Memories of Grandmother and kakitsubata iris



the Main Hall of the temple

Chogaku-ji (長岳寺)Temple is located on Yamanobe-no-Michi Trail, Japan's oldest recorded road from Yanagimoto to Miwa.  It is said to have been founded in 824 by Kobo Daishi (弘法大師). 

I have been familiar with the temple, as it is in Yanagimoto-cho where my husband’s grandmother lived.  I remember eating somen noodle with her at the temple when my husband first introduced me to her.  She lived a long life up to 105. What was amazing about her was she could chant the Heart Sutra by heart while doing "seiza", Japanese way of formal sitting, even after she turned 100.  At 90, she started visiting the local library once a week where she borrowed several books to read for the week.  Though a bright young student, she was unable to continue her education; as she was the fourth of nine children, she had to help around the house. She devoured reading books as if restoring her dream of youth. While reading, her heart soared free, journeying into foreign lands, falling in love with the heroes, or learning sacred truth.  There were so much for her to learn from books.  These, and other facts, were reported in NHK documentary program, 百歳バンザイ! in which she featured as one of perky centenarians, and a book of the same title; she was then 101.

She was a person like "kakitsubata ",or Iris laevigata, beautiful and upright both in posture and behavior.  Purple color suited her perfectly and she looked most refined in her purple kimono or clothes.  The pond of Chogaku-ji is noted for its kakitsubata flowers in early May.

Japanese snowball/大手毬

There is a Japanese proverb which goes “Which is ayame, which is kakitsubata?”   This proverb is used to describe metaphorically the difficulty in choosing between the two equally beautiful or excellent things.  It’s difficult to tell the two flowers apart, but simply put, ayame has a net pattern at the base of its petals, and kakitsubata has a white color.

Kakitsubata, or Iris laevigata

The base of the Kakitusbata petal is white.
They bloom on wet land.

Ayame, or Iris sanguinea, in my garden

As you see in the photo above, Ayame has mesh pattern at the base of the petals.