Christina`s World (1948) by Andrew Wyeth- this, the artist`s most famous painting is part of the Museum of Modern Art in New York`s permanent collection and is NOT part of the exhibition in Mito. There ARE, however, many other pictures of the Olson House (top right) and of Christina herself (including some early versions of this famous painting) which shed light on this work and on the artist himself.

By Avi Landau

Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009) is one of the greatest names in American art*. His most famous painting- Christina`s World (1948), can be said to be an American icon. His works, mostly realistic** depictions of people and landscapes, are in the collections of some of the most famous museums in the world- MOMA, the Metropolitan, and the Whitney in New York, the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, in Washington D.C. (apparently some Wyeth`s also hung in the White House during the Presidency of George W. Bush***), the Palazzo Reale in Milan and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia.

So I was more than a bit surprised to find out recently that one of the most important and interesting Wyeth collections in the world belongs to the Marunuma Art Park in Saitama Prefecture, Japan.

In 1996, the director of the Art Park, Katsushige Susaki, arranged for the acquisition of 238 of Wyeth`s works- watercolors and drawings, in order to, as he has explained: benefit young artists and students of art in Japan.

Through Sunday May 19th 2013, 80 of these works will be exhibited at the grand Ibaraki Prefectural Museum of Modern Art ( Ibaraki Ken Kindai Bijutsu Kan), located near the shores of Lake Senba  (Senba Ko) in Mito, the prefectural capital.

One of Wyeth`s many depictions of the Olson House in Maine, which he visited every summer over a period of 30 years

And though the artist`s most famous work, Christina`s World, is NOT part of this current exhibition, anyone who would want to gain a better understanding of that masterpiece (?) would do well to go up to Mito and see this show.

The reason for this is simple. The Christina who is the central figure of that well known work, lived up in a big old house in Maine (seen in the top right corner of the painting) which Wyeth used to visit and paint every summer over a period of 30 years (culminating in a total of about 300 extant paintings of the house and life in and around it).

It is exclusively a selection of these paintings, focusing on that house, now known as the Olson House, and its surroundings, (now a popular pilgrimage site for Wyeth fans) which make up the exhibition now being held in the Mito exhibition- and they shed plenty of light (and shadow) on both his most celebrated single work and the artist himself.

The biggest thing that I learned is a bit embarrassing for me to admit. Having grown up in New York and spent many a weekend hour at MOMA, I had seen Christina`s World countless times, but had never read anything about it- even the label. I had always seen the woman in the picture, sprawled out on the ground half propped up with her arms, facing away from the viewer and gazing out to a rustic old house in the background as a kind of Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. I imagined a young woman full of yearnings and desires unfullfilled in the sterile environment in which she had to live.

What I now know is that this Christina, as well as her brother Alvaro****, were featured in numerous Wyeth works- as they were the sole residents of the Olson House which was located near the summer home of Wyeth`s wife (the Olson`s ancestor was apparently one of the judges at the Salem Witch Trials).

And the reason that Christina is shown on the ground, as she is in the painting, is that the real life Christina could not walk or stand- probably the result of a childhood bout of polio. Apparently Wyeth would sometimes see her actually crawling through the fields in that way. So the pose was not some inspiration on the artists part- just what he had actually seen ( and to tell the truth, I found this background to the painting a little disappointing!).*****

Wyeth seems to obssess about the siblings (Alvaro dedicated his life to caring for his disabled sister), and the house itself- which he examines in minute detail and sometimes brings to mysterious life.

The first paintings have a bit of color (reflecting the beauty of the house as can be seen in photos and videos displayed at the exhibit), though the colors become grimmer and grimmer (to my eye at least) as the years go on and the brother and sister grow older and the old house more and more run down (while Wyeth grew richer and richer and more and more famous).

The artist`s intense focus on this lonely household and the old building itself forshadows in some way (in my feeling) his later infatuation with Helga Testorf, a local elder care helper whom he painted in secret more than 200 times including (what I think are) some of his most powerful works.

And there is one more thing that I would like to add. Though the works being shown in Mito are drawings and watercolors, Wyeth has created images with great detail- in a way that I thought could only be achieved with oils.

It was with this technique, and his endless fascination with the family next door with all its dark details that help to create such haunting pieces-  works whose presence I somehow feel more strongly now than when they were actually in front of me.

