Yamayuri (golden-rayed lily) and Ajisai (hydrangea) flowers: Chojyu-ji

The gold-striped white petals of Yamayuri (golden-rayed lily) are gently swaying in the calm breeze of June and are silently announcing the arrival of early summer with their vibrant appearance and sweet fragrance. 

As if to assist the graceful color and shape of these white flowers, the turquoise-blue flowers of Ajisai (hydrangea), which have richly absorbed rainwater, are quietly blooming close by like the beautiful court ladies of a summer palace.

Yamayuri is an endemic species to Japan and has long been cherished as a noble and luxurious summer flower. This flower is one of the classical motifs depicted in Japanese art and is said to symbolize elegance, purity, and nobility. 

It frequently appears in Japanese-style paintings from the Edo and Meiji periods (1603-1912). The design of Yamayuri is also widely used in Japanese arts and crafts, such as ceramics, Yuzen kimono dyeing, and lacquerware, as a representative figure that symbolizes the passing summer.

Ajisai (hydrangea) flowers: Kencho-ji

By the side of the narrow path to the bamboo grove, I found many hydrangea flowers having various tones of color quietly blooming in the tender sunlight of the rainy season. The tranquil rays descending from the rain-laden sky seemed to harmonize well with the subtle hues and shapes of these flowers.

Hydrangeas are characterized by their amazing coloration in response to the chemical changes in the soil caused by rainwater. In Japan, people also call hydrangeas "Shichi-henge (seven changes)," that means the traditional Kabuki dance where a star actor swiftly changes his colorful costumes seven times in the blink of an eye.

I never know why these flowers change their colors like pure mischief of the creator of all nature. The variation in pH and water content of soil due to falling rainwater causes their colors to keep changing over time as if to please our eyes during the dreary rainy season.

It is said that the color of a flower is an important incentive for attracting pollinators such as insects. The change of colors of hydrangea flowers due to the soil environment may indicate visual diversity to different insects to potentially increase their pollination opportunities. 

Ajisai (hydrangea) flowers: Kaizo-ji

 

Iwatabako (Conandron ramondioides) flowers: Chojyu-ji

The rainy season has already begun here, and the shady ground and plantings of the gardens are softly filled with moisture. The purple star-shaped flowers of Iwatabako (Conandron ramondioides) are timidly showing their faces between the glossy leaves on the damp rock wall like the tender rain-fairies that are staring at this world wonderingly.

In Kita-kamakura, during this rainy season, the thick green plants and the moss-covered rocks of the old gardens become moist with rainwater, presenting particularly quiet and subtle beauty under the pale sky.

Although the leading flowers of this season are colorful hydrangeas, the small Iwatabako flowers, which seem to be hiding in the shadow of the flamboyant hydrangeas, are also indispensable for the transient and memorable sceneries of the gray rainy season.

 

Ajisai (hydrangea) flowers: Jochi-ji

The modest flowers of Yama-ajisai (mountain hydrangea) are quietly blooming near the old well, which is called “Kanro-no-i (the well of sweet water)” in front of the small mountain gate. 

In Buddhism, "Kanro" means “the sweet rainwater falling from the heaven” and is said to be the elixir of immortality and be used as a symbol of enlightenment.

The moss-covered stone bridge over the small "Houjyou-ike" pond seems to beautify these elegant flowers moderately. Houjyou-ike is the pond of the Zen-sect style for releasing captive animals mercifully before entering into the temple garden.

The rainy season lasts for a while, and soon the dazzling midsummer arrives here. In the blazing sunlight, splendid red and white flowers of lotus will begin blooming successively in the vast "Genpei" Pond of Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine. The gentle flowers of the rainy season must fade away before long, and the seasons keep rotating fast and steadily before my eyes.

Ajisai (hydrangea) flowers: Kencho-ji

 

Ajisai (hydrangea) flowers: Kencho-ji

 

Ajisai (hydrangea) flowers: Kencho-ji

 

Ajisai (hydrangea) flowers: Kencho-ji

 

Ajisai (hydrangea) flowers: Kencho-ji

 

Ajisai (hydrangea) flowers: Kencho-ji

 

Ajisai (hydrangea) flowers: Kencho-ji

 

Ajisai (hydrangea) flowers: Kencho-ji

 

Ajisai (hydrangea) flowers: Kencho-ji

 

Ajisai (hydrangea) flowers: Kencho-ji

 

Ajisai (hydrangea) flowers: Kencho-ji

 

Ajisai (hydrangea) flowers: Kencho-ji

 

Ajisai (hydrangea) flowers: Kencho-ji

 

Ajisai (hydrangea) flowers: Kencho-ji

 

Suiren (water lily) flower: Kita-kamakura

Flowers are the silent storytellers that tell the tales of life and reincarnation on this small planet called the Earth.

Plants and trees bear flowers in the circulation of the seasons to begin their short but earnest reproductive activity, and eventually, within a few days, their flowers complete their mission of life and quickly disappear without leaving any traces. 

The year-round lives of plants and trees are the long and patient preparation for their flowers as the organs for renewed growth and survival, and when their flowering is completed, they must return to a long stillness in their unremarkable figures.

As if to herald the beginning of the dazzling summer, a lovely flower of water lily has bloomed in my humble garden again this year. Before my eyes, the cycle of reincarnation is presenting itself secretly and this precious flower is quietly revealing the private story of life on this planet of water.

