＜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
Even during the state of emergency declared due to the global pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19), walking was permitted as an exception to the request to refrain from unnecessary outings. So, to get some exercise, I started taking walks for about an hour every day, and I discovered something new.
Today, I’d like to introduce pine flowers in an easy-to-understand way.
1. Pine flowers
I previously wrote an article about maple flowers and fruit, but I think many people don’t clearly remember pine flowers, although they probably learned about them in junior high science class.
I think that’s because they haven’t seen actual pine flowers, or even if they have, they overlooked them without noticing.
Pine flowers are monoecious and gymnosperms, meaning that male and female flowers grow on the same plant. They have no petals or sepals. The inside of the scales of female flowers have exposed ovules, while the outside of the scales of male flowers have anthers filled with pollen.
When pollen attaches to the ovule, the ovule grows into a seed, and the cluster of female flowers becomes a pine cone.
While taking a walk around my neighborhood during the state of emergency, I noticed for the first time that pine blossoms were sprouting profusely from the pine trees planted in residential gardens and parks here and there.
Unlike the colorful flowers of flowers, these flowers are rather plain, so I think many people don’t realize they are flowers. Incidentally, the flowers of the cypress tree (photo below) also look very similar to pine flowers, but unlike pine trees, they don’t grow upright but are buried among the leaves, so I think few people notice them.
2. Differences between Shokado and Makunouchi Bento and the Origin of Their Names
By the way, there is a Japanese bento called “Shokado Bento.” There is also a similar bento called “Makunouchi Bento.” Let’s explain the differences between the two and the origins of their names in an easy-to-understand way.
(1) Shokado Bento
The Shōkadō bento is a descendant of kaiseki cuisine.
It is said to have been invented by Shōkadō Shōjō (1584-1639), the head priest of Takimotobo Temple at Iwashimizu Hachiman Shrine in Kyoto, in the early Edo period, but this legend appears to have been added later.
Shokadō Shōjō, along with Konoe Nobutada and Hon’ami Kōetsu, were known as one of the “Three Great Calligraphers of the Kan’ei Era,” and excelled in calligraphy, painting, and the tea ceremony.
Shōjō loved to use a farmer’s cross-sectioned seed container as a small container for storing small items. Yuki Teiichi (1901-1997), founder of the Osaka restaurant Kitcho, saw this container and wondered if it could be used as a serving dish, leading to the creation of the Shōkadō bento.
The contents are the same as those served in a kaiseki meal, packed into a box. Although the Shokado bento is called a bento, it is often eaten at a restaurant.
It comes with a soup bowl and sake cups, so it can be thought of as a “mini kaiseki meal.”
(2) Makunouchi bento
Makunouchi bento were sold by traditional Japanese restaurants through theater teahouses and sumo teahouses in the mid-Edo period. They came to be called “makunouchi” bento because they were meant to be eaten during the intermissions of plays.
The bento contains a variety of side dishes, including dry fried foods, simmered dishes, and pickles. Grilled fish, tamagoyaki (rolled omelet), and fish paste are the standard, and it is accompanied by a rice ball shaped like a rice ball pressed using a press mold. This is said to be a remnant of rice balls.