Lady Purple

Wisteria flowers are symbolic blooms in Nara. Usually, in early May no matter where you go in Nara Park,  you are welcomed by the purple clusters shining in a balmy sunlight.

 

This year seemed not to be a good year for wisterias.  Nara Park was supposed to become the paradise of wisterias.  But, the clusters were shorter and the flowers were less than usual. What happened to them?  Last year they did splendid jobs and pleased the eye of people.  I guess the wisterias were too tired to bloom in full power and Spring Goddess decided to give them a rest.

Why are wisterias here and there in the park?
In the 8th century when Nara became the new capital of Japan, the Fujiwaras were the most powerful and rich clan. They expanded their political power through marriage with the Imperial family. The same old story here! Fujiwara means "Wisteria Field". Wisterias were the Fujiwaras' favorite flowers.

 Kasuga Grand Shrine

Kasuga Grand Shrine was founded by the Fujiwaras as their family shrine as well as the guardian deity for the new capital in the 8the century. The shrine is famous for a seven hundred year old wisteria which is called "Sand-Sweeping Wisteria (砂摺りの藤)"　as the  clusters grow long and look as touching the ground almost. The longest cluster was measured 1.65 meters in length last year. 

The Fujiwaras loved wisterias, so the hanging wisterias became  the crest of the Fujiwaras as well as Kasuga Grand Shrine.　

This is one of two guardian lions in front of the second Torii gate.

The crest of the Fujiwaras  is carved on the  pedestal.

The shrine maidens wear a crown of wisteria flowers.

This is "Rice Planting Ceremony" held every year in March in the shrine.

I have ambivalent feelings toward wisterias. The hanging flowers are graceful. The colors of wisterias, various shades of purple, are so noble. But under the flowers there are vines coiling and twining other trees. And they are climbing up and blooming on the top.

This is my blog about wild wisterias.

"Paradise of Wisteria"

I love wild wisterias more than cultivated ones, because I can see the nature of the flowers in the wild wistreerias better. This year, the wild wisteria bore less and less flowers. So, no photos of them.

 For me snake-like vines of wisterias look like the legacy
 of the power struggles fought in the Imperial court in the 8th century.

Purple has been a noble and mysterious color since ancient times. 

紫草（むらさき）の　にほへる妹を　憎くあらば　人妻ゆゑに　われ恋ひめやも
大海人皇子
Oh, beautiful  you,  like a purple grass!
How I can give up my love towards you
even though  you are other man's wife!
(mentioned by Prince Oama in the 7th century)

What a passionate love letter it is! Though there is another interpretation, I'd like to take this poem as the outpouring of his emotion. According to one theory, in those days purple was so loved that the color was synonymous with purple.  The flowers of purple grasses were mentioned a several times in  an ancient anthology of poems which has been loved for over 1200 years by people in Japan. It is 万葉集 - Anthology of Ten Thousand Leaves.

The flowers of purple grasses are lily white. The dried  roots of the grasses were used to dye clothes in deep purple and the grass symbolized a lover. I wonder what color  it is. They say natural purple is much deeper than synthetic purple.

Flikering like puple stained glasses. 

In "The Tale of Genji" (源氏物語) written by Murasaki Shikibu around the beginning of the 11th century, two ladies take important roles in the story. One is 藤壷, Lady Fuji-tsubo and another one  is his wife, 紫の上, Murasaki-no-ue. Fuji means wisteria flowers and Murasaki is purple in English. Two women are depicted as his ideal female figures. Shining Genji devotes his eternal love to them. The name of the author also has the color  purple.

"The Potted Wisteria Exhibition"held in May in Nara.

Deity of Ancient Refrigerator

Wisteria flowers started to bloom in Nara.

We can get ice any time if we only open a refrigerator or go to a supermarket.  Ice is not special nor expensive. But in the 8th century, only noble people could enjoy eating ice during summer.

This is a very familiar sign for us representing " shaved ice with syrup".

When it gets hot, you can see this sign here and there.

A feature of summer! (氷 is a Chinese character which means ice.)

(image taken from google)

In the ancient times, ice or snow were preserved in 氷室 Himuro within winter. They were dug out and immediately carried to the Imperial Palace or residences of the noble people in summer . 

 Himuro  means "Ice Chamber" and would serve as an ancient refrigerator. It is said the ice chambers were  3 merer-deep roofed pits where ice was stored, being wrapped and covered with straws. There were the ice chambers around present Nara Park and surrounding  areas.

