the pictures of Tsukiji Hongwanji temple. The term "nishi" means west while "higashi" east.

2020/1/17 Japanese Taj Mahal? タージマハル？