291/2011: Nezu Shrine, Bunkyo Ward
VOX POPULI: Incipient signs of summer mark transition from spring
It was so unseasonably warm on April 18 that it felt
more like summer than spring. But the temperature dipped the next day,
and it was chilly even at noon. I visited Nezu Shrine in Tokyo's Bunkyo
Ward to view its famed azaleas, hearing it was just the right day to do
so.
The shrine's 3,000 bushes of 100 varieties of azaleas were in bloom in the 2,000-tsubo (6,600-square-meter) Azalea Garden. Seen from ground level, the sight was not particularly spectacular.
But it took my breath away when I climbed to a vantage point that provided a panoramic view of the entire garden. There were early bloomers, late bloomers and those in-between. The garden acquired different faces, depending on my vantage point. The 200-yen admission fee was completely worth it.
Cherry blossoms peaked unusually early this year, and it's the same with azaleas, too. "They are about 10 days early this year, which is almost abnormal," a shrine staff member told me.
The late-blooming varieties have yet to peak, he explained, but they will be mostly gone before the holiday-studded Golden Week begins later this month. Spring is rushing to an end.
Regarding the transition of one season to the next, the monk Yoshida Kenko (1283-1352) observed in "Tsurezuregusa" (Essays in Idleness): "Summer does not come after spring is over, nor does autumn come after summer is over."
What he meant is that each season begins without waiting for the previous season to end.
He went on, "There are signs of summer when spring deepens, and there are signs of autumn when summer deepens." In other words, each season is driven away, so to speak, by the incipient signs of the next season. Perhaps this is how Mother Nature intends it to be.
"Boshun,"暮春 a classic Japanese word meaning late spring, evokes images of the lingering daylight on a spring day as evening nears. As such, it aptly expresses the subtle progression of the seasons.
According to forecasts, the weather will deteriorate over much of Japan this weekend, and temperatures will drop. Cold rains will dampen this last stretch of spring.
--The Asahi Shimbun, April 20
* * *
Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
The shrine's 3,000 bushes of 100 varieties of azaleas were in bloom in the 2,000-tsubo (6,600-square-meter) Azalea Garden. Seen from ground level, the sight was not particularly spectacular.
But it took my breath away when I climbed to a vantage point that provided a panoramic view of the entire garden. There were early bloomers, late bloomers and those in-between. The garden acquired different faces, depending on my vantage point. The 200-yen admission fee was completely worth it.
Cherry blossoms peaked unusually early this year, and it's the same with azaleas, too. "They are about 10 days early this year, which is almost abnormal," a shrine staff member told me.
The late-blooming varieties have yet to peak, he explained, but they will be mostly gone before the holiday-studded Golden Week begins later this month. Spring is rushing to an end.
Regarding the transition of one season to the next, the monk Yoshida Kenko (1283-1352) observed in "Tsurezuregusa" (Essays in Idleness): "Summer does not come after spring is over, nor does autumn come after summer is over."
What he meant is that each season begins without waiting for the previous season to end.
He went on, "There are signs of summer when spring deepens, and there are signs of autumn when summer deepens." In other words, each season is driven away, so to speak, by the incipient signs of the next season. Perhaps this is how Mother Nature intends it to be.
"Boshun,"暮春 a classic Japanese word meaning late spring, evokes images of the lingering daylight on a spring day as evening nears. As such, it aptly expresses the subtle progression of the seasons.
According to forecasts, the weather will deteriorate over much of Japan this weekend, and temperatures will drop. Cold rains will dampen this last stretch of spring.
--The Asahi Shimbun, April 20
* * *
Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
Coordinates: 35°43′13″N 139°45′39″E
Nezu Shrine (根津神社 Nezu-jinja), established in 1705, is a Shinto shrine located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan.
It is famous for its Azalea Festival (Tsutsuji Matsuri) which is held on its grounds from early April until early May.
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Festival at Nezu Shrine
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Azalea Festival (Tsutsuji Matsuri) at Nezu Shrine
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Gate at Nezu Shrine
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