Mae Grace / Jeepney Press

AMAZINGgrace!

by Mae Grace

Ajisai and Haiku

While some of us may dread the coming rains in June, there are those who simply cannot live without them. They are the hydrangeas or ajisai in Japanese. They bloom everywhere in the rainy months of June and July. Their beauty is so ethereal like no other.

There are over a hundred varieties of hydrangeas of various colors in Japan and written accounts of them can be traced as far back as the 8th century which makes hydrangeas endemic to Japanese soil. An old Japanese folklore, in fact, tells of an emperor who fell in love with a woman and offered her hydrangeas to appease her from his lack of affection. Thus, hydrangeas then were regarded as a symbol of deep emotions of apology not to mention gratitude for forgiveness and understanding received.

The Japanese people’s love for the hydrangeas could not be more emphasized as temples, parks, gardens and even mountains have been dedicated to planting solely a huge part of them to hydrangeas. At one of the hydrangea parks I visited a few years back, I was so fascinated by a little white mailbox located right in the middle of the hydrangea blooms that I asked a park attendant what it was for. He beamed and enlightened me: “Ah, this mailbox here is for haiku writers. You see, so many haiku poets get so inspired when gazing at the hydrangeas that they are compelled to write haiku poems to express their deep emotions at that moment. This is where they drop their poems.”

Awesome! Here are some examples of fascinating haikus that celebrate the poets’ deepest admiration for the hydrangeas:

Symphony of hue

Explosive purple splendor

- Lucy King

Ajisai ya! (Hydrangea!)

Yabu wo Koniwa no (In grove, being little garden)

Betsu zashiki (The detached room)

- M.Basho

Hydrangea

Bloom and Buddha

Calm in the rain

- Hidenori Hiruta

Misty rain

In a eld of life

Fire ies glow

- Hidenori Hiruta

Mae Grace

Jeepney Press