Japanese Camellia Meant Beheading😱 落椿（落ちツバキ）

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

They are red and pink camellia Japonica or more commonly Japanese camellia flowers. I saw them in Yushima Seidō or Yushima Sacred Hall, a Confucian temple in Tokyo established in 1690 by Tsunayoshi Tokugawa, the fifth shōgun during the Edo period (1603 to 1868). Later on, Shōhei-zaka Gakumonjo, one of the then most important educational institutions, was also founded there.

Red camellia Japonica 赤い椿

Netsuke "Octopus" - Is Octopus An Insect? 根付「蛸」- 蛸はなぜ虫偏？

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

This is "Octopus," a netsuke carved by Hosen Miyazawa from ivory. I saw this last year at Tokyo National Museum.

"Octopus" by Hosen Miyazawa, ivory 宮澤宝泉作「蛸」象牙

Netsuke "Fukurokuju" 根付「福禄寿」

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

This is a netsuke titled "Fukurokuju" by Ryushi Komada. It's 3-4 cm tall and carved from ivory. I saw this tiny sculpture at Tokyo National Museum last year.   

"Fukurokuju" by Ryushi Komada, ivory 駒田柳之作「福禄寿」象牙

Chimonanthus Praecox (or Wintersweet) in Neighborhood 近所の蝋梅

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

This is chimonanthus praecox or more commonly wintersweet I found yesterday in my neighborhood. I'd seen the flower at Ueno Peony Garden in Tokyo early January, but I didn't know this was also in my neighborhood. What a nice surprise😊!!

 

Chimonanthus praecox 蝋梅

White Prunus Mume (Japanese Apricot) 白梅

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

This is prunus mume or more commonly Japanese apricot in my neighborhood. I found several trees, but only this tree was in bloom. I don't know why....

Prunus mume 白梅

Netsuke "Carps" - Is Japanese Vague? 根付「鯉」 - 日本語は曖昧？

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

This is a netsuke titled "Carps" by Armin Muller. It's made of porcelain, a little unique as usually netsuke are made of ivory, boxwood, ebony, coral, or amber, etc.  

"Carps" by Armin Muller, porcelain 「鯉」アーミン・ミュラー作 磁器

Netsuke "Nue" (Legendary Monster😱) 根付「鵺」😱

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

What do you think this netsuke is? I'm pretty sure you don't know. I didn't know until I saw the nameplate, either. This is a netsuke titled "Nue" carved by Meishu Kawahara from boxwood. I saw this at Tokyo National Museum last August.  

"Nue" by Meishu Kawahara, boxwood 「鵺」 河原明秀 黄楊

Netsuke - "Ground Cherry" Is Scary😱 根付 -「ほおずき」は怖い😱

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

This is "Ground Cherry," a netsuke carved from amber with lacquer by Akemi Sasaki. I saw this at Tokyo National Museum last August. 

"Ground cherry" by Akemi Sasaki, amber with lacquer 「ほおずき」佐々木明美 琥珀、漆

Galanthus Nivalis (Snowdrop) 待雪草（スノードロップ）

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

The shape and the contrast between green and white stood out and cawaii😊!! They are galanthus nivalis or commonly snowdrops. 

Galanthus Nivalis 待雪草

Fighting COVID-19 - Easiest Recipe for Miso Soup 我が家の手抜き味噌汁😁

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

What do you think this is? If you know the answer, you must be a Japanese food expert!!

Niboshi makes very good dashi broth for miso soup! 我が家は煮干しだし！  

This is niboshi or iriko, i.e., dried infant sardines often used to make miso soup stocks. So, let me tell you how I make miso soup using niboshi!! Don't worry. It's very simple and easy. The photos below show the ingredients I often use (see below for usual ingredients of miso soup and their characteristics) and the miso soup I made using them.

Edgeworthia (Paper Bush) ミツマタ（黄瑞香）

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

This is edgeworthia or paper bush in the neighborhood. I first saw paper bush last year at Ueno Peony Garden in Tokyo, so I went to the garden to see this plant again early January, but although I enjoyed more than 20 types of peonies, wintersweet and Japanese apricot, paper bush was not yet in bloom at that time. Then I happened to find this paper bush in my neighborhood in mid-January.     

Edgeworthia 三叉

Netsuke "Bodhidharma (Daruma)" 根付 「達磨」

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

This is netsuke titled "Daruma" carved from ivory by Hosen Miyazawa. I saw this 3 cm tall netsuke at Tokyo National Museum early last year. 

"Daruma" by Hosen Miyazawa, ivory 「達磨」宮澤宝泉 象牙

Netsuke "Eating Toffee" - Is It A Toad or Frog? 根付「あめ玉」 - カエルは英語で何？

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

This is netsuke titled "Eating Toffee" carved from boxwood and tortoiseshell by Zanmai Onosato. I saw this 3 cm tall netsuke at Tokyo National Museum early last year. 

