Blue Blue Blue! Foxglove, Vinca and Forget-Me-Not ブルーブルーブルー！ 忘れな草、狐の手袋、日日草

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

Japan has not issued a state of emergency yet but strongly requested people to stay at home unless essential. I still can go out but only to a supermarket or convenience store to buy daily necessities. It's time to be super-resourceful, so I decided to go through the pictures I have taken recently and dug out them from my photo archive.

Forget-me-not 忘れな草

Foxglove* 狐の手袋*

Vinca 日日草

They were taken at different times, but I chose them for the same reason. Blue! The color always catches my attention and heals me....

Knowing that its another name is digitalis changed my perception of foxglove* a bit as I often saw the term "digitalis" in Agatha Christie's books as a murder weapon, but even if so, the foxglove flower's color and shape is distinctly beautiful. And of course, forget-me-not and vinca are both pretty.

Their colors and life force warmed me, telling me that they live their lives whatever happens to humans and that for me it's time to appreciate more what I have...

* Several days after the publication of the post, I got a comment saying that the flowers I said were foxgloves are not foxgloves but Muscari or grape hyacinths, so I have added this note. 

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忘れな草、狐の手袋*、そして日日草です。外出自粛要請が出る前に撮った写真です。お散歩できない、美術館に行けない、居酒屋に行けない｡｡｡ 「ない、ない」ばかりなので「ある」ものを見直してみました。

狐の手袋* がジギタリスと知ってびっくり。アガサ クリスティーの本で凶器として使われています。戦時中、確かクリスティーは看護師のような仕事をしていて、毒薬の知識があったそうです。でも花はこんなに美しいんですね。忘れな草と日日草は可憐です。

青い花々にパワーをもらいました。そして、今あるものの大切さを教えてもらいました。

* この記事を掲載して数日後、狐の袋と書いた花が本当はムスカリまたはグレープヒヤシンス（葡萄風信子）であるというコメントをいただきました。ここに訂正いたします。

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Deep Red Rose スターシップ ディープ ローズ？赤いバラ？

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

Japan has not yet declared a state of emergency, but strongly requested that the public stay at home unless necessary. That made me give up on weekend walks and since then I have been a little depressed and needing some solace. So when I found this red rose-like flower early morning while walking to a convenience store nearby, I stopped and stared it for a while. 

Deep red rose or starship deep rose?

Before leaving there, I found a tag next to it which says, "Starship deep rose," but at home, I only found images of "starship deep rose" on the internet all different from this, which made me wonder what the real name of this beautiful flower in blood red is......?

A red rose, an unmistakable expression of love, conveys deep emotions and can be used to convey respect, admiration or devotion, while a "deep" red rose can be used to convey heartfelt regret and sorrow.... Source: the flower expert

The language of flowers made me think again. This time about if I regret anything...

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週末歩くのが趣味だったのですが、最近は自粛で少々気が滅入り気味。そんな時、朝お買い物に行って見かけたのがこれです。

名札には「スターシップ ディープ ローズ」とあったのですが、ネットの画像とは似ても似つかず。深紅のバラでしょうか。いずれにせよ、その美しさにしばし立ち尽くしました。

赤いバラの花言葉は「愛」、「尊敬」、「敬慕」、「献身」等の深い感情だそうですが、「深紅のバラ」は「後悔」や「悲しみ」を表すとのこと。何か後悔していることがあったかしら｡｡｡ 考えさせられました。

赤いバラの日本の花言葉は「あなたを愛してます」、「愛情」、「美」、「情熱」、「熱烈な恋」です。

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Red Flowering Peach and Blue Sky 赤いハナモモと青い空

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

The red color was a stark but beautiful contrast to the blue sky, and this was a huge relief to me, who has been teleworking and had to give up on weekend walks since mid-February due to the coronavirus outbreak...

