ネイティブが教える英会話のジェムスクール☆Teachers☆

The weekend came and I went out for my usual "walk around town". I walk every chance I get in order to explore my new "home". Unfortunately the cherry blossoms have mostly all fluttered away in the breeze, but they have been replaced by a couple of my favorite flowers; the iris, lilacs and the wisteria.

The Iris is a beautiful old fashion flower my mother grew in her flower garden so it brings me back to my childhood, along with the lilacs. My father would pick a bouquet of lilacs for my mother every spring. The fragrant smell of lilacs filled the house. It wouldn't be spring without smelling a lilac flower. But wisteria is a personal favorite. The first time I traveled to the southern United States and saw them winding around a mighty oak tree with their purple flowers cascading down, I was in awe. They had turned that huge oak tree into a beautiful, colorful work of art! Coming to Japan and seeing how special they are here, just endeared me more to their beauty as I saw that another culture appreciated them as much as I did. In fact, I went to a festival in Tokyo honoring the Wisteria.

As we were sharing our "weekend stories" in my adult English class this week, I brought up how much I enjoyed all the Wisteria in bloom around town. I showed them a picture I took, as I did not know how to pronounce "Wisteria" in Japanese. I asked them and they told me "fuji- like the mountain"!! I was so surprised! I had to look it up on Google immediately when I got home from class. Sure enough! This is what came up on google-

"Wisteria, or fuji in Japanese, plays an important role in Japan's culture and traditions. Fuji Musume or Wisteria Maiden is a famous classical dance of the Kabuki theater. Pictures of Wisteria Maiden are also popular and are believed to bring good luck. Wisteria grows in many gardens in Japan"

So, another special memory surrounds this very special flower and endears it further to my heart!