wombat1138 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
wombat1138) wrote2008-09-06 11:11 pm
wombat1138) wrote2008-09-06 11:11 pm
Entry tags:
hana-kotoba (again)
While looking for something else at the library, I found a reference book that listed some traditional Japanese flower symbolism in the context of myths and legends-- photocopied some pages and also jotted some extra notes down. May need to do some extra Googling to track down all of the Linnean names and check the transliterations; some of them had a rather archaic look which may arise either from the source material or a different transliteration system.
Original source: The Mythology of All Races, 13 vols (chief ed. Canon John Arnott MacCulloch). Volume VIII, part 2, "Japanese", by Anesaki Masaharu. New York: Cooper Square Publishers, Inc., 1964.
Based on some other online refs, I gather that there were previous print dates for this volume, but I didn't notice any edition info at the time. The first half of volume VIII was by a different author and was devoted to Chinese mythology; all chapter info is specific to the second half.
Most of the info from Chapter VIII: "Stories of Plants and Flowers" (pp 348-353) unless specifically noted w/ other page #s.
New Year's season (Jan. 1-15, or presumably its former equivalent in the lunar calendar)--
pine = prosperity; linked to the crane (longevity)
bamboo = straightforwardness; linked to the sparrow
plum: first flower to bloom (specific virtue?); linked to the uguisu
early spring--
narcissus = purity
adonis (fukujusou) = fertility beneath the snow(?), brings good fortune and health
yuzuri-ha (Daphniphyllium macropodium) = endless continuity
spring--
willow branches = gracefulness
willow leaves = fresh life; in conjunction w/ cherry blossoms, "the brocade of spring" woven by the Lady of Mt. Sano
peach flowers = fecundity; associated w/ Girls' Day (March 3rd)
peach flowers and fruit: power against the plague
azalia[sic]: last of the spring flowers; used to decorate shrines of the baby Buddha on his birthday (currently celebrated April 8th, but more properly ~1 mo later according to the lunar calendar)
early summer--
wistaria[sic] = brightness and "transitoriness"; forms a triad with the globe flower (Kerria?) and tree-peony
various types of iris:
fuyou (Hibiscus mutabilis) = a beautiful but unhappy woman
hydrangea = a fascinating but fickle woman
summer--
tachibana flowers: assoc'd with the song of the cuckoo
morning-glory: assoc'd w/ Korea (both synonyms as chosen)
evening-glory (bottle gourd or yufugawo) = lonely and melancholy (382)
evening primrose (tsukimisou): "the grass that looks at the moon"
cat-tail and "similar plants": assoc'd w/ frogs' spears(?) and Tengu noses
lotus flower = purity, ideal of perfection, the unity of Buddhist instruction/enlightenment
early autumn--
ominameshi (Patrinia scabiosaefoliae) = tenderness and submissiveness; the name means "woman-flower"
sasaki (a.k.a. obana, Miscanthus sinensis): linked w/ the full moon festival in the 9th lunar month "when puddings[?] are offered to O-Tsuki-sama"; forms a pair with ominameshi as part of a legend about two faithful lovers (the sasaki grew from the man's grave)
the "seven grasses of autumn" (the two plants above plus kikyou, fuji-bakama, waremoko, karukaya, and hagi)
autumn--
white/yellow wild chrysanthemum = blessings from the fountain of youth; petals/leaves dipped into sake bring health and longevity
red maple leaves = assoc'd w/ "the whining of the deer"(?) and bright autumn moonlight
There's also a fascinating note on pp 378-379 about the myth of various crops/animals arising from various parts of the primal food-goddess Uke-mochi, in that while the associations seem to be random in Japanese, there appear to be punlike links between the corresponding words in Korean:
head (möri) -> horse (mar)
eyes (nün) -> silkworm (nue)
belly (pai) -> rice (piö)
genitals (pochi) -> wheat (pori)
ears (kui) -> panic (kuiri)
nose (kho) -> beans (kheng)
Original source: The Mythology of All Races, 13 vols (chief ed. Canon John Arnott MacCulloch). Volume VIII, part 2, "Japanese", by Anesaki Masaharu. New York: Cooper Square Publishers, Inc., 1964.