Red flowering peach

Red and blue contrast

This is a red flowering peach tree or in Japanese, hanamomo, which literally means "flower (hana) peach (momo)." In the Japanese language of flowers, this flower symbolizes "good-heartedness," "captured in love," "slave to love," and "I'm crazy about you." It took me a while to imagine a good-hearted woman being a slave to love.....

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ハナモモです。英語でもそのまま「flowering peach (tree)」。英名の翻訳でしょうか。花言葉は「気立ての良さ」、「恋の虜」、「恋の奴隷」、そして「あなたに夢中」。ムム？ 気立てのよい恋の奴隷？ 想像がつきません｡｡｡

外出自粛要請が出る前、散歩しているときに見かけました。コロナウィルスのせいで少々ふさいでいたのでとっても癒されました。

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Cherry Buds and Blossoms ちっちゃく満開です！

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

Although taken from different angles, these two photos are of the same two cherry flowers showing a big change during the eight days from March 17 to March 25.

March 25 - in bloom

March 17 - still in bud

It's fun to see something perfectly beautiful but it warmed and healed my heart to see these closed buds gradually opening themselves and showing their life force and utmost beauty.  

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マンションの前の桜のビフォーアフターです。満開の桜ももちろんきれいですが、赤ちゃんつぼみが育っていくのを見守る過程にはとっても癒されました☺。

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Inside and Outside of Tokyo National Museum 東京国立博物館の中と外

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

These are pictures of Tokyo National Museum. It was established in 1872. I often went there until the coronavirus outbreak. And the more often I went, the more I came to like it.....

Hyokeikan building during night 夜の表慶館

Poor Flowers! Primrose Jasmine and Field Speedwell 雲南黄梅とオオイヌノフグリはかわいそう😭

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

This is primrose jasmine I found while walking in the neighborhood.

Primrose jasmine 雲南黄梅

This vivid yellow color attracted my attention, but what interested me more is its two Japanese names. One is "雲南黄梅" meaning "Yunnan yellow plum" although this plant doesn't grow in the Yunnan province or is not even a plum. The other "黄梅もどき" is worse, meaning "quasi-yellow plum." How rude to call such a beautiful flower "QUASI-yellow plum"! But that's just the beginning. A comment on my another post about "flower name comparison" shocked me. 

In Japan, large field speedwell is called "large balls of a dog"!!

This is because Japan's indigenous field speedwell was named "balls of a dog" by Tomitaro Makino, a Japanese botanist, due to the similarity in the shapes of the plant fruit and the balls of a dog! This Japanese plant, however, went extinct in the late 19th century after the arrival of another field speedwell from abroad, which is larger than the Japanese one. So the "large" in the plant's name is not about "balls" or a "dog," but the plant itself, i.e., field speedwell which is larger than the original Japanese one!!😆 Source: hana's (in Japanese only)

Another terrible plant name in Japanese is "fart, sxxx vine." But this should make sense because it's skunkvine in English ...

In the Japanese language of flowers, primrose jasmine means "modest beauty," "anticipation" and "blessedness."

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春を感じさせる鮮やかな黄色。梅かと思って札を見たら「雲南黄梅」。「おっ、当たった」と思ったら、梅ではなく「黄梅もどき」とも呼ばれるモクセイ科の花でした。

梅でもない、しかも雲南省で咲いているわけでもない、挙句の果てに「黄梅もどき」。ひどい言われようではありませんか😡

でも世の中にはもっとひどい名前があることを私の花の師匠である rieo さんからのコメントで知りました。先ずはオオイヌノフグリ。ほんとひどい！（訳すのがためらわれました｡｡｡） 英語では「large field speedwell」という素敵な名前がついていますが、和名は読んでの通り。しかもこれ、植物学者の牧野富太郎氏による命名だそうです。出典：hana's

ヘクソカズラ（屁糞葛）は英語でも「skunkvine」と呼ばれるほど臭いそうなのでまっ仕方ないかな｡｡｡ というわけでかわいそうなのは、オオイヌノフグリと黄梅もどきに決定です！

雲南黄梅または黄梅もどきの花言葉は「控えめな美」、「期待」、「恩恵」です。

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Application of Boiling Frog Theory to Covid-19 コロナとゆでガエル理論

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

He doesn't know but is being boiled to death...

