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Monday, October 3, 2011

Early October at Manyo Botanical Gardens


Yellowish green suggests season is progressing.

春日大社神苑 (Kasuga Shrine Manyo Botanical Gardens) is located in the ground of Kasuga Shrine.  "Manyo" means "ten thousand leaves".  The Gardens display about 300 kinds of plants described in the Manyoshu Poetry Anthology compiled in the 8th century.   Let’s see briefly how the Gardens is in early October.

curving path through the trees and flowers

Starting with "seven grasses of autumn"....

Boneset, or Thoroughwort (fujibakama)




Bellflower (asagaho/kikyo)

This is the flower thought to be “asagaho” in Manyoshu


 Japanese pampas grass (obana/susuki)

Some pampas grasses turned to silvery plumes, while others still remain brown.

spikes of pampas grass




At the root of Japanese Pampas Grass, there are Aeginetia Indica  (nanbangiseru).  They stop proliferation of invasive kind of poaceae like “susuki”.  This is known as "omoigusa 思草" in Manyoshu.  I wonder this name derived from the flowers blooming with their heads down ?

 Japanese Bush Clover (hagi)

The rest of "seven grasses of autumn", Yellow Patrinia (ominaeshi) and Arrowroot (Kdzu), were already gone in September.  There was no Pink (nadeshiko), though there are still some in my garden.


Reflected grass is as beautiful as the real grass!


mixture of green and yellow


October blooming cherry tree (十月桜)



Polygonum Cnspicuum (sakuratade, 桜蓼) at the water's edge



Blackberry Lily (hiougi 檜扇)
Thank you, Wanda.

While I was looking for the fallen seeds, I found earth-colored grasshoppers (ツチバッタ).  There were no seeds on the ground.  I wonder some insects carried them away?

two grasshoppers resting parallel

Trifoliate orange fruits (karatachi no mi)


 Japanese pears (nashi)

 Polygonum Tinctorum (tadeai 蓼藍)


Campanula (tsuriganeso)


Flowers give their nectar to their last moment.
Happy autumn to you all!


Early May at Manyo Botanical Gardens: "In the green, balmy breeze of May"
Plants in Manyoshu: here in Japanese

46 comments:

  1. Hi Yoko

    I really enjoyed walking with you through the Manyo Botanical Gardens because I have visited the Kasuga Shrine and could picture the environment. The flowers and plants are fresh and calming. I love the leaf of the hagi and the delicate little flower of the sakuratade.

    thanks for the walk today

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  2. Your autumn is so beautiful with so many beautiful flower, seed-heads and leaves. These gardens are a joy to behold. I have never seen an autumn flowering cherry tree before.

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  3. Hello Yoko:
    This is an absolutely delightful post and, we think, the next best thing to being able actually to visit these Botanical gardens which look beautiful. We especially love the image of the grasses reflected in the water. Perfect.

    Here we continue to enjoy an Indian Summer of warm, sunny days and blue skies although the nights are becoming distinctly cooler.

    Have an enjoyable week.

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  4. Yoko
    What beautiful photos. And such a lovely place. Yes, the reflection is very nice, so are the flowers. Have a mice week, Ev

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  5. Ohh, I visited there in early summer, but it looks so different.
    Many autumnal flowers in full bloom is amazing. I'd like to visit there sooner. Maybe your photos are superior to the real ones?

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  6. It's beautiful. Mel, I really feel like I'm in the botanical garden. Thank you. Nice day wishes Peter.

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  7. The pics are lovely! What soft colors and beautiful flowers and leaves and natural beauty...
    Loved the reflections and the grasshopper too!!
    Have a wonderful week ahead Yoko:)

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  8. Dear Stardust,

    Sometimes I think the entire area in which you live is one beautiful garden! The Manyo Botanical Gardens must be very old and I appreciate the many different plants that you've showcased. Some of them look familiar...the bluebell looks very much like a wild flower, the Bluebell, that grows in Texas. We also have pampas grass in Texas.

