Garden Mum (Chrysanthemum x Morifolium) キク（菊）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Here are some red and yellow garden mums (Chrysanthemum × morifolium) with a green plant bug (Apolygus lucorum) on one of them (see the second photo).

Chrysanthemums are special in Japan. The Imperial Seal of Japan is called the Chrysanthemum Seal and is used by the Emperor and the Imperial Family. But for me, the flowers are special in a different way—they always remind me of The Inugami Clan, a murder mystery book by Seishi Yokomizo (1902–1981). Yokomizo is one of Japan's most famous crime authors and the creator of the private detective character Kosuke Kindaichi.

You may wonder how chrysanthemums, such beautiful flowers, are related to a crime novel. That's because they play a key role in The Inugami Clan as one of the three sacred treasures of the clan: a golden chrysanthemum, a golden axe, and a golden koto (a Japanese harp) made by Sahee Inugami, the super-rich head of the family. These golden treasures are proof of the heirship. As you can easily guess, the family members are killed one after another over this inheritance, and the head of one victim is even replaced with the head of a chrysanthemum doll... AHHH! 😱

I read almost all of the books by Seishi Yokomizo when I was a kid (I was a bit different from the other kids). Yokomizo respected Ellery Queen and Agatha Christie, but liked John Dickson Carr the most. If you like reading crime fiction, you can guess what Yokomizo's stories are like.

Chrysanthemums are pretty, colorful flowers that have nothing to do with bloody murders. Maybe it's time for me to change this terrible perception of them.

2026/10/14

2026/10/14

2026/10/14

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キクです。そしてなぜかコアオカスミカメ（小青霞亀）がたくさん乗っかっていました。菊というと和風かつ天皇と皇室を表す由緒正しい印象ですが、私にとって菊は何といっても「犬神家の一族」の佐武の菊人形生首です😱

横溝正史の本はほぼすべて読んでいます。しかも子供の時に｡｡｡ 大人になって横溝氏がディクスン・カーのファンだったと聞いてなるほど、と納得しました。両方ともおどろおどろしい｡｡｡ 江戸川乱歩には全く興味なく、おどろおどろしい横溝正史作品と、心理の綾を見事に描くアガサ・クリスティー作品に夢中な子供でした。

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