Getting there

Here is a link to the museum`s English language website:

http://www.modernart.museum.ibk.ed.jp/english/index.html

I don`t know if I would recommend making a special trip up to Mito from Tsukuba just to see this exhibit (unless you are VERY interested in Wyeth or art in general). It would , however, be a great stop on a trip to the prefectural capital, with its many museums, historical sites, and its park and famous garden (Kairaku-En)。

The Ibaraki Prefectural Museum of Modern Art is located about 15 minutes walking distance from the Mito Station. When you go through the turnstiles after getting off the Joban Line train, turn left and walk straight- out of the station and then down the escalator (the same way you would go to get to the Immigration Office). Keep walking, cross the river (the Sakura, though a different on than the one that flows through Tsukuba) and then turn right at the traffic signal. Go straight. You will reach the museum in about ten minutes. You can`t miss it. On the way you can stop and see the swans, ducks, fish, and turtles in the river.

The entrance fee is 700 Yen for adults

* Wyeth is one of those artists who are wildly popular among the general public, but not highly acclaimed by critics and curators. Listen to a lecture discussing this here:

http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=78455

** Wyeth himself might have prefered to have his style called Magic Realism.

*** Now you have the idea of what type of people are  big Wyeth fans!

**** Just to show you how little serious critics are interested in Wyeth, the MoMa lecturer who talks in the link I provide above mistakenly describes Christina as Alvaro`s wife! Listen!

***** Complicating matters even further, I have read that though the scene does depict an actual image of Christina seen by Wyeth, the artist used his wife Betsy, as the model for the painting when putting the image on canvas ( though in fact this painting is on a board!)

At the entrance to the Fujisawa Rose Garden stands this stone monument to Fujisawa Kanbei, whom some call the Father of Tsukuba City

By Avi Landau

The Fujisawa`s of Furuku, Tsukuba, have long been one of this area`s most influential families. In fact, Kanbei Fujisawa (1901-1994),  is considered by many to be the Father of  ｔhe Tsukuba Science City-  and there is actually a bronze statue of him standing in the Matsumi Koen Park  attesting to that fact. In his position as a great landlord ( to this day the family is the second largest property owner in the Prefecture), and as a long-time, multiple term mayor of Sakura Mura (which eventually became one of the six entities which merged to become Tsukuba City) Kanbei-San was able to help this area overcome its most serious obstacle on the road to large-scale develpment- its lack of water- by pushing for the construction of a system of irrigation canals running out of Lake Kasumigaura and  leading all the way to Yatabe (another one of the towns which came to join in on the formation of the Science City).

The Fujisawa Rose Garden in Furuku, Tsukuba in May

A purple GIGANTIUM at the Fujisawa Rose Garden

Lack of water? That`s right. While there had long been thriving agricultural hamelts along the rivers, much of what eventually became the Science City was a plateau which could not be used for rice cultivation or support a large population because of a lack of water for drinking and irrigation. In fct, one of the distinctive characteristics of this area`s local history is the frequent occurence of  WATER WARS (mizu arasoi, 水争い) which raged between villages- sometimes ending in bloodshed.

Fujisawa Kanbei`s irrigation trenches created new possibilites for this area ( and for his ability to collect rent monies from his numerous tenants, as well!) and must certainly be considered his major contribution to Tsukuba.

Eight years ago (in 2004), however, another project the Fujisawa Family hoped would make a contribution to the area  was  opened to the public- their amazing rose garden!

Since that time, late May  and early June have become a time for flower lovers from near and far to descend upon the old Fujisawa homestead, creating small traffic jams along the narrow country lanes and turnings old fields into crowded parking lots.

And  with 850 varieties of roses (0n more than 2500 bushes) along with many other ornamental species  carefully and lovingly tended by the staff of volunteer gardeners, no one who makes this pilgrimage goes away disappointed. And when the weather is fine- the atmosphere is absolutely joyous.

With all the dazzling bright color and the air thick with the roses` legendary perfume, a  visit to the Fujisawa Rose Garden might even get your head spinning!

Though there were native species of rose- and that flower IS Ibaraki`s prefectural flower- roses still represent European Culture here in Japan. Thus ,the cheesy nude statues

The Fujisawa Rose Garden in May

More than 850 varieties in bloom!