The boiling frog is a fable describing a frog being slowly boiled alive. The premise is that if a frog is put suddenly into boiling water, it will jump out, but if the frog is put in tepid water which is then brought to a boil slowly, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death. The story is often used as a metaphor for the inability or unwillingness of people to react to or be aware of sinister threats that arise gradually rather than suddenly. Source: Wikipedia 

--------------------

The Japanese government announced on March 20 to partially lift a ban on schools and public events it had imposed on February 25 due to the coronavirus outbreak. Now, municipals and event organizers are allowed to decide themselves whether to reopen schools and hold events.

The government based this decision on "their understanding" that generally, the situation has been successfully contained given "the low numbers of infections and deaths in Japan," i.e., 950 and 33 respectively as of March 20*. However, there are reasons behind these figures.
* Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan

First, the number of coronaviurs tests done so far in Japan is far less than other countries as shown in the table below. It's natural that Japan has fewer cases. The fewer tests, the fewer infections found.

Total COVID-tests performed by country

Country	No. of tests performed
Japan	14,901 (Mar 19)
South Korea	316,664 (Mar 20)
Italy	206,886 (Mar 20)
Germany	167,000 (Mar 15)
Australia	113,615 (Mar 20)
Canada	113,121 (Mar 20)
United States	103,945 (Mar 19)
United Kingdom	64,621 (Mar 19)
France	36,747 (Mar 15)

Source: Our World in Data

Secondly, Japan does not perform the tests for those who died of pneumonia. This means that some coronavirus deaths are not counted as such but are included in deaths of pneumonia unrelated to the virus.

However, nobody seems to care about this. Why? This is where the boiling frog theory comes into play.

The Japanese government has currently applied the boiling frog theory to the real world to avoid its responsibility. The administration has "requested" school closures and event cancellations but has not made any decisions itself, leaving the most important role to each municipality and event organizer. This also satisfies people's need for something they can use as an excuse to avoid their own responsibility to think themselves about how to protect their lives. Now, the government and public of Japan are all frogs in tepid water being brought to a boil like the wartime period in which all the Japanese people stopped thinking and did what they were told to do, resulting in many lives lost... 

Or Japan may believe in another theory. The kamikaze theory that divine wind would blow in hard times to save Japan as it did in 13th century by destroying the Mongolian fleet....

Japan is now getting to a normal life in lukewarm water. People are gathering at stadiums, theaters and amusement parks, and under cherry blossoms, which horrifies me...

For another application of the boiling frog theory, read this.

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コロナウィルスの感染者と死者の数、日本は少ないです。でもそれって当たり前。検査しなければ感染者は見つかりません。コロナ肺炎で死んだ人がコロナ以外の肺炎の死者に紛れてしまっている可能性も示唆されています。

で思ったんです。もしかして日本政府、「ゆでガエル理論」を実践している？

ゆでガエル理論とは「カエルはいきなり熱湯に入れると驚いて逃げ出すが、常温の水に入れて徐々に水温を上げていくと逃げ出すタイミングを失い、最後には死んでしまう」という理論。政府も国民も責任を伴う決断を避けるため、耳障りのいい情報を信じて、 のんびりオーバーシュート、そして医療崩壊に自ら向かっている気がしてなりません。

いやいや、もしかしたら神風を待っている？ 大勢の人が K-1、宝塚、としまえん、お花見に「のほほん」と集まっている様子を見るとぞっとします😱😠。

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Flower Name Comparison - Golden Bells & Others 花の日英比較 レンギョウ

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

I found these 2cm yellow flowers while walking in the neighborhood. The tag nearby said that they were forsythia or golden bells.

Forsythia or golden bells レンギョウ

Materials of Masks マスクの材料

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

Masks are not available in Japan, not only ordinary surgical masks but N95 or any other respirators. But necessity is the mother of invention and mothers are great. They are now making face masks for their children from cotton fabric.