    This would be a wonderful place to visit and meditate and let the cares of the world wash away!

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  9. beautiful photos! for all the color of the blooms and buds, i love the pampas grass. :)

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  10. Your first photo, Yoko, brings to mind Monet's painting of the Water Garden and Japanese Footbridge.

    In my field here there's one large group of Boneset, which the butterflies love and the photo of the black seeds looks like my Blackberry Lily seed heads. What the deer don't eat, I use in dried flower arrangements sometimes, the seeds cling on forever. Wish I had an October blooming cherry tree!

    Happy Autumn to you too, Yoko!

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  11. I've never been there. I read Haricot's report in early summer. I am surprised there are many plants. Since they are flowers have been lived in Japan,we have to cherish them.
    Thank you for sharing autumn flowers.

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  12. What stunning shots. That first photo is superb and very peaceful.

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  13. Want a beautiful walk and beautiful pictures. I don't know how you spotted the grasshoppers they are so well camophlaged.
    Thankyou for showing us the colours of your fall.

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  14. Beautiful nature photos! Autumn is so gorgeous with all the colours, fruit and berries! I love October blooming cherries! Actually I haven't had slightest idea they can bloom in autumn:)
    Happy autumn to you, my friend:)

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  15. Jesień z kwiatami kwitnącej wiśni jest cudna. Pozdrawiam cieplutko

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  16. Hello Yoko,
    Thanks for showing me around in the botanic garden. Their is a whole lot to see. Thanks for sharing and have a lovely week.
    Gr. Marijke

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  17. All these autumnal photos are beautiful but the reflection in the pond is absolutely splendid!
    Another great series!

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  18. Thank you for this tour of the lovely plants in the botanical garden, and, as usual, beautiful pictures. I specially noticed the pampas grass. I visited a botanical garden in England with a Japanese friend recently and she noticed the different types of pampas grass in the botanical garden. She showed me one type of grass that grows in Japan. its name in Japanese meant something like "grass that you use to play with the cat" and she showed me how, as children, they made its seed head look like caterpillars.
    It really did look exactly like a caterpillar. I find this plant folklore is so interesting.

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  19. The top photo of the reflected red bridge is so beautifully composed. The sakuratade are so dainty and fragile. We have Bellflower still blooming (sparsely) in the forest. I wish you a happy autumn, too!

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  20. Hi, thanks for sharing all these lovely photos, the first one reminds me of Monet's art work

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  21. 万葉の頃の人たちは、この花々に出会える喜びは今よりもずっと強いものだったのでしょうね。色々な思いをたくしたのでしょう。
    今「朱花(はねず)の月」という飛鳥を舞台にした映画が公開されていますが、はたして私にその映画の感性が理解できるかどうか、見てみたいと思っています。

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  22. I was not a good student of Japanese ancient literature, and I didn't know that Kikyo was thought to be as asagao in Manyoshu.
    Also, this was my first time to see "October Sakura". Thanks for letting me know.

    Wonderful captures, especially I like the reflection photo of grasses and pond!

    Have a nice day!

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  23. Wonderful gardens!!!
    Your photos, my beloved dear Yoko, are GREAT, as allways!!!
    I thing there is still summer, like Greece.
    Many greetings

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  24. jardines de ensueño,realmente hermoso e interesante lugar
    saludos

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  25. Thank you for your nice comment on our Images blog...but you are not outdated and your photos take a back seat to no one! :-)

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  26. What a beautiful collection.Even if we live in Japan, most of us don't know all of them.
    I know the name "karatachi" but I didn't know the karatachi no mi.It's so cute yellow.
    I need to explore many flowers and fruits.
    Have a great fall.

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  27. Hi Yoko! In your country autumn is indeed a very beautiful season. What a treat to see your photos! The reflection of grass is wonderful!