Making things more attractive still, is the fact that admission is FREE ( though the garden does seem to do a brisk business in selling plants, flowers and gardening accessories).

And as for the timing, the current patriarch of the Fujisawa Clan ( and a former mayor of Tsukuba City) told me that there is no specific peak time at his rose garden. It will be spectacular right on through autumn, as some varietes wither and others take their place in bloom.

Still, the excitement of THIS season, when the garden first explodes into color- is special, and throngs of people having been visiting in the past few days. Thousands on the weekend.

You know you`ve found the Fujisawa Rose Garden when you`ve noticed the country road is now lined with roses!`

A variety of rose called the Chapeau du Napoleon

When I asked Mr. Fujisawa why the family decided to have this garden designed and created, he stated without hesitation  that they wanted it to be a tourist attraction. Something that visitors  from both Japan and abroad might appreciate.

And the rose IS an appropriate selection indeed as a theme for a garden in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture. This is because the rose is the official prefectural flower. In fact, the name Ibaraki itself, is said to derive from the name of a native variety of rose which grew in the this area, the IBARA. These thorny plants  were said to have been used by the original inhabitants of this area to build fortresses to defend themselves from the incursions of forces of the Yamato Court. Ibaraki can be said to mean Fortress of Roses.

A HAMANASU (native Japanese variety of rose) at the Tsukuba Botanical Garden (May 11, 2013)

Roses in Japanese History

While in Europe and the Near East the rose has held a special place among flowers for millenia-  because of its beauty, and even more importantly ( for the ancient Greeks and Romans) for its smell, the native Japanese roses, with their small flowers, plentiful thorns, and lack of strong scent, were never appreciated by Japan`s early flower loving aristocracy ( though as I have already said the native tribes of Eastern Japan may have appreciated the thorny plants for their usefullness in building defenses.

These endemic roses which the aristocrat poets ignored are called the NO IBARA (Rosa multiflora) and the TERIHA NO IBARA (R. wichuraiana). Another variety, which is quite beautiful (and abundant Ibaraki Prefecture) is the HAMANASU, which was apparently not familiar to the denizens of Japan`s ancient capital ( Kyoto and Nara). If they had known this flower, it would surely have grabbed their interest.

The first extant mention of a variety of rose in the Japanese language can be found in the Manyoshu, the oldest- and many say greatest of Japan`s anthologies of classical poetry.

It is of interest, however, that this poem is included in the section of Frontier Guard Poems ( SAKIMORI NO UTA) which were written by men from Eastern Japan ( the Tsukuba Area) who were drafted as border guards and sent off to far off Kyushu. This oldest reference to Japan`s native rose uses the flower to evoke a bitter image- something thorny in which one gets painfully tangled up in and has trouble breaking away from- the feeling that the poet had long ago when hehad to leave his beloved and go off to distant shores.

(Here is the poem:  道の辺の茨のうれに延ほ豆のからまる君をはかれか行かむ  ( MICHI NO HE NO UMARA NO URE NI HAHO MAME NO KARAMARU KIMI O HAKARE KAYUKAMU)- translation forthcoming)

NO-IBARA, the native Japanese species of rose from which the name of our prefecture- Ibaraki- derives its name (at the Tsukuba Botanical Garden)

It was only after a type of Chinese rose was introduced to Japan during the Heian Period, that a rose variety finally came to be appreciated here for its beauty . This flower was called SO-BI (そうび), SA-UBI (さうび), or SHABI (しゃび), in poetry, and it was referred to most notably by the great classical writers Ki no Tsuryuki and Sei Shonagon. See a photo of this chinese rose here:

http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~sg2h-ymst/yamatouta/saijiki/saubi.html

And while the rose has been used as an artistic motif in Europe since ancient times, it was not until the 14th century that a rose, the type that had been imported from China, was depicted in Japan, having been painted into a picture scroll by the artist Takashina Takakane in 1309. Other famous extant works of art showing Chinese roses came later, but VERY infrequently-  in the Muromachi Period in  a painting by Sesshu (1420-1506), and then on a sliding door painting by the Edo Period artist  Kanno Tanyu (1602-1674).

The modern Japan word for rose- BARA (薔薇) first appeared in the year 1818 in Japan`s first botanical field guide. The word derived from the name of Japan`s native rose- the UBARA ( also the root of the name of Ibaraki Prefecture).