However, cotton gauze has started running out, too, which inspired a coworker of mine to come up with a novel idea...... She's started to make face masks from her own bras...

There is one thing that worries her. The novel "masks" reveal her bra size....

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マスク不足が続いています。ガーゼ生地で作るお母さんの話もテレビで紹介されていましたがガーゼも売り切れとか。でも人ってクリエイティブなんです。

同僚が黒字に花柄のかわいいマスクをしていました。「おっ、おしゃれだな」と思っていたらそっと耳打ちされました。「ブラで作ったの｡｡｡」ワオー！

一つだけ問題が。サイズが分かってしまうことです｡｡｡

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Japanese Andromeda Makes Horses Drunk? 馬酔木

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

I often saw these small pink flowers, but didn't know what they were.

Japanese andromeda or lily of the valley bush
馬酔木

This is Japanese andromeda or Japanese lily of the valley. Its Japanese name is asebi  (馬酔木), which means "a tree which makes horses drunk." This is wrong as not alcohol but a toxin contained in the plant makes horses look drunk. Deer in the Nara Koen park in Nara prefecture don't eat this plant, resulting in too many Japanese andromeda trees left in the park.

Don't be fooled by their angelic appearance....

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馬酔木の花です。こんなに可憐なのに毒があるんですね。奈良公園では鹿が全然食べないので馬酔木ばかり残っているそうです。可愛い外見に騙されないようにしましょう！！

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My Old Buddy Pill Bugs! ダンゴムシ参上！

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

A few days ago, while walking in the neighborhood and taking photos of what I believe Spanish stonecrop, I found something small, round and dark brown lying on the ground.

Spanish stonecrop? 薄雪万年草？

A pill bug? ダンゴムシ？

Is it a pill bug!? I saw many many pill bugs (yikes!) when I was a kid, sometimes even touching them, but not anymore. Getting older and living in Tokyo has given me many things, e.g., friends, jobs, and opportunities to enjoy beautiful night views, and great paintings, pottery and sculptures.... But I may have lost many other things, like the ability to touch pill bugs... 

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お散歩中に不思議な草（薄雪万年草？）を見つけたので写真を撮っていたら、下に何かもごもごと｡｡｡ おっ、ダンゴムシではありませんか！ 子供の頃は全然平気だったのに今はもうダメです。

大人になり、東京に住んでたくさんのものを得ました。でも、ダンゴムシたちに出会う機会はめっきり減りました。ちょっと悲しいかな（笑）｡｡｡

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They Are Petunias Not Striped Morning Glories... しましまアサガオ、じゃなくてペチュニアでした｡｡｡

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

I found them in my neighborhood.

I thought first they were striped morning glories, but they are petunias
縞々のアサガオ、じゃくてペチュニアでした🙇

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, I have been working from home. I feel safe, but sometimes lonely. So I often take a walk in my neighborhood these days, but avoiding crowded places.

I avoid busy places because I sneeze and have a running nose. I know that that's because of my allergy to cedar pollen and another allergen which was not identified by an allergy test.

But I also know how it looks like... a walking woman, sneezing with a running nose... And I have no way to prove that I don't have the virus...

So I take a walk by myself where there are no or few people. It does not solve my loneliness issue completely, but sometimes brings cheerful things to me like these flowers!

p.s.
I first thought first that they were striped morning glories, but actually they are petunias. (Their leaf shapes are different...) I have revised the title and caption of the photo and apologize for the mistake!!🙇

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お散歩中に見つけました。最近ずっと在宅勤務で近所をうろうろすることが増えてます。ただ問題が一つ。鼻水とくしゃみです。花粉症だけでなく別のアレルギーもあるらしいのですが、このご時世、鼻ずるずるとくしゃみがどう見られるかはご承知の通りです｡｡｡

仕方ありません。というわけで人のいないところを散歩してます。そしてこのアサガオに出会いました！ ワオ―。たまにはいいこともあるんですね！

後記：
花の師匠である rieoさんから、これはアサガオではなくペチュニアであるというご指摘をいただきました。ここに訂正し、お詫び申し上げます🙇

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Cherry Blossoms and Fukushima 桜と「Fukushima」

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

On March 14, Japan has announced the start of cherry blossom season. It was record early, i.e., 12 days earlier than usual and 7 days earlier than last year. The picture below is of their buds I took in my neighborhood on the following day, March 15.

