2024/04/04 05:05 Weather News
From April 4th (Thursday), we will enter the “Seimei” of the 24 solar terms.
The word “Seimei” is said to be an abbreviation for “Cleanliness, clarity, and cleanliness.” The season of “Seimei” is when everything in heaven and earth appears bright and refreshing under the gentle sunlight of spring.
Let’s look at some keywords about Seimei, which has a very fun and cheerful image.
April 8th is the “Flower Festival”
April 8th of the lunar calendar is Buddha’s birthday, and is known as “Kanbutsue,” “Busshoe,” “Koutane,” and “Flower Festival.” , described as “flower festival”).
Flower festivals are held at temples across the country on April 8th (or May 8th depending on the temple). At the temple, a small hall called Hanamido is decorated with flowers, and the birth Buddha is placed in the water basin inside. Visitors celebrate the birth of Buddha by pouring sweet tea on the birth Buddha using a ladle.
Why do we celebrate this way? Some people may be wondering.
This is said to originate from the legend that a dragon came from heaven and poured rain of nectar upon the birth of Buddha.
Flower festivals are held as important annual events at kindergartens and other schools run by temples. Buddha may be watching over the healthy growth of our children.
The sparkling “wind” season
The way the wind blows through the spring sunlight, making it sparkle, is sometimes described as “Kazukaru.” It is a visual word and is also a seasonal word for spring.
~Perhaps the steam of the scenic Irie~
This is a poem by Hyakken Uchida, a novelist and essayist who studied under Natsume Soseki.
“Ponpon Steam” is a small steamboat equipped with an engine called a yakidama engine, and was called “Ponpon Steam” because of the engine sound that made a “popon” sound.
The sight of a tranquil spring cove seems to come to mind.
Watch over the “sparrow child” gently
Sparrows lay eggs between March and April, and the eggs hatch into chicks in about 10 days to two weeks. Therefore, “Sparrow” is also a seasonal word for spring.
Speaking of “Sparrow,” some may recall the following haiku by Issa Kobayashi, a haiku poet from the late Edo period.
~Sparrow-child Sono-Konoke-Ouma passes by~
Issa’s next verse is also famous.
~Come and play with me, parentless sparrow~
A sparrow without a parent is a sparrow child, so the season is spring.
It can be said that Issa’s kindness exudes in both of these poems.
“Flowing dogwood” that decorates streets and parks
flower water tree
“Hanamizuki” is a small deciduous tree of the Cornus family that is native to North America.In 1911 (Meiji 45), then-Mayor of Tokyo, Yukio Ozaki, sent Japanese cherry blossom saplings to Washington, DC, the capital of the United States, and in return, the United States sent Hanamizuki in 1915 (Taisho 4).
This is where the history of Hanamizuki began in Japan, and now you can enjoy Hanamizuki flowers in parks, streets, gardens, etc. all over the country.
The parts that look like white or pale pink petals (petals) are actually not flower petals. These are the leaves at the base of the flower, called souhouhen.
The flowers are small, clustered clusters in the center of the bracts. I also feel like, “Is this a flower?”
Flowers of Mizuki usually bloom to replace cherry blossoms. In autumn, Hanamizuki delights us with its red berries and gorgeous autumn leaves.
“Seimei” is written as “pure and bright.” These are very straightforward and unambiguous words.
Qingming is a season full of vitality, and trees, animals, and people are full of vitality. Breathe in the clear air as much as you can and move forward. I hope it’s that time of year.
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Supervision
Keiko Yamashita: Writer. Books such as “24 Seasons and 72 Seasons’ Seasonal Notebook” (Seibidoshuppan) and “72 Seasons of Japanese Beauty” (PHP Institute) explore the beauty of the Japanese language and words from the Japanese calendar. There are many books written by him.