During the Edo Period (1600-1868), while Japan was almost completely closed off to the world, eminent European scientists such as Engelbert Kaempfer, Carl Peter Thunberg, and Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold, who had all at one time or another been stationed at the Dutch trading post on Dejima, Nagasaki, introduced the native Japane roses, the NO IBARA, TERIHA IBARA, and the HAMANASU, to the wider world through their writings. Siebold actually brought some HAMANASU back to his native Holland with him, and there they still  popular.

The loveliest of Japan`s native roses- the HAMANASU

HOW TO GET THERE

Visiting the Fujisawa Rose Garden

The Fujisawa Rose Garden is a private garden and there are apparently no official visiting hours- though common sense should be applied – don`t go too early or too late in the day.

To get there you can go by car, bicycle, bus, or taxi ( its a ten minute ride from the TX Tsukuba Terminal).

If you are driving or cycling, go straight down the Tsuchiura-Gakuen Road towards Tsuchiura. After passing the Hanamuro Intersection  going for a couple of Kms. You will come to a big Love Hotel ( Hotel LePass) on the right. At the second or third intersection after the hotel, turn left. go straight until you hit the next main ( but narrow) road. The Fujisawa`s home is along that road. In this season you cant miss it with ll the roses blooming along the road itself. You can also keep an eye out for the giant zelkova tree (keyaki) which grows next to their house.

Another landmark which will help you get there is the OMI CLINIC (大見クリニック) which is a private hostipal just near the rose garden. Here is a map to the clinic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=gSnkrUGUd2w

For those who don`t read Japanese, the main road on the map is the Tsuchiura Gakuen Line. The garden would be right where the red frame in that map is.- just above the clinic.

AND

Besides the roses take a peek  through the gate in front the Fujisawa`s old house. You can see a giant Bonsai ( is that an oxymoron?) which was originally a  parth of a tree which had belonged to the wife of General Nogi Maresuke (who was born in Tsuchiura).

The statue of Kanbei Fujisawa whuch stands in Tsukuba`s Matsumi Koen Park

A segment of the the system of irrigation canals which carry water from Lake Kasumigaura to what is now Tsukuba City (taken in Namiki, Tsukuba)

Another, more scenic segment ( also taken in Namiki)

To be continued…………….

And if you are interested, I once wrote a song, together with Ascelin Gordon and Brett Johnson on the theme of taking time to stop and smell the roses.

I recorded it with the TenGooz, and you can listen to it here:

http://www.jamendo.com/en/track/34551/almost-out-of-time

Ironically, my favorite flowers at the rose garden are these GIGANTIAM ( Photo by Tomoko Seto)

Photo by Tomoko Seto

Photo by Tomoko Seto

Photo by Tomoko Seto

Its not all a bed of roses at the Fujisawa`s garden- there are some daisies, too ! (photo by Tomoko Seto)

Photo by Tomoko Seto

A GIGANTIUM from straight above

2 Comments

• At 16 May, 2013, Rosa wrote:

  Could you please provide an address and public transportation access? I looked on google maps and could not find it. Thank you.

• At 16 May, 2013, Avi Landau wrote:

  At the bottom of the article i have added a bit more about how to get to the Fujisawa Rose Garden.

  If you want to you Google Map then maybe you could search for the Omi Clinic (大見クリニック)

  which is just next to the Fujisawa House.

  Enjoy

The Yamaki Jinja Shrine before it was destroyed by the tornado of May 6th 2012. It is said that the famous 11th century warrior, HACHIMAN TARO YOSHIIE passed by here twice on his way from the capital (now Kyoto) to North-Eastern Japan where he would suppress a rebellion

By Avi Landau

Last week, on a fine May afternoon, I took a walk around my old neighborhood in Hojo, Tsukuba. I was impressed, even moved, by what I saw. Just a year earlier the place had looked as if it had been subjected to an air-raid: houses and shops stripped bare to their frames, cars flipped over, trees uprooted, utility poles knocked over, debris (of all shapes and sizes)  strewn everywhere.

Now, someone who did not know that a tornado had passed through the town on May 6th 2012, would never imagine that such a disaster had struck. In fact,I think the old neighborhood looks MUCH BETTER than it did before the twister struck. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the local residents and thousands of volunteers who poured in from near and far every day- for weeks (months?) – as well as the support of the Ground Self-Defence Forces (the Japanese Army) and various governmental and private agencies, the town was cleaned up- and then polished until it shined.