"Eating Toffee" by Zanmai Onosato, boxwood and tortoiseshell
「あめ玉」小野里三昧 黄楊 鼈甲

Japanese Dish - Carrot Buttock Buttock? 人参しりしり

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

This is "ninjin shirishiri" or "stir-fried shredded carrots," a homemade dish in Japan or more specifically Okinawa prefecture. 

"Ninjin shirishiri" means shredded carrots 「しりしり」は千切り

Fighting COVID-19 - Solo Customers Can Save Bars and Restaurants コロナとの共生 - おひとり様が飲食店を救う！

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

Japan has declared the second state of emergency on January 7. The scope this time is a little narrower and more focused than the first one last April, but the main target is the same, i.e., pubs, bars and restaurants. They have been "requested" to close stores at 8 p.m. and stop serving alcohol at 7 p.m. Japanese people generally can't or won't say no to "requests" from the government. One of my favorite restaurants is one such example.

Religion for Whom? - Ueno Toshogu Shrine and Hanazono Inari Jinja Shrine 宗教の存在意義 - 上野東照宮と花園稲荷神社

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

After enjoying more than 20 types of peonies, yellow wintersweet and pink Japanese apricot at Ueno Peony Garden, I dropped by Ueno Toshogu shrine and Hanazono Inari Jinja shrine nearby to pray for health and safety. That was January 4 right before the declaration of a state of emergency in Japan. 

Ueno Toshogu shrine 上野東照宮

Pink Dahlia ピンクのダリア（天竺牡丹）

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

This is dahlia. I saw this in my neighborhood on December 29 last year. 

Pink dahlia　ピンクのダリア

Abutilon Megapotamicum (Chinese Lantern) チロリアンランプ（浮釣木）

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

They are abutilon megapotamicum or commonly Chinese lantern. I found these 2cm tall red lanterns on December 29, 2020. 

 Abutilon megapotamicum チロリアンランプ（アブチロン）

Stupid Japan - Infertility Treatment Should Not Be Priority 不妊治療保険適用の優先順位

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

Japanese people like new things. They prefer building new houses to renovating old properties and buying puppies and kittens to rescuing adult ones from shelters. Needless to say, child adoption is out of the question even if the child is newborn. 

Cherry Blossoms - Too Late or Too Early? まだ？もう？桜咲いてます！

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

I've been monitoring these cherry trees since October last year.  

January 7, 2021 - winter cherry blossoms 1月に咲く冬桜

Pink Prunus Mume (Japanese Apricot) ピンクの梅

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

These are pink prunus mume or Japanese apricot at Ueno Peony Garden in Tokyo. 

Pink prunus mume at Ueno Peony Garden 上野東照宮の梅

Chimonanthus Praecox (Wintersweet) in Tokyo 上野牡丹園の蝋梅

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

This is chimonanthus praecox or wintersweet at Ueno Peony Garden in Tokyo. 

Chimonanthus praecox at Ueno Peony Garden 上野牡丹園の蠟梅（漢字が難しい）

Peony Peony Peony in Tokyo!! 今年も上野牡丹園に行きました！

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

The Japanese government will declare a state of emergency in several days, so I went to the Ueno Peony Garden before declaration.

Shima daijin 島大臣

A Gift From Global Warming? 温暖化の証拠

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

I saw this hydrangea on December 29, 2020. It's heart shaped and cute. I just wondered if it was still alive.....

Photo taken on December 29, 2020 

Is this still alive? まだ生きてる？

This may be dead but beautiful! 枯れてるかもしれないけどきれい！

Global warming exists, and because of that I was able to see this green, pink and blue hydrangeas and red bougainvillea still in bloom in winter. 

(If you wish to post your comment but don't have a Google account, select "anonymous" from the drop down menu titled "comment as"!)

去年の12月29日に撮った写真です。きれいですよね。でもこれ生きてるんでしょうか？それとも枯れてるんでしょうか？

温暖化は実在します。そしてそのせい（おかげ？）でこの緑/ピンク/青の紫陽花と真っ赤なブーゲンビリアに会うことができました。

(Google アカウントを持ってない方は、コメント記入後に「Google アカウント」をクリックし、「匿名」か「名前/URL」を選択してからご記入ください！)

A Mosque in Tokyo 東京にモスクがあるってご存じですか？

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

This is Tokyo Camii & Turkish Culture Center, a mosque in Yoyogi Uehara, Tokyo. 

Tokyo Camii & Turkish Culture Center 東京ジャーミイ・トルコ文化センター

Onishime - Traditional Japanese New Year Food🎌 お煮しめ作りました🎌

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

Happy New Year! To celebrate the New Year and because of no choice but to stay at home😂, I made onishime, i.e., simmered vegetables. It's been a while since I last made this traditional Japanese New Year food.    

Onishime - simmered vegetables お煮しめ