Plants and Flowers in Tokyo by Kei Narujima　　東京の草花

New Year Food - Sweet Black Soybeans (Kuromame) Made With Sumikko Gurashi　黒豆とすみっコぐらし

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

What do you think this is?

Not only cawaii but functional! 可愛いだけでなく実用的！

Red Bougainvillea At December End　年末の赤いブーゲンビリア

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

I wrote about bougainvillea before, but that was pink. This time I found red ones in my neighborhood.

Red bougainvillea 赤いブーゲンビリア

Oxalis (Yellow Wood Sorrel)　黄色のオキザリス（カタバミ）

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

All flowers are gone but this lemon yellow one. This is oxalis or commonly yellow wood sorrel.

Oxalis オキザリス

Commonly yellow wood sorrel カタバミ属です

Very hardy! たくましいです！

The lemon yellow color is so bright that it stands out everywhere. But it's not the only reason I like this flower. Oxalis generally sleeps (i.e., closes) early morning, so finding it awake (i.e., open) during daytime made me smile and happy😊

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オキザリス（カタバミ）です。ほとんど花が咲いていない中、レモンイエローが目立ちます。でもこの花を好きなのはそれだけが理由ではありません。朝お散歩中は寝てる（閉じてる）んです。だからお昼に起きて（開いて）いるのを見てうれしくなっちゃったんです😊

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Red, Yellow, and Orange Leaves in Winter　冬の紅葉

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

The autumn leaf season is over, but still such colorful leaves were/are all around my house and in Tokyo National Museum. I usually have no hesitation to throw away and delete things, including photos, unlike my husband, who is a hoarder😂, but these leaves are so beautiful that I couldn't delete these photos. This is the last post about 2020 autumn leaves!😊

December 12 - Neighborhood 12月12日 - 近所

Long Walk from Zojoji Temple to Atago Jinja Shrine😊　増上寺から愛宕神社まで散歩しました😊

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

These are 3cm tall dolls of a cow (left) and an ox (right) I bought at Zojoji temple.

I went to the temple to do "hatsumode," a long-standing Japanese tradition of visiting temples or shrines during the New Year period (generally from January 1 to 3) to pray for good luck for the new year. As almost every Japanese goes to at least one temple/shrine, these sacred places across the country are very crowded during that three-day period. So instead of paying a hatsumode visit during the period, I went to Zojoji temple before the New Year to avoid people, and found these cawaii dolls of a cow (i.e., the white one🐄) and an ox (i.e., the brown one🐂) sold by the temple to welcome the New Year or the Year of the Ox/Cow.

Wooden dolls of cow and ox I bought at Zojoji temple 増上寺で買った雌牛と雄牛の人形

Year of the Ox/Cow🐂🐄 Is Coming!　丑ツリー🐂🐄！

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

These are New Year trees of ox/cow to welcome New Year 2021 or the Year of the Ox🐂Cow🐄. I wanted to take photos of their Christmas trees, i.e., trees with oxen and cows in Santa costumes, but I couldn't because I've been working from home and therefore haven't been to the office since February. These trees are near my office, and when I went there on December 25, the oxen and cows had already taken off Christmas costumes😭

2021 is the Year of Ox/Cow 来年は丑年

Netsuke - Wind and Thunder Gods, Masks, and Blowfish🐡　根付 - 風神雷神、面、フグ🐡

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

I've written many posts about netsuke. According to Britannica, netsuke is an ornamental togglelike piece, usually of carved ivory, used to attach a medicine box, pipe, or tobacco pouch to the obi (sash) of a Japanese man’s traditional dress.

Because of such functionality, netsuke needs to be very small (i.e., about 3cm) and therefore is very miniature and delicate like the three netsuke below on show at Tokyo National Museum.

Netsuke in the shape of Wind and Thunder Gods, 19th century
風神雷神牙彫根付 19世紀

Thousand-Armed Bodhisattva Kannon and Hattifatteners?　千手観音菩薩坐像とニョロニョロ？

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I'm very disrespectful. I know that. But to me, the god's arms look like Hattifatteners...

Thousand-armed bodhisattva kannon, 14th century 千手観音菩薩坐像 14世紀

A Meeting to Discuss "Kim Ji-Young: Born 1982"　「82年生まれ、キム・ジョン」について話しました！

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

I attended a meeting to discuss "Kim Ji-young: Born 1982," a million selling book by Cho Nam-joo published in 2016, and a film based on the novel, released in 2019.