One key factor in Hojo`s new look was the fact that the City Government offered to pay for the demolition of damaged houses- many of which were already uninhabitable long before the tornado came along. Whole shanty-filled blocks were cleared with this money ( the owners of many of these places could not afford to have them knocked down) and some have been able to put up beautiful new homes.

Approaching the Yamaki Shrine. Nine hundred years ago HACHIMAN TARO YOSHIIE made a vow never to eat adzuki beans if his army was victorious- and to this day, in the old neighborhood of Yamaki, Tsukuba, the local farmers DO NOT GROW that popular crop

But as I continued my tour of last year`s scenes of devastation beyond Hojo- the tornado ad woven its path of destruction over a course 15 km long- I found that the only Shinto Shrine to have been destroyed- the Yamaki Jinja Shrine, in Yamaki, Tsukuba- had yet to be repaired (though the considerable wreckage of the shrine`s structures and of all the trees of its sacred grove which had been felled in the storm, had been cleared away).

Now the once lushly verdant and appropriately dark and mysterious sacred grove (鎮守の森, CHINJU NO MORI) amidst which the old shrine had been set has almost completely disappeared- the hill on which it grew now dusty and bare- while the still forested surrounding hills and the newly flooded rice fields which fill all the valleys show what a narrow path of devastion the tornado cut and how unlucky (and strange) it was for the 17th century shrine buildings to have been hit.

Click here for some video footage of the shrine just after the twister hit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cgL4Efr0bU

What remains of the Yamaki Shrine and its sacred grove

I say that it was strange because out of all the shrines in Tsukuba, the only one to have been destroyed by the tornado- the YAMAKI JINJA (八巻神社)- was the only one with the kanji character MAKI (巻)- which means scrolls or SWIRL or TWIST in it. This is the second kanji character in the two that are used to write the Japanese word for tornado- TATSUMAKI (竜巻), which literally means DRAGON SWIRLS. The thing that makes the coincidence all the more surprising is that the tornado struck in the Year of the Dragon according to the oriental zodiac. ( please do not imagine that I believe that this signifies anything beyond an amazing coincidence).

The remaining Honden

Walking up the followed pilgrims steps, now so rudely exposed to the light of the sun, I tried to conjure up in my mind, the army of troops which dispatched by the Emperor under the command of HACHIMAN TARO YOSHIIE* to suppress a rebellion in the North-East in the 11th century. Apparently many of the men had taken sick they had stopped on this spot, sometime between 1046 and 1053, and it was decided that special prayers should be held.

Praying to the deity of the IZU SHRINE (伊豆神社), in what is now Shizuoka Prefecture, Yoshiie made a vow that if his men recovered from their illness and were to be victorious, he and his men would never eat adzuki beans again. Perhaps this was because the character for bean (豆) is the second character in the place name Izu (the Japanese have traditionally placed great importance on such connections beween letters and sounds and things- this is called GORO AWASE).

Well, as you might have guessed, HACHIMA TAROs forces regained their health and eventually proved victorious, defeating both ABE NO YORITOKI and his son SADATO.

This mysterious stone wheel is said to have been left at this spot by the army of HACHIMAN TARO Yoriie

In the year 1063, the deity of the Izu Shrine was ritually split (BUNRI) and transported (KANJO) to the same spot in present day Tsukuba where years earlier  HACHIMAN TARO` s  prayers for health and victory had originally been held.

Astonishingly (to me, at least), if you ask the farmers in the surrounding fields, you will find out that they still maintain the custom of never growing adzuki beans.

A look from behind

The devastated sacred grove

I was relieved to find that this shrine`s most unusual feature- a large, flat and round stone with a hole in  its center was still there laying on the ground in front of what little remains of the shrines structure- what is in fact the HONDEN- in which the deity is actually enshrined.

According to legend, this stone was once a wheel on a vehicle in HACHIMAN TARO`s convoy.

This is hard to believe, however, and to me it seems more likely that this was some sort of amulet or stone for rain supplications. Maybe it was a foundation stone of some sort or the base of some other structure or object.

It also reminds me somewhat of the STONE MONEY which I saw when I visited the Micronesian island of Yap. I wonder if there could be a connection?

