Corydalis incisa is a plant which is often seen in wet places. It is called “murasaki-keman (purple keman)” in Japanese. Keman is a Buddhist ritual decoration, often placed in the main hall of temples for the purpose of making the hall more magnificent. Leaves of this plant are similar to those of carrots. Long elliptical fruits will be produced upside down.
少し湿ったところに見られる植物。ケマンとは仏殿をかざる仏具のことで、花の形が似ているからつけられた名前なのだとか。葉は人参の葉っぱに似ています。果実は細長い楕円形で下向きにつきます。
Good morning. Just now, I took a picture of pieris japonica. In this season, we can see pretty flowers at the entrance of HOSHINO area. Pieris japonica is called “asebi” in Japanese. The Chinese character for this is “馬酔木,” meaning a tree which makes horses drunk. In fact, leaves of this tree are poisonous. If horses eat, they will be paralyzed. People in the past thought that the way horses are paralyzed was like they get drunk. Of course, the leaves are harmful to the human body, too. I’ve heard that they are used to make insect repellent medicine.
おはようございます！朝の散歩でアセビの写真を撮ってきました。
星野エリアへの入り口にはアセビの花が咲いています。アセビは漢字で書くと「馬酔木」。馬や牛が葉を食べるとお酒で酔っぱらったように麻痺してしまうからだそうです。もちろん人体にも有毒。アセビの葉は害虫駆除の薬を作るのにも使用されるんですよー！
I found the flowers of mitsumata in front of a tea room in HOSHINOYA. Mitsumata literally means “splitting into three.” If you see the whole tree, you would easily understand why people named the tree mitsumata; its branch splits into three.
In English, this tree is called paperbush. Do you know why? In fact, it originally comes from China. In the early Edo Perid, however, Japanese people also started to grow the trees as a material for making paper. Even now, paperbush is the main material for making paper money in Japan!
星のや内にある茶室の前で三叉を発見！太い枝が三つに分れるからミツマタ。そのままですね。英語名はpaperbush。実はこの木は中国が原産で、江戸時代初期、紙の原料として日本の暖地で栽培されるようになったのです。今でも紙幣の主原料として使われているそうです！知らなかった！
This flower is called “miyama uguisu kagura” in Japanese. I couldn’t find English translation for it, but its academic name is “Lonicera gracilipes var. glandulosa.” In this season, we can see pretty miyama uguisu kagura flowers at the site of HOSHINOYA Karuizawa . It often grows areas near the Sea of Japan, but I was lucky to see this in Nagano Prefecture! It comes into flower from April to May. The interesting thing is that it blooms upside down. Red fruits will become ripe in autumn.
星のや軽井沢の敷地内では、今可愛らしいミヤマウグイスカグラが見頃です！日本海側に多いらしく、花が咲くのは4月から5月にかけてです。花の色は紅色。少しうつむき加減、時には反対向いて咲くのが特徴です。秋には赤い実が熟すらしく、楽しみ！
以下のURLを参考にしました。 (Reference)
http://had0.big.ous.ac.jp/plantsdic/angiospermae/dicotyledoneae/sympetalae/caprifoliaceae/miyamauguisu/miyamauguisu.htm
http://www.ootk.net/cgi/shikihtml/shiki_2710.htm
http://kanon1001.web.fc2.com/foto_sinrin/K_sui_kazura/uguisu_kagura/miyama_uguisu_kagura.htm
It is the best season to see beautiful yellow narcissus in Karuizawa! I walked along Yukawa river, a river located just next to HOSHINOYA Karuizawa. Narcissus is a flower which tells us that spring is just around the corner. That’s happy news for us! As a matter of fact, I also can feel that the temperature is getting warmer and warmer here!
星のや軽井沢のそばに流れる湯川に沿って、今の時期たくさんのスイセンの花が咲いています。スイセンは春の始まりを知らせてくれるお花だそうです。朝晩すごく寒かったから、嬉しい！そういえば最近ようやくポカポカしてきたかも！
Hello, all! I haven’t updated this blog since I moved to Karuizawa. I graduated from college last month and started to work in this beautiful town…!
Today was a holiday, so I cycled to Kyu-Karuizawa area this morning. Although it was still cold, the air was much clearer than Kyoto. Now I can say that Karuizawa is a wonderful place to cycle! It took about 30 minutes from Hoshino area to Kumobaike Pond (雲場池) by bicycle.
Kumobaike, popularly known as “swan lake,” is one of the sightseeing spots in Karuizawa. The water was also clearer than I had expected, and I thought it was a perfect idea to come here today. Since it is not that big, it will take only 15-20 minutes to walk around the pond. There are many kinds of plants and flowers around the pond so you can enjoy exploring the natural beauty. Unfortunately, however, spring is not coming yet in Karuizawa, so I couldn’t see any flowers this time. But I’ve heard that the autumn leaves around the pond is so marvelous… Well, I should come here again in autumn!
皆さん、お久しぶりです！軽井沢に引っ越してから初めての投稿です。
今日はお休みだったので、朝から旧軽井沢エリアをサイクリングしてきました。軽井沢はまだ少し寒いですが、空気が澄んでいて本当に気持ちがいい！星野エリアから自転車で３０分ほどで雲場池(くもばいけ)に到着しました。
雲場池は「スワンレイク」とも呼ばれ、軽井沢の観光名所の一つです。想像していたよりも水がきれいで、来てよかったと思いました。そんなに大きな池ではないので、１周２０分ほどで歩くことができます。今はまだ冬景色で少し寂しかったですが、秋になると紅葉がとても綺麗なのだそうです。また秋になったら訪れたいです。短いですが、今日はここまで！
with stone 