I Heart Ajisai

Growing up, there were hydrangeas. I never really paid them any mind though as they were usually at the corner of the house with their pastel blossoms. By August they were essentially just sticks with brown dried blossoms somehow still attached. It had something to do with the name too, particularly pronounced in the Southern accent: high-drain-ya. While the Southern accent can lend a bit of romantic flavor to flowers like the magnolia, it does no favors for hydrangeas. It took me forever to figure out how to properly spell the word since the word I knew couldn't be phonetically dissected.
Then I moved to Japan where I learned that the plant is a rainy season plant so the annual Florida drought is not on the hydrangea's side. I really fell in love with the plant, or ajisai, the way it is in Japan, with rich, lush green leaves and vibrant orbs of deep blue, purple, and pink. Pastel versions are around, though I tend to ignore them for their darker neighbors.




At the end of summer, the ajisai will be cut down to nubby sticks in order to survive the long winter. Somehow they manage to resurrect themselves every year. We have a little potted ajisai now, with the most beautiful blossoms of them all. Unfortunately Jason forgot to water it while they were still thriving so I have no pictures to share. This year.

Plum Rain::梅雨

Tsuyu, the rainy season, has arrived in Nagoya. I am one of those rare birds that loves the rainy season. I truly do. It is such a peaceful time in Japan. It gives everyone a chance to rest before the unrelentingly oppressive summer grabs us and allows for no other conversation besides for "Atsui desu ne?" (hot, isn't it?).
With the rainy season comes my favorite flower of all, ajisai (hydrangea). Wet shoes and curly hair is surely a fair price to pay for such beauty. The literal translation of tsuyu is Plum Rain. How can you not be charmed by that?

Tsuyu love aside, I do wish that it didn't have to come so early this year. Tomorrow is the big day at immigration and because of the kindergarten schedule and the elementary school holding their sports day on Tuesday, I find that I will be taking three kids with me in the rain to plead my case. Three kids, in the rain, on the early Monday morning commuter trains. Three kids who after two solid days of rain are bursting at the seams.

The good thing is that regardless of the outcome tomorrow, I will be able to enjoy another Japanese tsuyu. Maybe after the appointment tomorrow, we'll go splash in some puddles and hunt snails.

Wish me luck!


xoxo