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  28. Beautiful pictures and japanese plants! I like especially your picture of reflected grass on pond surface, how talented!!

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  29. beautiful blog with wonderful images!

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  30. I wonder if you, too, have “hoozuki” in your garden as I do, stardust. I love the delicate look of all the flowers that you captured. A less discerning eye might miss them as well as the little butterfly with its autumn colors. The red bridge in your first photo is like a path from one end of heaven to the other.

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  31. Hola, desde España...
    Tus fotos son preciosas, me encantan... y una de ellas, Picos de Pampas me ha inspirado este Haiku...
    ((en español, no sé si perderá en tu idioma, espero que lo disfrutes))

    Picos de pampas,
    volar libres quisieran.
    Prender amores.

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  32. I always find poetry translated into images when I visit your blog.

    Are there really blossoming trees in Japan in October?

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  33. Magnificent photos of a wonderful place which is breathtakingly beautiful at this time of year.

    The first picture of the bridge is exactly how I imagine Japanese gardens to be, the kind of gardens we try to copy.

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  34. Olga – The autumn blooming cherry tree has a few blossoms on each branch different from the thick blossoms of spring. In October, Japanese crape myrtle is still blooming , In November, Sasanqua camellia bloom, and we have winter blooming trees as well.

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  35. stardust さん こんにちわ。
    春日大社は、季節毎に様々な表情を見せてくれて、すばらしい日本の財産です。
    繊細な植物の様子から、秋の雰囲気が伝わってきます。
    残念ながら、私はお参りしたことがございませんので、代わりにNHKで放送された大祭の番組を大切に保存して拝見しております。

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  36. I noticed only one grasshopper at first ^^ Maybe they're secret gardeners collecting seeds? =^_^= We had really a lot of grasshoppers this summer, they were chirping so loudly in our flowerbed.

    Did geese fly to south already by the way? I often meet them in tanka and haiku about autumn :)

    Have a nice day ^.^

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  37. Happy Autumn to you too. More lovely photos--I especially like the first photo of the red bridge--just lovely. And, of course, the butterfly is exquisite. Always a pleasure to come by your blog. Mickie :)

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  38. Ekaterina – Wild Goose (雁) is a seasonal word for autumn in Japanese poems. Geese come to Japan and spend winter here. Japan’s winter is relatively mild, so geese come to Japan from north. They fly to north in spring. I haven’t heard the news of the arrival of geese this season yet.

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  39. Very beautiful all of them, though I especially love the first one, it seems to me so magical and dreamy! Have a lovely weekend!

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  40. The gardens are so beautiful. It is interesting to see the different kinds of plants and flowers you have in your part of Japan. Such beautiful photographs!

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  41. ! Show us how beautiful!
    A delight to my eyes.
    The cherry always touches my soul.
    You have a delicate art
    A hug,

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  42. It looks like paradise Yoko! Your pictures are beautiful. … I enjoyed stroll through Manyo Botanical Gardens! This garden is bursting with lovely plants and shrubs.

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  43. I love botanic gardens, although I haven't been to many. This one is lovely!
    The reflected grass makes a wonderful photo, and I love the butterfly!

    I enjoy your blog, and I have awarded you The Versatile Blogger Award.
    http://versatilebloggeraward.wordpress.com/vba-rules/

    Have a wonderful day!

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  44. My beloved friend Yoko, hi
    Fantastic gardens !!!
    Your photos are very nice!!!
    I wish you a happy Autumn for all your family!
    Best regards

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  45. Wow! I loved the pictures. Discovered a new place on earth!regards from Italy!

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  46. Greetings Yoko!

    Re your comment: I'm sorry about the name confusion. Jacob is my pen name or pseudonym that I've used for some political writing. But I decided to go ahead and use my given name for the photo blogs.

    As the man said, "You can call me Jacob, you can call me Lowell, just as long as you call me!"

    :-) Hope you're having fun!

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