Based on some other online refs, I gather that there were previous print dates for this volume, but I didn't notice any edition info at the time. The first half of volume VIII was by a different author and was devoted to Chinese mythology; all chapter info is specific to the second half.
Most of the info from Chapter VIII: "Stories of Plants and Flowers" (pp 348-353) unless specifically noted w/ other page #s.
New Year's season (Jan. 1-15, or presumably its former equivalent in the lunar calendar)--
pine = prosperity; linked to the crane (longevity)
bamboo = straightforwardness; linked to the sparrow
plum: first flower to bloom (specific virtue?); linked to the uguisu
early spring--
narcissus = purity
adonis (fukujusou) = fertility beneath the snow(?), brings good fortune and health
yuzuri-ha (Daphniphyllium macropodium) = endless continuity
spring--
willow branches = gracefulness
willow leaves = fresh life; in conjunction w/ cherry blossoms, "the brocade of spring" woven by the Lady of Mt. Sano
peach flowers = fecundity; associated w/ Girls' Day (March 3rd)
peach flowers and fruit: power against the plague
azalia[sic]: last of the spring flowers; used to decorate shrines of the baby Buddha on his birthday (currently celebrated April 8th, but more properly ~1 mo later according to the lunar calendar)
early summer--
wistaria[sic] = brightness and "transitoriness"; forms a triad with the globe flower (Kerria?) and tree-peony
various types of iris:
kakitsubata: associated w/ yatsu-hachi ("the eight-planked bridge"?)tree-peony = enchanting beauty
shoubu = protection vs. evil spirits; associated w/ Boys' Day (May 5th), when the swordlike leaves are hung up in houses and placed in bathwater
fuyou (Hibiscus mutabilis) = a beautiful but unhappy woman
hydrangea = a fascinating but fickle woman
summer--
tachibana flowers: assoc'd with the song of the cuckoo
morning-glory: assoc'd w/ Korea (both synonyms as chosen)
evening-glory (bottle gourd or yufugawo) = lonely and melancholy (382)
evening primrose (tsukimisou): "the grass that looks at the moon"
cat-tail and "similar plants": assoc'd w/ frogs' spears(?) and Tengu noses
lotus flower = purity, ideal of perfection, the unity of Buddhist instruction/enlightenment
early autumn--
ominameshi (Patrinia scabiosaefoliae) = tenderness and submissiveness; the name means "woman-flower"
sasaki (a.k.a. obana, Miscanthus sinensis): linked w/ the full moon festival in the 9th lunar month "when puddings[?] are offered to O-Tsuki-sama"; forms a pair with ominameshi as part of a legend about two faithful lovers (the sasaki grew from the man's grave)
the "seven grasses of autumn" (the two plants above plus kikyou, fuji-bakama, waremoko, karukaya, and hagi)
autumn--
white/yellow wild chrysanthemum = blessings from the fountain of youth; petals/leaves dipped into sake bring health and longevity
red maple leaves = assoc'd w/ "the whining of the deer"(?) and bright autumn moonlight
There's also a fascinating note on pp 378-379 about the myth of various crops/animals arising from various parts of the primal food-goddess Uke-mochi, in that while the associations seem to be random in Japanese, there appear to be punlike links between the corresponding words in Korean:
head (möri) -> horse (mar)
eyes (nün) -> silkworm (nue)
belly (pai) -> rice (piö)
genitals (pochi) -> wheat (pori)
ears (kui) -> panic (kuiri)
nose (kho) -> beans (kheng)
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http://www.otomiya.com/kamon/
its a list of all the different crests in japan. animal, flower, geometric :3
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