Red Spider Lily お彼岸だったのね

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Red spider lily

Autumn has come and flowers in my neighborhood have been changing. I found these red spider lilies a few days ago and was surprised by their English name. Unlike the Japanese name, "red spider lily" represents the shape and color.

Their Japanese name is manjushage (曼殊沙華) or higan bana (彼岸花), both of which are related to Buddhism. Manjushage means flowers of the heavens. I learned for the first time that in Buddhism, there are several heavens. Higan bana means flowers (bana or hana) blooming during the higan period, i.e., the spring or autumnal equinox and the three days before and after the equinoxes (i.e., the seven days each), and during that period we are supposed to visit the graveyard of our ancestors. I didn't go to my ancestors' or my husband's ancestors' graveyard, but the flower gave me power and a chance to think about and pray for us and our ancestors.

秋の訪れとともに近所のお花も秋の花へ｡｡。ということで彼岸花の写真を撮りました。英語だと red spider lily。名は体を表していますね。ただそれに加えて、お彼岸が春分・秋分の日とその前後3日間の計7日間だということ、曼殊沙華が天の花、英語では flowers of heavens ともいい、仏教では天が複数あることを初めて知りました。お恥ずかしい｡｡。お墓参りには行けませんでしたが、家でご先祖様に想いを馳せ、感謝しました。