Contemplate these things for yourself at the shrine which is located in the hamlet of Yamaki (spelled 山木, different characters than those used in the name of the shrine). It is just north of the the High Energy Physics Laboratory (KEK) on the west side of Higashi Odori .

Turn right to go to the clean center and then make the first right and follow the narrow road for a few hundred meters.

This is one of the quietest, least developed parts of Tsukuba (possibly because of its proximity to the trash burning incinerator, and the old village was actually divided in two by the construction of the Higashi Odori road about 40 years ago.

The sacred grove before the tornado

Just after the tornado of 2012 in Hojo

On the same spot as shown in the picture above- stands a brand new hous

Right after the tornado struck Hojo main commercial street (the Sho-tengai) on May 6th 2012

The main street in Hojo- a few days after the May 6th 2012 tornado- the streets have already been cleared of debris

Hojo`s main commercial street one year after the tornado

The street that I lived on in Hojo, Tsukuba - the day after the tornado of May 6th 2012

The same street one year later

Hear are my articles about the tornado which I posted on TsukuBlog last year:

http://blog.alientimes.org/2012/05/my-neighborhood-in-hojo-tsukuba-%e3%81%a4%e3%81%8f%e3%81%b0%e5%b8%82%e5%8c%97%e6%9d%a1-devastated-by-killer-tornado/

thttp://blog.alientimes.org/2012/05/while-tsukubas-tornado-stricken-hojo-is-the-focus-of-media-and-volunteer-attention-other-badly-affected-areas-suffer-and-clean-up-out-of-the-spotlight/

http://blog.alientimes.org/2012/05/plains-place-names-tornadoes-and-dragons-why-the-japanese-call-twisters-tatsumaki-dragons-swirls-and-other-post-storm-thoughts/

* Minamoto no Yoshiie (源義家),1039-1106, the scion of one of the great Japanese families, the Minamoto (or the Genji) had his coming of age ceremony held at the Ishikiyomizu Hachimangu Shrine and for that reason was affectionately dubbed HACHIMAN TARO (Hachiman shrines, dedicated to the God of War, are the titular shrines of the Minamoto Family). Yoshiie grew to encapsulate all the classic virtues of a Japanese warrior- not only bravery and skill in battle, but also  a love and cultivation of the arts (especially poetry- he supposedly let an enemy- Abe`s son, Sadato -  live after an elegant exchange of improvised verse).

The Emperor ordered Yoshiie and his father Yoriyoshi (頼義） to lead an expedition to supress a rebellion by the powerful aristocrat Abe no Yoritoki who had carved out his own sizeable territory in North-Eastern Japan. This was accomplished with the help of local strongman Kiyowara Noritake.

After the victory, Yoshiie was granted the  governorship of Mutsu　Province in North-Eastern Japan, the area which the defeated Abe had controlled. .MUCH more famously than Tsukuba`s Yamaki Shrine, He also founded the Tsuruoka Hachimangu in Kamakura which is one of Japan`s most important Shrines.

Read more about this man who led his forces through the Tsukuba area more than 900 years ago here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minamoto_no_Yoshiie

1 Comments

• At 16 May, 2013, Mamoru Shimizu wrote:

  It still remind me that Avi-san was very lucky because that tornado just passed 50 m right from your former house, I now think you hadn't have eaten Azuki-bean and brought buck some doughnuts from Tokyo at that time!?

  Doughnuts shape stone ?? money??

  Yamaki-clan originally has descended from emperor KANMU and they were Heikes. Hachmantaro Yosiie (Genji) might paid regard to shrine because those are also descendants of Emperors (Genji from emperor SEIWA). Those time they were not hostile to each other like Taira Kiyomori vs Minamorto Yoritomo. Those people were just worriers, beginning of Samurai=Bushi, and later took political power.

  Tira-Kiyomori then Minamoto Yoritomo’s Bakufu (Power from Emperor’ s Permission. It was complicated story.

  This kind of power struggle is rather difficult even for Japanese, the easiest way is who got the emperor’ flag. Even Meiji revolution. Flag of Emperor is very important.

  Thanks Avi-san for your nice article.