"Things Left Unsaid" Should Be Said! - Covid-19 Spreads By Airborne Transmission　コロナは空気感染します！！　

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

What irritates me most about translation is evasiveness, and the term that has been irritating me most recently is "airborne" because in Japan "airborne" has not been translated in the context of Covid-19.

A Japanese Hoarder...　捨てられない男｡｡｡

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

My husband is a bookworm, so his room is full of books, which is okay, but he also has a lot of things in his room, like envelopes, receipts, letters, cardboard boxes, etc., which no longer are necessary.

Earthquake Clouds, Rainbow, Moon　地震雲、虹、月

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

What's this? I took these pictures early morning a few days ago...

"Umai bo," small, puffed, corn snack? うまい棒？

Or nine tails of a fox? 九尾の狐？

Some say that these are earthquake clouds, i.e., clouds predicting imminent earthquakes, while others are against the claim saying there is little support for it. I don't know which is true but these clouds were so beautiful that I decided to include other beautiful photos I took before of the rainbow, moon and clouds...

Social Distancing Reduces Family Stress　ソーシャルディスタンスでストレス減らしました｡｡｡

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

You may want to believe that your parents are like you, but I know for a fact that's not necessarily true...

Is the Daffodil Chinese or Japanese?　中国水仙？日本水仙？

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

Three daffodil flowers were in bloom early morning in early December....

Narcissus tazetta var. chinensis 日本水仙

Boiled Azuki Beans With No Sugar　小豆を砂糖なしで茹でました！

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

If I had to say something good about Covid-19, it would be working from home because WFH has given me time to try recipes that take a long time to cook (e.g., boiling, simmering and stewing), which has widened the variety of foods I eat. I've tried dates, goji berries, black soybeans, cacao nibs, etc., so far, and this time azuki beans!!

Azuki beans before boiling 茹でる前

Autumn Leaves - Red Gives Me Strength!　紅葉 - 赤ってパワフル！

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

These days I can't help but take photos of autumn leaves, especially red ones. Because I need RED😝!

Red stands out 赤が際立つ

"Lemon" or "Remon"😅　檸檬の「レ」は「L」？「R」？😅

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

I didn't know that lemons fruit in winter.

Lemon tree レモン

Walking at Night in Tokyo　夜のお散歩

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

I don't eat out these days but still go to a few restaurants to enjoy what I can't make at home, and one such food is soba, i.e., noodles made from buckwheat flour. I go to a soba restaurant "Uchida" once a month. I arrive there at 5 p.m. on Saturday and leave there at around 6:30 p.m. before other customers come. There is another thing I like about this restaurant, that is, walking my way back home.

Chuo Ohashi bridge from Tsukuda Ohashi bridge 佃大橋から中央大橋を望む

Dried Date with Peanut Butter and Cacao Nibs　棗とピーナツバターとカカオニブ

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

I learned about this dried date dessert from ammyg68, a (self proclaimed) chocolate fanatic!! It's easy to make, putting an "appropriate" amount of peanut butter on a dried date with a sprinkle of cacao nibs.

I said "appropriate" because look at the plate below!! This is my husband's "revised" recipe! I was worried about if this could happen even before buying peanut butter and cacao nibs for this.

Wroooonnng! 間違ってるでしょ！

Pittosporum Tobira (Japanese Cheesewood)　トベラ

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

This is Japanese cheesewood (Pittosporum tobira). Although these red seeds are edible, they are sticky and have no taste or smell, and aren't yummy at all. (But the flowers smell sweet while leaves smell cheese, which is why it's called Japanese cheesewood.)

The term "tobira" contained in its name is a Japanese word, meaning "door." The plant is named as such because a sprig of this (or holly) is hung on the door on the day of setsubun, i.e., February 3, together with a baked sardine head. This is a ritual for setsubun, i.e., the date before the beginning of spring on the lunisolar calendar, to expel evil spirits.

May 2022

With crane flies in May 2022　ガガンボと

December Cherry Blossoms🌸　十二月桜🌸

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

It's December or in Japanese, the month in which teachers (or priests) are so busy that they run.

Cherry blossoms and red autumn leaves 桜と紅葉

Cherry blossoms and skyscrapers 桜と高層ビル

Claustrophobia and Claustrophilia - Camellia Sasanqua　閉所恐怖と閉所愛好 - 山茶花

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

A colleague of mine has claustrophobia. He avoids crowded elevators and trains, which is pretty difficult in Tokyo, but this ant seems to be trapped voluntarily in the center of this pink camellia sasanqua....