Cherry blossom buds in the neighborhood

Cherry blossoms are beautiful, but they also remind me of the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011 and the subsequent nuclear plant explosions in Fukushima.

At 2:46 p.m. on March 11, 2011, I was working at office. I walked home as public transportation stopped and that was the beginning of everything. After watching the footage on TV of tsunami washing away so many people and houses, I learned that nuclear plants exploded. I considered leaving Tokyo to be further away from Fukushima, but decided to stay. I had nowhere to go.

A week or two weeks later, I saw this cherry tree in full bloom in front of the apartment where I live on my way to work. The pink was amazing, but at the same time, it was surreal, showing a stark contrast with the reality... Aftershocks, another explosion and radioactive air pollution.

Nine years have passed since then, and now for me, cherry blossoms are not only the symbol of the beginning of spring, but also a reminder of Fukushima. Seeing cherry trees in bloom every spring makes me realize how blessed I am to be able to live without worrying about air, water or any form of contamination...

But I was naive. The Fukushima disaster is far from over. The tanks for contaminated water at the plants will be full in 2022, so the water in them has to be released into the ocean, but only after contaminants in it are removed. How to remove such substances and after that, seek permission for the release from other countries, however, has still not been decided yet or even discussed.

Japan is now tackling the spread of COVID-19, but the Fukushima crisis is not past. It is still imminent. Japan shouldn't forget about it.... 

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マンションの前に一本だけ桜の木が植えられています。写真はその木に付いたつぼみです。ただ、私にとって桜の木は単に満開を待ち望むだけのものではありません。

2011年3月11日、会社から歩いて家に戻った私は、津波、そして原発が爆発する映像を見て言葉を失いました。東京から脱出することも考えましたが、それはできず、1～2週間後、結局また出社し始めた時にマンションの前で出会ったのが、その頃満開だったこの木です。そして思いました。「この桜も放射能に汚染されているんだ｡｡｡」と。以来、桜を見る度、日常の有り難さを感じると同時に「Fukushima」についても考えるようになりました。

ところがつい先日、あるニュースで、2022年に汚染水のタンクが一杯になってしまうことを知りました。放射性物質を除去し、海に廃棄しなければならないとのこと。でも方法はまだ決まっていないそうです。

コロナウィルスの問題で今世界中が揺れています。でも「Fukushima」もまだ終わってはいません。忘れてはいけないと思いました。

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Purple Hyacinth Starts to Flower 紫ヒヤシンスの咲き始め？

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

I found these flowers ten days ago....

Ten days ago
What are they?

Then, a week later, I found the flowers in the photo below. Are the flowers in these two photos both hyacinths?

A week later
Hyacinth?

I am still not so sure, but they became more like hyacinth during that week, didn't they?

The purple hyacinth symbolizes a deep feeling of sadness and asking for forgiveness. A bit sad, but hyacinth or not, their vibrant color stood out beautifully.

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クルっと巻いた紫の花（一枚目の写真）に出会ったのは10日ほど前。でもその時は何の花か分かりませんでした。翌週に2枚目の花を見て思いました。えっ、ヒヤシンス？

こんなにきれいですが、紫のヒヤシンスの花言葉は「悲しみ」、「悲哀」、「初恋のひたむきさ」。ヒヤシンスの由来（ギリシャ神話）によるようです。でもキュートな形で色も鮮やか。春を感じました！

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Winter Daphnes in Japan are All Males! 白花沈丁花はオスだった！

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

They were so beautiful and fragrant that knowing that winter daphnes in Japan are almost all male plants surprised me.

