Plants and Flowers in Central Tokyo & Japanese Culture by Kei Narujima　東京の草花＆つぶやき

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

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.