Homophones at Kameido Tenjin Shrine　亀戸天神と同音異義語

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

Japanese has many homophones, and I found two of those at Kameido Tenjin shrine in Tokyo.

Kameido Tenjin shrine 亀戸天神

Ochna Serrulata (Mickey Mouse Plant)　ミッキーマウスツリー

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

This is Ochna serrulata or Mickey Mouse plant in a greenhouse at Koishikawa Botanical Garden. So cute isn't it!!

Ochna serrulata オクナ・セルラタ

"Creepy Susie" and "The Greene Murder Case"　「クリーピー・スージー」と「グリーン家殺人事件」

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

Staying home for nearly nine months has turned my eyes to anything which can be removed from my house. So, I went to my husband's room to select books to be sold or donated and it was where I found "Creepy Susie and 13 Other Tragic Tales for Troubled Children."

Sterculia Brevissima　ステルキュリア・ブレビッシマ

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

This is Sterculia brevissima at Koishikawa Botanical Garden in Tokyo.

Sterculia brevissima ステルキュリア・ブレビッシマ

Color! Color! Color! - Koishikawa Botanical Garden　小石川植物園 - 色、色、色！

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

I went to Koishikawa Botanical Garden in Tokyo and found these color contrasts!

Amethyst deceiver ウラムラサキ

Great Grandma　ひいおばあちゃん

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

One has four great grandmothers and four great grandfathers. I do, too, but I've never met any of them. Every one of them had died before I was born. However, I've often heard about one of them, that is, the mother of my maternal grandma. I don't know her name because everyone calls her just "Great Grandma" with some mixed feelings....

"Batman" Leaves　「バットマン」紅葉

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

What do you see when you look at the photos below? I see butterflies, moths, kites and red Batman😁

What do you see? 何に見えますか？

Goji Berry Vinegar　クコの実酢

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

Goji berries are believed to protect against eye diseases and can help vision. Why haven't I tried them sooner?!!

Goji berries クコの実

Stewed Dates in Red Wine　棗の赤ワイン煮

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

One of my favorite ideas is that "medicine and food have the same origin." This is a Chinese concept that a good balanced diet keeps you healthy. Food may not "fix" your body as medicine does, but it definitely boosts your immune system and your skin and hair. So, I stewed dates in red wine and honey.

Stewed dates in red wine and honey 棗の赤ワインはちみつ煮

A Vote (Irefuda)　入れ札

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

If you still remember a book you read in your childhood, the book tells what you are. "Irefuda (A vote)" by Kan Kikuchi (1888-1948), a Japanese author, who established a publishing company and both the Akutagawa Prize and the Naoki Prize, the two most prestigious literature prizes in Japan, is one such book for me.

Japanese Anemone　秋明菊（シュウメイギク）

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

This is Anemone hupehensis or Japanese anemone. The whiteness of this flower caught my eye.

Anemone hupehensis 秋明菊

Red, Yellow, and Pink Autumn Leaves　紅葉 - 赤、黄、ピンク

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

It's autumn. Leaves have been turning red, yellow, and even pink.

Red fall leaves 真っ赤だな♪

"Prunus x Parvifolia Koehne (Winter Cherry)" Holds Store-Closing-Sale?　冬桜は閉店セール中！

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

This is Prunus x parvifolia Koehne, a cherry tree in bloom since October in my neighborhood.

Prunus x parvifolia Koehne 冬桜

Bladder or Rice Dumpling? - Silene Vulgaris (Bladder Campion)　白玉草（シラタマソウ）

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

This is silene vulgaris, bladder campion or maidenstears. I've fallen in love at first glance with this little white five-petaled flower (each petal is divided into two) with a greenish balloon😊

It took more than two weeks to find out what this flower is, and that was very unusual for me because I usually let it go if I cannot identify a flower in a week, but I couldn't do that for this flower. And finally, two weeks after I had first seen this, I found the name!!

Silene vulgaris シラタマソウ

Crepuscular Rays (God Rays) in Solitude　薄明光線

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

It was a chilly morning, and it had been a while since I'd last seen such beautiful God rays.

About 6 a.m. 朝６時くらい

Ageratum Houstonianum (Flossflower)　オオカッコウアザミ

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

This is ageratum houstonianum, flossflower or bluemink.