Winter daphne, so fragrant!

Because they are males, they don't fruit. And all parts of this plant are poisonous. Poisonous with no women or kids. Winter daphnes in Japan may be stronger than they appear but feel lonely....

Furthermore, these white parts which look like petals are actually sepals. They don't have petals. So you know what I am going to say - don't be fooled by their innocent appearance... 

In the language of flowers, winter daphne symbolizes "sweets to the sweet" and "painting the lily." I had not heard of these, so I made further research and found that "sweets to the sweet" is a farewell from Gertrude to Ophelia in Hamlet.

In the Japanese language of flowers, winter daphne means "glory" and "immortality."

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白花沈丁花です。こんなに可憐なのに日本で見かけるものはほぼオス株とのこと。人、じゃなくて植物は見かけによりません。英語の花言葉は「sweets to the sweet」と「painting the lily」。 調べてみたら下のような意味でした。

sweets to the sweet　美しい花を美しい乙女に。ハムレットのオフィーリアの葬儀で、ガートルード王妃がつぶやく言葉。（出典：赤毛のアンに隠されたシェークスピア）

painting the lily　既に完全であるところに不必要な追加をすること。

勉強になりました。沈丁花は有毒です。周りにメスも子供もいない。最初と印象が変わりました。ちなみに日本での花言葉は「栄光」と「不死、不滅」。こっちの方がまだしっくりくるかもしれません。

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They Are Not Cherry Blossoms.... 桜フライングしちゃいました｡｡｡

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

This year, the cherry blossom season will start record early, mid-March in Tokyo, two weeks earlier than usual. So yesterday I went out to see how they were and found these. I made it!! I found cherry blossoms!!... didn't I?

Cherry plum ベニバスモモ

Crepe Myrtle is Slippery...? サルスベリの矛盾

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

They are crepe myrtle berries I found in the neighborhood. So cute, aren't they! But that's not only that. The crepe myrtle has two names in Japanese - "monkeys slip (saru suberi)" because of its slippery bark, on which even monkeys slip, and "red for one hundred days (hyaku jitsu ko)" as crepe myrtle flowers bloom for a long period of time.

Crepe myrtle, "monkeys slip" or
"red for a hundred days"  サルスベリ

According to Flower Meanings, the crepe myrtle flower means;
- Prosperity,
- Good luck,
- Chastity,
- Good luck in love and marriage and
- Marital fidelity.

But here in Japan, it means:

- Eloquence,
- Charm and
- Carelessness.

They seem completely different... Which should I believe?

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サルスベリの実です。いつも見ていましたが全く知りませんでした。サルスベリってサルも滑るぐらい幹がつるつるだからそういう名になったとのこと。別名の百日紅は「100日も赤い花が続く」ことに由来しているそうです。

ちなみに花言葉、海外と日本で全く違います。

海外：繁栄、幸運、純潔、恋愛運、結婚運、貞節
日本：雄弁、愛嬌、不用意

うーん。どっちを信じればいいんだ｡｡｡

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Rhododendrons Are Dangerous...? シャクナゲは危険？

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

I saw rhododendrons in my neighborhood. Some were flowering while others still in the bud, but their vivid pink red stood out!

Early flowering rhododendron シャクナゲ
Pollen and nectar are toxic

Rhododendron in the bud まだつぼみ

Rhododendrons are classified as a subgroup of azaleas in Japan, but I don't see anything in common between the two. Rather rhododendrons look like peonies, don't they?

Peony in pink red 牡丹
Roots are used for Chinese herbal medicines

The rhododendron symbolizes "beware" and "I am dangerous." This may be because some rhododendrons are poisonous - their pollen and nectar contains a toxin called grayanotoxin. That's interesting because the roots of red peonies are used for traditional Chinese herbal medicines.

Don't be deceived by women like rhododendrons....