Weeping Willow In Tsukuba

By Avi Landau

The avenues and waterbanks of Chang`an, the great capital of Tang China (618-907) were often lined with willows (yanagi 柳, in Japanese), as these trees were believed to represent  rejuvinative life forces and have the ability to repel evil and bad fortune. One reason for this is that their slender and elegant branches MOVE WITH THE BREEZE more actively than the branches of most other trees,thus connecting them with the bright and positive Yang (as oppossed to the dark and negative Ying). This notion was reinforced by the light color of the willows wood , its bearing leaves earlier than other trees in the spring, and the fact that it was believed to be an antidote for scorpion stings. For New Year`s, the residents of The Tang capital would hang a willow branch above their homes` entranceways to keep bad energies out. The wispy, misty green which seemed to float above  the streets of the old capital in late March and early April as the willow`s leaves sprouted forth also came to epitomize SPRING`S GREENERY, as exemplified by  Su Tung-po`s poem-turned-adage – Naturally Willows Are Green (柳緑, in Chinese), and Flowers Are Red (花紅).

Willows in China

Since the Japanese Imperial Family and the aristocrats of the Nara and early Heian Period  courts were enamoured with just about everything Tang, it is not surprising that the streets and watersides of the then new capital of the Yamato Realm, Heian-Kyo (today`s Kyoto), which took Chang`an as its model, were also lined with imported willows. In Japan, too, the wood of the willow was used to dispel bad energies and ALSO as an antenna to attract the Gods. This is best exemplified by the special chopsticks used during the New Years Holiday(yanagibashi 柳箸), which are made of the willows lightly hued wood and are narrowed at both ends (so that the gods can enjoy New Year`s dishes with you!).The Japanese, like the Tang Chinese, also decorated their homes with a willow branch, to attract the Toshigami-Sama- The God of the New Year.

The delicate green of the willows fresh leaves, were also thought to be the perfect match for the pink cherry blossoms which adorned the old capital in April. In the kokinshu anthology of ancient poems  there is the tanka by  Sosei （素性） which goes- MIWATASEBA YANAGI SAKURA O KOKIMAZETE MIYAKO ZO HARU NO NISHIKI NARIKERU- (which I translate as) Looking out over the capital, the willows leaves and cherry blossoms blend to make a veritable spring brocade.

The pairing of the two trees was also logical from a Ying Yang point of view, as the Yin blossoms are balanced out by the Yang of  the willows.

As willows spread throughout the Japanese Archipelago (there are about 300 varieties including 15 in Ibaraki),they were not only utilzed as roadside trees, separating the stable, solid parts of the city from the fluid lanes of traffic, but came to be used to demarcate boundaries. They were planted at the entrance ways to towns and villages, at the waterline along rivers and ponds (separating the terrestrial from the aquatic), around palace and castle moats( separating the common from the great) and at the gates to the old pleasure quarters (yu-kaku). It was also believed that willows marked the boundary between the mortal world and the realm of spirits. Japanese Ghosts are said to often appear under weeping willows (no doubt because of the way they rustle and move in the breeze which can be extremely creepy at night!).

A Willow In Bloom

For me, it was surprising when I first learned that weeping willows have flowers (or more precisely catkins) which bloom in late March and early April. Willows are either male or female  and the catkins of each sex are slightly different. If  you get up close to a willow, have a look. They can still  usually to be found by ponds (i.e. at Doho Park in Tsukuba), along rivers or .at the entrance to small bridges (like the foot bridge over the pond at Tukuba`s botanical garden).

Though now we are entering  the height of their breeding season, it is not until July that they really stand out. It is then that they  can be seen darting about, like little fighter planes, over the ripening paddy fields, gracefully grabbing up mosquitoes and other harmful bugs. They are working at a frenzied pace, as their young ( their second brood of the season), numbering as many as seven, are getting bigger and bigger, and need more and more nourishment before they finally leave the nest and find food on their own. And while they have a professional baseball team named after them and a shinkansen train as well, SWALLOWS, or TSUBAME (燕), are not getting the respect they have grown used to.