Every year on May 1st,  "Offering Ice Ceremony" is held in Himuro Shinto Shrine(氷室神社) in Nara. The shrine is dedicated to the deity of ice.  Many representatives engaged in the related business of ice,  such as  ice or refrigerator  making companies,  attend at the ceremony. They pray to the deity for prosperous business and show deep gratitude.

A pair of ice statues in the shape of a dragon are offered to the deity,

because 2012 is the year of the Dragon.

But until last year, a pair of ice pillars with carps and sea breams had been offered. 

 Don't you think fish look like swimming in water? To make these ice cubes needs a lot of
craftsmanship.  I'm afraid that this year there might be not an experienced craftsman.

I suppose this type of skill is disappearing slowly. 

After the the ceremony, the ancient court dances and music based on Asian culture are offered to the deity. In olden days a lot of the newest information, objects, techniques, arts,  cultures, medicines, Buddhism and so on were brought to Japan through Silk Road. Nara is said to have been the terminal of Silk Road.

 At night, the approach to the main hall is lit with the ice candles.

How did the noble people enjoy ice in the 8th century? This thought fires my imagination. Did the emperors drink Sake on the rocks or taste shaved ice ?

In  枕草子 or "The Pillow Book" written by Seisho-nagon in the 11th century, the forerunner of  present shaved ice was introduced.

あてなるもの、　削り氷にあまづら入れて新しき鋺に入れたる。

What is elegant. Shaved ice in a new metal bowl with the sap from sweet vines.

Himuro Shrine is also famous for the weeping cherry trees which are the first Sakura
to bloom early April in Nara.

In a water basin of the precincts of Himuro Shrine, the last petals of Sakura are floating.

Wisteria flowers are smelling gracefully in Nara Park.

Some of them are ready to bloom .

For your reference

I decided to add this because my explanation about the pair of the ice pillars is not enough and might cause some misunderstandings judging from the comments to this blog.  I am very sorry. Only dead fish are used. It requires a lot of craftsmanship to give the fish lifelike movements in ice.  But how? I guess it must be the craftsman secret.  

Below photos were taken just before the biggest festival in Nara （おん祭り） held by Kasuga Grand Shrine. The Shinto priests are serving dinner to the deity, Young Prince who is the main character in the festival.

He eats sea bream.

He eats fruits and rice cakes.

Shinto( indigenous faith in Japan)  deities are much like the gods of Greece and Rome. In many ways they act and feel as human beings do.   We love  delicious sliced raw fish,  roasted fish and more. Fish are usually used as offerings to Shinto deities.  If you have any comments or questions, I am glad to answer. 

Paradise of Wisteria・・・

wild wisteria flowers

 Early May, Nara Park becomes the paradise of wisteria flowers where both wild  and caltivated ones are in full bloom.  I love wild wiseria flowers.

This is my secret place to enjoy wild wisteria flowers, which  is part of the grounds of Kasuga Grand Shrine . Crossing a small brook, a gently rolling grass land with the mysterious legends appears before your eyes. Here is the utopia of the deer and wild wisteria.

Now deer are  shedding winter fur.

When Nara was the capital of Japan in the 8th century, the Fujiwaras were the most powerful and rich clan. They expanded their political power through marriage with the Imperial family.  Fujiwara means "Wisteria Field" and they loved wisteria flowers.

However, wisteria trees are doomed that they can not live or  grow without coiling other trees. The tree looks like entire wisteria tree, but the vines of the wisteria are coiling  and squeezing a  big tree and climbing up to the top to  bloom.

The coiling vines of the wisteria look like squiggling  huge snakes. The flowers are very beautiful and the color of the flowers is noble, but under the blooming flowers such quiet struggles have taken place. Maybe these coiling vines of wisteria trees are the legacy to symbolize the ancient power struggles fought among the Fujiwaras and the imperial family and other powerful clans.

This is more than 800 year-old  "Sunazuri-no-Fuji (Touching the Sand Wisteria ) in front of the sanctuary of Kasuga Grand Shrine. This wisteria is very  famous for its long clusters. The clusters are so long that they almost touch the sand or the ground. Last Year, the longest cluster was measured 1.6 meres in length.

 Kasuga Grand Shrine was founded as a guardian shrine of the Fujiwaras, 

so  shrine maidens wear the crown of wisteria.

In Kofuku-ji Temple, a guardian temple of the Fujiwara family

The wisteria season  has already passed and the petals of the flowers are resting on lanterns.

On the way back home, I saw this sunset. The clouds reminded me of feathers of a phoenix.

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