Ageratum Houstonianum and bee アゲラタムと蜂

Mateo Falcone　マテオ・ファルコーネ

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

Books that still remain in your memory tell what you are. "Mateo Falcone" is one such book for me.

"Mateo Falcone" is a short story by Prosper Merimee about Mateo Falcone, a respected landlord in Corsica. Mateo killed his 10-year-old son Fortunato because Fortunato was a "traitor." Fortunato had told a soldier in exchange for a silver watch the whereabout of a fugitive coming to Mateo for help while Mateo had been away. Fortunato had first concealed the bandit in exchange for a silver coin, but afterwards, sold out him in exchange for the watch. (See this Wikipedia website for details.)

Lespedeza or Japanese clovers　ピンクの萩

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

This is lespedeza or Japanese clover in my neighborhood.

Lespedeza 萩の花

White Dahlia Means "Gratitude"　白いダリアの花言葉は「感謝」

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

This is dahlia in my neighborhood. I first thought it was a chrysanthemum and that was close. Dahlia is a member of the Asteraceae family and related to chrysanthemum. The only conspicuous difference between them is the shape of leaves.

Dahlia ダリア

Gaillardia Pulchella (Indian Blanket) is Kamikaze Flower　天人菊（ガイラルディア）は「特攻花」

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

It took more than a month to find out what this flower is. This is Gaillardia pulchella, Indian blanket or sundance.

Gaillardia pulchella 天人菊

Chrysanthemums Are Cursed😱?　菊の呪い😱

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

Chrysanthemums are special in Japan. The Imperial Seal of Japan is called the Chrysanthemum Seal and used by the Emperor of Japan and members of the Imperial Family. But for me, chrysanthemums are special in a different way, i.e., they always remind me of "The Inugami Clan" by Seishi Yokomizo (1902-1981), one of the most famous crime authors in Japan who created the private detective character Kosuke Kindaichi.

Chrysanthemum 菊

Leopard Plant　石蕗（ツワブキ）

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

These are Farfugium japonicum or leopard plants at Hibiya Park and in my neighborhood. Most flowers die in autumn, so finding these bright yellow flowers made me happy.

Farfugium japonicum 石蕗

Netsuke - Daruma and Tengu　根付 - だるまちゃんとてんぐちゃん

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

These are little Daruma and Tengu netsuke sculptures at Tokyo National Museum. The Daruma netsuke was carved by Hoshu Yamagata from ivory and the Tengu netsuke by Omu Yoshida from also ivory. (For a definition of netsuke, see this post.)

"Daruma" by Hoshu Yamagata, ivory
「達磨」山形芳朱、象牙

Do It Now! - My Regret About Onigiri Action😭....　終わってました😭 - おにぎりアクション

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

An Instagram friend of mine often posted photos of onigiris or rice balls on Instagram to support Onigiri Action 2020. Onigiri Action 2020 is a campaign run by Table for Two in which one post of onigiri photo(s) provides five school meals. I agreed with their intent, but had done nothing until November 1 when I finally made my special onigiri, i.e., brown rice balls with sardine, ginger and mushroom, and took the pictures of them below...

Brown rice onigiri of sardine, ginger, and mushroom
鰯とショウガの玄米おにぎり

Netsuke - Halloween　根付 - ハロウィン

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

I am so busy that I completely forgot about the photo of this seasonal netsuke, "Halloween" by Toun Shishido.

"Halloween," Toun Shishido, macadamia nut and amber
「ハロウィン」宍戸濤雲、マカデミアナッツ、琥珀

White and Pink Camellia Sasanqua　白とピンクの山茶花

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

Flowers tell us a change in season, and these white and pink Camellia sasanqua told me that autumn would soon be over...

White Camellia sasanqua 白い山茶花

October Cherry Blossoms - Cerasus Subhirtella (Miq.)　十月桜

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

Early this month, I read a post of @rieo_pomegranate23 about cherry blossoms blooming in October on the Instagram, and at that time I just let it go. About a week later, i.e., mid-October, however, I saw cherry blossoms or Cerasus subhirtella (Miq.) blooming in my neighborhood.

Cerasus subhirtella (Miq.) or cherry blossoms in October 十月桜

Kintaro Candy is Cookie Cutter😁　金太郎飴はクッキーカッター😁？

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

Do you know Kintaro or have you heard of Kintaro? Kintaro is a boy or popular figure from Japanese folklore. He was raised with animals by a mountain witch on Mount Ashigara. Look at Kintaro I drew below😁. He's so cute!

Kintaro 金太郎