These famed harbingers of spring arrive in the Kanto area in April, having flown great distances from southern China,and as far as Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. They arrive just in time to make use of the freshly tilled mud in the paddy fields to make their distinctive nests.  In Japan, swallows have come to live closely with humans, mostly nesting in settled areas, including large cities. They make their mud and grass nests under the eaves of houses and shops and usually return to the SAME HOUSE every year, OFTEN ON THE SAME DATE! The annual return of the tsubame has been considered a happy occasion by their host families. Having your house or shop selected by the swallows for nesting has traditionally been considered highly auspicious and you can still find home-owners and shop-keepers putting out boxes or newspapers to catch the droppings and maybe even putting up a screen or wind-shield for additional protection. In late May, while the swallows are raising their first brood it is most usual to notice these DROPPING BOADS before noticing the birds themselves (if you see a sheet of newspaper or cardboard covered with white droppings just look up and you will probably see the nest!). You can probably be sure that there will also be hungry crows , cats or snakes nearby (that is why the nests are tucked ingeniously into unreachable areas under the eaves).

In older villages and towns and in the older sections of large cities, one nest or more under the eaves of an old building, with chicks poking their beaks out expectantly waiting for their mothers return, as their father stands guard close by, is an endearing image of a Japan quickly disappearing.

Year by year, the swallows are finding themselves less and less welcome. The traditional belief in the luck that the swallows bring is being gradually replaced by the the modern worship of THE STERILE and clean, and by this I mean an intense dislike of bugs, large trees, animals or anything else that smacks of DIRTY.

These days, proud owners of little, plastic, half-million dollar houses, are most likely to have swallows nests quickly removed or more cruelly just closed off, separating parents from young.

Still, the old values come to the rescue sometimes. Here is a story about the swallows at Misao Ito’s house in Kukizaki. Misao lives in a grand old neighborhood, just across the street from Mrs. Noguchi’s (of the mask fame) thatched-roof manor house. Her family decided to knock down their old house and build a modern style home, one which did not seem appropriate for swallows nests.

When her family was looking into ways of removing the nest which had been constructed by their front door, the neighbors came to intervene. Don’t destroy the nest, they warned. If you do that youre house might burn down!

They told Misao’s family that having the nest would bring good fortune to the family and that if the number of chicks hatched was an odd number, they should celebrate by eating sekihan (red rice for festive occasions). The Ito`s followed their neighbors advice and in the end all parties were satisfied. The birds raised their young,the kids enjoyed watching the dramatic, private nature show on their front porch and the neighbors are at ease, because tradition was not broken. And most of all their is the anticipation of the same birds return next spring and the spring after that.

With more and more swallows returning from overseas to find themselves unwelcome, I think it’s time to re-instill in everyone this old excitement which the swallow used to bring.

Besides their miraculous annual return, they are beautiful, graceful, hardworking parents, who eliminate plenty of mosquitoes (without poisons)!

Why shouldn’t we welcome them!

Walking along the old main commercial street in Hojo, Tsukuba it is comforting to find a swallows nest (or two) under the eaves of just about every shop!

A swallows nest in Hojo, Tsukuba

You can find many nests with chicks in them under the walkway of the Art and Physical Education Department of Tsukuba University. Parent birds can be seen for the next few days scrambling for as many insects as they can catch. Watching them over the deep green, young rice plants is the best way to view them in Tsukuba.

Look at some ways that Japanese people help the nesting birds (by making platforms for nesting) and protect their homes from swallow poop:

www.biodic.go.jp/reports/5-4/p028.html

I have also written a TsukuBlog post on my trying to nurse an injured swallow:

http://blog.alientimes.org/2010/07/my-wildand-buggy-garden-the-perfect-place-to-rehabilitate-an-injured-swallow/

A wood-block print by the great Utagawa Hiroshige depicts swallows (tsubame)

1 Comments

• At 22 April, 2012, Mamoru Shimizu wrote:

  My house in Tsukuba in 1983 is relatively newer to compare older resident’s houses. But it was more than 29 years, old enough for swallows to make nests, and I was so much a kind person for them, but no swallows tried to make nest!

  This is my guess that my house area was developed during developing time of Tskuba science city. So there have never been swallow-nests around my house area. I could not find any of their nests around here. There are so many kind families and suitable place for swallows to make nests.

  I think swallows must have so much rigid brain not to search new frontier like Western frontier Heroes?

  My father’s house in Tokyo was build after burned during the WW-2 but had not had Swallow nest until 2005 when it was broken down finally. May be same reason, swallows only make nest only same house?

  But then how their increasing offspring find places to make their new nests?

  Or they suspect that secretly I would like to taste one day very expensive Chinese cuisine "Swallow nest soup" even this swallow are quite different kind:their distant cousins!?