flowers – Calligraphy by Vicky

紅花栄 (Benibana sakau) “Safflowers bloom”

A Japanese calligraphy work of 3 characters, black ink on white card

Like many countries, Japan has 4 seasons. It also has 72 micro-seasons! Traditionally the Japanese year was divided into 72 seasons of roughly 5 days each. Each of these micro-seasons was named after the changes in the natural world that could be observed at the time, or the current agricultural activities. Next week (from MayContinueContinue reading “紅花栄 (Benibana sakau) “Safflowers bloom””

咲 (saku) “to bloom”

A 1-character Japanese calligraphy work, black ink on pink card

Springtime is the season for beautiful blooming flowers in Japan. The most well-known are cherry blossoms. Plum and peach blossoms are popular too. They look similar, but there are some key differences:

梅 (umé) plum

A Japanese calligraphy work on 1 kanji character, meaning "plum".

It will soon be blossom season in Japan! By far the most famous of Japanese blossoms are cherry blossoms, but they’re not the first spring flower to bloom. Plum blossom usually start appearing as early as mid-February. Although not as dramatic as the more-famous cherry blossoms, they are well-loved for their subtle beauty. The imageContinueContinue reading “梅 (umé) plum”