＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
１．Wisteria of Noda
The design on the reverse side of the new 5,000 yen bill issued in the first half of the 2024 fiscal year features the Noda wisteria, a type of wisteria indigenous to Japan and said to have originated in Noda, Fukushima-ku, Osaka City. Nodafuji was famous and popular throughout Japan during the Edo period (1603-1868), but it was destroyed in a war and local residents made efforts to revive it.
It will be at its best in late April, creating a magnificent purple curtain, and officials are hoping that the new banknote will be an opportunity for many people to become aware of its existence.
A Ministry of Finance official explains the reason for adopting nodafuji for the new 5,000-yen bill: “It has been familiar to many people since ancient times, appearing in the Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters) and Manyoshu (Anthology of Myriad Leaves). The new 5,000 yen bill, whose portrait is of Umeko Tsuda (1864-1929), who worked on modern women’s higher education, is based on the color purple, so it was decided that the beautiful purple flowers of the nodafuji would also blend well with the color scheme.
Although not well known to the general public, the “Wisteria of Noda” in Noda, Fukushima-ku, Osaka City, was one of the three most famous spots in Japan during the Edo period (1603-1868), along with “Yoshino no Sakura” and “Takao no Momiji”.
Even when limited to “wisteria,” it is one of the three most famous wisteria in Japan, along with “Ushijima no wisteria” (Kasukabe City, Saitama Prefecture) and “Kasugano no wisteria” (Kasuga Taisha Shrine, Nara Prefecture).
Wisteria has a very long life span, and there are hundreds of years old wisteria trees all over Japan. The Ushijima wisteria is over 1,200 years old and is designated as a special natural monument.
The Noda wisteria can be seen in the following places. The best time to see the wisteria is usually from late April to early May.
(1) Shimofukushima Park (Fukushima Ward, Osaka City)
(2) Osaka Castle Park (Chuo-ku, Osaka City)
(3) Shindachi-juku on Kumano Kaido Road (Sennan City, Osaka Prefecture)
(4) Fujiidera Temple (Fujiidera City, Osaka Prefecture)
In “Settsu Meisho Zue,” it is described as “Noda wisteria, located in the woods of Kasuga, has been famous for its purple wisteria since the old days.
In 1364, Ashikaga Yoshiakira, the second shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate, came to the area on his way back from a pilgrimage to Sumiyoshi, and composed the following waka poem.
“The Tamagawa River in Noda, which still bears the purple fujinami of its ancient boundaries.”
「いにしえのゆかりを今も紫のふじなみかかる野田の玉川」
In the spring of 1594, Toyotomi Hideyoshi visited the Noda wisteria and praised its splendor. Later, the wisteria was even sung in a warabeuta (children’s song) as “Yoshino no sakura, noda no fuji, Takao no momiji” (Yoshino cherry blossoms, Noda wisteria, Takao autumn leaves).
However, most of the old Noda wisteria trees that remained until before the war were destroyed by fire in an American air raid.
２．Types of wisteria
There are two types of wisteria with right- or left-handed vines. The right-handed wisteria is called “Fuji” or “Nodafuji,” while the left-handed wisteria is called “Yamafuji” or “Nofuji.
３．Words related to wisteria
(1) Language of wisteria
It means “never to leave,” “kindness,” “welcome,” and “intoxicated by love.” The wisteria vine is thick and long, and its coiling power is said to be very strong. The language of flowers is derived from the nature of the wisteria vine, which, once entangled, does not let go firmly.
If this flower language is taken as “the passion of men and women,” it may sound a little scary.
Wisteria is not a tree that can stand upright by itself; it needs to be entangled with something, such as another tree, to survive. In fact, wisteria vines can wrap tightly around a tree and topple it over.
（２）Wisteria
Fujinami” is a wisteria flower cluster.
The wisteria flower was popularly used in waka poems during the Heian period (794-1185), and is also mentioned in the Manyoshu, an ancient Japanese anthology of poetry.
“Wisteria flowers are now in full bloom as if beating in waves. Do you miss the capital of Nara, my dear?” (Otomo no Yotsuna)
「藤浪の花は盛りになりにけり 平城（なら）の京（みやこ）を思ほすや君」（大伴四綱）
（３）Fujibakama （boneset)
It produces small light purple flowers in scattered clusters in autumn (around August to October).
As a side note, wisteria hakama is one of the seven autumnal flowers. The seven autumnal flowers are hagi(bush clovers), obana（silver grass）, kudzu (pueraria lobata), nadeshiko(cauliflower), ominaeshi(yellow patrinia), fujibakama(boneset), and kikyo(bellflower).
（４）Fujimusume(wisteria girl)
It is the subject of an Otsu-e painting, in which a young girl wears a black lacquered hat and a wisteria-emblazoned costume, holding a branch of wisteria flowers.
It can also refer to a Kabuki dance performance (Nihon buyo) titled “Otsu-e” and its accompanying nagauta (long epic song).
（５）Hanafuda（floral playing cards）
The April card of Hanafuda is “Wisteria”. As a side note, Hanafuda have the following types of monthly cards: J
January: pine, February: plum, March: cherry, April: wisteria, May: iris, June: peony, July: hagi, August: silver grass, September: chrysanthemum, October: autumn leaves, November: willow, December: paulownia