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散歩中に見かけたシャクナゲ（石楠花）、ツツジ科の花だそうです。こんなにきれいなのに葉には毒が含まれています。一方、よく似た名前のシャクヤク（芍薬）の根っこは漢方に使われます。シャクナゲとシャクヤク、名前は似てますが全然違うんですね。

ちなみに「シャクナゲ」も「シャクヤク」も牡丹に似てますが、シャクナゲは英語で「rhododendron（長い！）」、シャクヤクと牡丹は両方とも「peony」で、日本のようには区別されていません。

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Twelve Divine General Statue, Coronavirus and English 十二神将立像とコロナと英語

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

Doesn't it look like dancing Michael Jackson, saying "Aow!"? Why is his left hand put there? This is Anila or the sheep general, one of the twelve divine generals or protective deities of the Medicine Buddha, at Tokyo National Museum. It was carved from wood in the 13th century in Japan.

Anila or the sheep general
13th century, Joruriji temple
十二神将立像 浄瑠璃寺 

The answer to these questions is simple. According to the statue's exhibition tag in English, this general of sheep, one of the Japanese zodiac signs, originally held a long weapon... Okay, I got it. That makes sense... But why isn't such important information in the Japanese tag?

Its Japanese tag says where this statue is held (Joruriji temple, Kyoto) and who carved it (a member of the workshop of Unkei [1150-1223], one of the most famous Japanese sculptors in the Kamakura period), but has no mention of the missing long weapon.

This reminds me of the current situation in Japan where nobody has answered to a more urgent and important question! Who's been stopping private labs from doing new coronavirus tests??? It's also like after the explosion of Fukushima nuclear plants following the March 11, 2011 quake. Politicians and bureaucrats were so evasive that I had to watch BBC news programs.

And this is why Japanese people need to learn English...

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東京国立博物館の十二神将立像の中の未神です。左手が変じゃないですか、マイケルジャクソンでもないのに｡｡｡ 説明書きには何もありません。ところが英語の説明にはちゃんと書いてあるんです。もともと長い武器を持っていた（This figure originally held a long weapon...）と｡｡ じゃあ、何で日本語でもそう書いてくれないのでしょう。

肝心な情報が抜けている。これって似てません、民間の検査機関でコロナウィルスの検査ができない理由を政府が説明してくれない現象に。東日本大震災で原発が爆発した時もそうでした。奥歯に物が挟まったような言い方しかしない｡｡｡ だからBBCをずっと見てました。

だから日本人、英語、勉強しなくちゃいけないんです。

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How Coronavirus Affects Me - No.2 コロナの影響 No.2

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

Coronavirus has been affecting our daily lives. In my case, I have been teleworking for the last three weeks, resulting in me doing at least 50 squats a day.

Another change I've been thinking about is SELF HAIR CUTTING, so I got thinning scissors!!

Thinning scissors I got for self hair cutting
セルフカットのために買ったすきバサミ

So far, I have cut my sides only, but in a week or two I will have to cut the hair in the back😱 Or should I think of it as an opportunity to grow my hair for the first time in ten years? I will need to make the decision at the latest in two weeks.....

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ネットですきバサミを買いました。コロナが怖くて美容院に行けないからです。サイドは自分で切れたのですが、後ろもできるのでしょうか😱｡｡｡ 既にボーボーなので猶予期間は2週間。2週間後にはセルフカットに挑戦しているかもしれません（笑）！

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Gourds Inspire Us - Jingdezhen Ware, Pickles, and Naoya Shiga 瓢箪パワー！ 景徳鎮、奈良漬け、志賀直哉

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

A horse coming out of a gourd (瓢箪から駒): A Japanese saying which means that unexpected things often happen.....
---------------------------------------------------------

This is Jingdezhen wucai or five-color painted vase in overglaze enamel and gold in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty. It's over 60cm high and gourd-shaped.

Gourd-shaped Jingdezhen wucai vase
in overglaze enamel and gold, 16th century
Ming dynasty 五彩金襴手瓢形大瓶

Gourds must have inspired not only potters, but pickle makers.... The below on a white plate are pickles of gourds I bought at Imanishi Honten, a more than 150-year old pickle store in Nara prefecture. (Read this for details.)

