Bermuda Buttercup (Oxalis Pes-Caprae) オオキバナカタバミ（大黄花酢漿草）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Because of the cloudy weather, they were all closed but it's still amazing that the plant has produced flowers at this time of year because it usually flowers from March to May. These are Bermuda buttercups (Oxalis pes-caprae). The plant's so hardy that I've seen the flowers in January for two years in a row. 

2025/1/19

2025/1/19

"Save Sushi for Last" Rule

Do you know how grown men should eat sushi?

Earwax May Mean Something to You 耳垢の話

英語の後に日本語が続きます。(I wrote this post originally two years ago and have made changes for this publication.)

Which type is your earwax, wet or dry? I got interested in the type of earwax a few days ago when I went to an ENT clinic because I felt slight pain inside my right ear.

Red Japanese Camellias (Camellia Japonica) 赤いツバキ（椿）

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A Japanese camellia tree in my neighborhood has produced one flower to another, creating the beautiful contrast between the red blooms surrounded by the deep green leaves against the blue sky (2nd photo). I also found something. Small bugs were on the stamens on several blooms, basking in the sun. 

2025/1/14

2025/1/14

Jurojin - God of Longevity 寿老人！

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The stoneware and the dish are both on show at Tokyo National Museum and about Jurojin. Jurojin is the god of the elderly and longevity in Japanese Buddhist mythology based on a real person who lived in ancient times and is said to be six feet tall with a very long head and a long white beard (as you can see in both!). 

It's been a while since I last saw see Jurojin. His funny face always makes me smile and feel happy. Jurojin is one of the seven lucky gods in Japan. If you're interested in these gods, read "Japan is Diverse! - An Analysis from Seven Lucky Gods Perspective."

Juro, God of Longevity  色絵寿老置物

Dish with painting of Shoulau, God of Longevity

Red Chokeberry (Aronia Arbutifolia) セイヨウカマツカ/アロニア（西洋鎌柄）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I'm not certain but believe they're red chokeberries. The berries have been there since autumn last year and at that time I disregarded them because of the presence of flowering dogwood's more gorgeous autumn leaves nearby. Now, however, the red leaves are gone and red chokeberries' bright red has finally attracted my attention. They're edible (but not tasty) according to the internet. 

Double Flowered Pink Japanese Camellia (Camelia Japonica) ピンクの八重つばき（八重椿）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I thought this was a camellia sasanqua until yesterday but I may be wrong. The more I looked at this, the more it looked like a Japanese camellia because (i) the petals are thicker than those of a camellia sasanqua; (ii) the leaves are bigger than those of sasanquas; and (iii) the leaves are less toothed than sasanquas'. The thing is I couldn't tell for sure because there was no flower on the ground yet, which is the easiest way to tell which is which. I need to wait for a while to see how the flower dies. 

The Japanese camellia was unpopular in the Edo (samurai) period among samurai because the flower falling off in its entirety (unlike a sasanqua flower, which dies with petals falling off one by one) reminded samurai of beheaded human heads. 

2025/1/9

2025/1/9

Japanese Camellia (Camellia Japonica) ツバキ（椿）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I've been enjoying beautiful camellia sasanquas since last year and when seeing them, I've always thought of another camellia, i.e., Japanese camellia. Can you tell which is which? 

Camellia sasanquas bloom from November to March while Japanese camellias flower from January to April. There's also another difference (as I've written many times), i.e., how a flower dies. A sasanqua flower dies with petals falling off one by one whereas a Japanese camellia flower falls off in its entirety. Now, I can tell which is which but until a few years ago I couldn't. Learning enables you to appreciate things around you more deeply. 

2025/1/6

2025/1/6

Camellia Sasanqua and Omikuji

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This is not a post about a white double flowered camellia sasanqua but pieces of paper tied to the tree. They're omikuji or Japanese fortune telling paper slips. You can buy one (2nd photo) in almost every shrine and temple to learn if you have good or bad luck in the year, for example, as follows:

1. Very lucky (大吉; dai kichi)
2. Lucky (吉; kichi)
3. A little lucky (小吉; shō kichi)
4. Good luck in future (末吉; sue kichi)
5. Bad luck (凶; kyō)

Each omikuji also tells you about the fortune about specific matters including the following:  

• Wish
• Person waited for
• Lost item
• Travel
• Business
• Study
• Investment
• Dispute
• (Romantic) relationship
• Move
• Childbirth
• Illness
• Marriage

The slip I drew says that I will have good luck in future, i.e., sue kichi, which is not so good but that's okay because the "wish" section says that although taking a bit of time, my wish will come true.

Even if you draw an omikuji saying bad luck, don't worry because you can keep the bad luck within the premises of the shrine or temple by tying the slip to a designated area (e.g., a tree). If the slip says you're (very/a little) lucky, however, you can keep it in your purse or bag to keep the luck with you or tie it to the designated area so that the fortune has a greater effect. 

By the way, I'm atheist. 

Omikuji or Japanese fortune telling paper for 2025

The Paperbush is Depreciable in Japan! ミツマタは減価償却します！

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An Oriental paperbush (Edgeworthia chrysantha) tree has started to bud. The tree is called "mitsumata" because its stem is said to always split into three (mitsu) prongs (mata). Oops! I forgot to confirm that was true. 

The Oriental paperbush, kozo (Broussonetia), and gampi (Diplomorpha sikokiana) are known as the material for making washi or Japanese paper and the Oriental paperbush as the raw material for bank notes. The Oriental paperbush and kozo are depreciated over a useful life of five and nine years in Japan respectively while gampi isn't and I couldn't find out why only gampi is not.　

2025/1/3

2025/1/3

Uninvited but Welcome Guest まだ帰りませんってば！

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

The guest has been staying at a friend's house since a week ago. The friend's been checking up on the guest every day for the week, but the guest seems to have no intention to leave, just clinging on to a leaf of a ponytail palm tree (Beaucarnea recurvata). We're worried about the guest because it should die soon. The guest is a grasshopper. 

I wondered why some grasshoppers are green while others brown and learned today they change the color from green to brown and vice versa in response to environmental conditions (e.g., overcrowding). I just wish this uninvited but welcome guest to live as comfortably as possible.