 

Bamboo grove: Hokoku-ji

When I step into the bamboo grove that vigorously absorbs the bright sunlight and continues to grow, I always feel like I am inside the body of a giant creature and sense that the towering bamboo trees around me are silently emitting their intensive life force and strong desire for growth. 

A bamboo grove as a whole is a single living organism in itself, with the green tall trunks interconnected by a huge network of underground stems. A bamboo grove originates as a single bamboo sprout, that grows one underground stem after another to form a single extensive grove collectively.

A bamboo tree is evergreen and never loses its leaves in the winter. This allows bamboo trees to continue storing energy through photosynthesis in the sunlight coming from the cloudy winter sky and to have tough growing force year-round. 

Bamboo trees keep sharing the nutrients for growth through underground stems interconnected with each other. At its peak of growth, especially in summer, bamboo trees grow 80 to 100 centimeters per day, reaching a height of almost 20 meters in less than two months.

Bamboo grove: Hokoku-ji

Hokoku-ji Temple is a Zen temple of the Kencho-ji school of Rinzai Zen Buddhism, that is located in the northeast area of Kamakura-city, and is known for its beautiful bamboo garden with approximately 2000 Moso-dake bamboo trees. 

This dense green bamboo grove attenuates sunlight and sounds with its thick green foliage, and presents the quiet and ethereal space which makes us deeply feel the peaceful and profound beauty of Zen philosophy.

This peaceful green garden must suggest the “Wabi” (the taste for the simplicity and quietness) worldview, which is traditionally inherited in Japanese culture based on Zen Buddhism. Wabi is the essential sense of beauty in Japanese art centered on the acceptance of the transience and imperfection of earthly beings.

In the precincts of the Zen temples of the Rinzai school in Kyoto and Kamakura, there are always thick bamboo groves that produce a essential atmosphere of austere and ascetic serenity.

Bamboo trees are straight, knotty, evergreen and hollow. These virtues are deeply associated with the Zen teachings such as humility, discipline, flexibility, non-attachment and transitoriness. 

The sounds of bamboo trees slowly swaying in breezes may suddenly awaken us to the final spiritual enlightenment during harsh and deep meditation.

Sekibutsu (stone buddhist images): Hokoku-ji

 

Bamboo grove: Kencho-ji

 

Zen garden: Kencho-ji

In the teaching of Zen Buddhism, "Sen-shin" (cleansing the mind) is one of its most important concepts, which means the abandonment of our "San-doku" (the three mental poisons), namely, our poisonous desires, anger and delusions to detoxify our souls and restore the ultimate peace of mind freed from every pain.

Among the essential doctrines of Buddhism, "San-doku" is considered the fundamental root of human suffering. Each is called a “poison” because it destroys the pure human mind and causes endless agonies and foolish delusions.

"San-doku" means "Ton-Jin-Chi," which are Greed, Anger, and Foolishness. Ton (greed) is the selfish and burning desire to keep wanting what you want. Jin (anger) is hatred and hostility against any obstacle or opponent that disturbs yourself. Chi (foolishness or Ignorance) is the false perceptions and delusions created by our minds, which cause our mistakes and stupidities.

The quiet Zen garden is one of the most suitable training grounds for the discipline of "Sen-shin."  

While stopping the buzzing of your mind and meditating in silence, occasionally broken by the sound of the water dripping from the rocks or the breezes rustling the green leaves, every harmful desire, anger, and stupidity gradually be washed away from your painful mind, and your genuine peaceful mind, free from the three harmful poisons and any suffering, will be restored.

Bamboo grove: Jochi-ji

 

Bamboo grove: Kencho-ji

 

Bamboo grove: Kencho-ji

 

Bamboo grove: Hokoku-ji

 

Kakitsubata (Iris) flowers: Garden of Nezu Museam (Tokyo)

 In May of this year, I visited Nezu Museum (Minato-ku,Tokyo) to appreciate the three greatest pictures of the Rinpa School, namely, Korin Ogata's national treasure picture “Kakitsubata-hana-zu (rabbit-ear-iris flowers picture),” Okyo Maruyama's picture “Fuji-hana-zu (wisteria flowers picture),” and Kiichi Suzuki's picture “Natsu-aki-keiryu-zu (mountain stream in summer and autumn)" in the special exhibition celebrating the 85th anniversary of this honorary private museum.

(Please refer to the links for each of the paintings on the official web site of this museum.)

After viewing the exhibition, I wandered through the verdant Japanese garden attached to the museum. At the end of the intricate walking path, I suddenly found numerous ultramarine-blue flowers of Kakitubata blooming brightly in the dazzling sunlight of May in the central garden pond, which gave me an unexpected pleasure as a bolt from the blue. 

Kakitsubata (Iris) flowers: Garden of Nezu Museam (Tokyo)

 

Ayame (Iris) flowers: Kencho-ji

 

Sekkoku (Dendrobium moniliforme) flowers: Kaizo-ji

Sekkoku is a kind of epiphytic orchid that grows on the trunk of other plant and is native to the mountains and rocky areas of Japan. 

This plant produces small white or pale pink flowers from spring to early summer. It has long been known as “Choseiran” (long-lived orchid) and became popular as a gardening plant during the Edo period (1603-1868).

Kaiu (calla) flowers: Kaizo-ji

Kakitsubata (Iris) flowers: Kaizo-ji