Narazuke pickles of gourds
奈良今西本店の瓢箪の奈良漬け

Gourds have been said to bring luck and must have also inspired Naoya Shiga, a famous Japanese author to write "Seibei and his gourds," a short story about a 12-year-old boy named Seibei, who collected gourds to make water/sake containers from them, and his father, who disapproved of this hobby and ultimately destroyed all his gourds.

This short story then led me to finding an interesting website, which says, "....With the help of this story, the author wants to say the responsibilities of parents for their children..." Wow.. That's interesting, but I disagree with this.

Seibei's father sold all the gourds but one and this surviving one was bought by a gourd container collector for, in today's terms, more than 10,000 dollars. I believe that the author wanted to write about the inability of adults to understand the real value of things in an ironic manner (since nobody, including Seibei, knows this happy? ending). Shiga is known for his conflict with his father in his real life. 

Anyway, a gourd-shaped vase at Tokyo National Museum led to Narazuke gourd pickles, then to "Seibei and his gourds," and ultimately to this interesting website... The occurrence of these unexpected things is literally "A horse coming out of a gourd (瓢箪から駒)"!!

For another two Jingdezhen wares in overglaze enamel and gold, read this!

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景徳鎮の「五彩金襴手瓢形大瓶」。60センチ以上あります。大きいです。そして瓢箪形です。瓢箪と言えば、以前もご紹介した奈良の今西本店の瓢箪の奈良漬け。可愛いです。瓢箪は福を呼ぶと言われているんですね。知りませんでした。

そういえば志賀直哉も「清兵衛と瓢箪」という短編を書いています。瓢箪に熱中する12歳の少年とそれに反対で最後は全部壊してしまう父親の様子を淡々と描いているのですが、ちょっと面白いものを見つけました。

ある英語サイトに「著者（志賀直哉（ナルジマ注））は子供に対する親の責任を描きたかったのだろう（ナルジマ訳）」とあったのです。でもそれは違うと思います｡｡｡ というのも、一つだけ壊されなかった瓢箪があるのですが、それが現在の価値でいうところの120万円で好事家に売れるんです。父親との葛藤を抱えていた志賀が、ものの本当の価値を理解しない大人への皮肉を描いたものだと私は理解しています｡｡｡ 文学作品の解釈って難しいですね。

東京国立博物館の「瓢箪形の大瓶」から「瓢箪の奈良漬け」、そして「清兵衛と瓢箪」そしてこのサイトとの出会い。正に「瓢箪から駒」でした！

同じく景徳鎮の「五彩金襴手水注」と「三彩金襴手龍濤水注」をご覧になりたい方はこちらをどうぞ！

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Jingdezhen Yellow vs. Tulip Yellow 景徳鎮の黄色はチューリップの黄色？

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

This bright yellow of these Jingdezhen wares was created from yellow glazes....

Jingdezhen dish in shape of lotus, Qing dynasty, Yongzheng era (1723-1735) 
黄釉蓮花形皿

How Coronavirus Affects Me - I'm Being Watched.... コロナの影響

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

A few days ago I was invited to a meeting. The meeting was between me and my coworkers in Japan and those in another country.

Five minutes before the meeting started, I sat before my computer and was about to click "JOIN THE MEETING" when realizing the possibility that it might be held on video.... I dashed to the washroom to put makeup on!! I was working from HOME!!

Gods Decides Color of Porcelain 白茶青

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

These dishes are similar in the size, shape and origin, but their colors are different because of different glazes and firing processes as follows:

White (Picture 1)   =   White glaze + reduction firing*

Brown (Picture 2)  =   Celadon glaze + oxidation firing*

Blue (Picture 3)     =   Celadon glaze + reduction firing*

* See below for details.

1. White dish with lotus flowers, Northern Song dynasty, 11th-12th century, China
白磁刻花蓮花文皿