this year's first catch of bonitos

目には青葉 山ほととぎす はつ松魚 (山口素堂)
"Now, we can see the fresh green of trees, hear lesser cuckoos' songs in mountains and this year's first catch of bonitos has arrived at fish markets." is a haiku written by Yamaguchi Sodou(1642-1716).

Katsuo(鰹,松魚:bonito):
Bonitos are in season now. They ride the warm Kuroshio(Black Current) north from spring to summer and come down from the north in autumn. They reach off the coast of Kyusyu from February to March and are landed in fishing ports near Tokyo around May.
The first catch of bonito is highly prized for the superstition that eating the first crop (or catch) of the season extended lifespan in the Edo Period. So they were often traded at a high price and the price of one bonito hit a historic high of 400,000 yen. To prevent overheating, the official release date is fixed by a law as the first day of the 4th month in the lunar calendar.
May 14th is that day this year. Now, bonitos go on sale by April.

illustration: M/Y/D/S動物のイラスト集 (Japanese version only)
all rights reserved

Hototogisu(杜鵑、時鳥、子規、不如帰、杜宇、蜀魂、田鵑:lesser cuckoo or cuculus poliocephalus):
Ancient people valued lesser cuckoos because their song herald the arrival of summer. They often appear with tachibana（橘：Citrus tachibana）or unohana(卯の花:deutzia) in Japanese classical literature. They feature sing loudly, even at night.

A lesser cuckoo appears in the following song "Natsu-wa-kinu(夏は来ぬ:Summer has come)", which was written by Nobutsuna Sasaki(佐々木 信綱 1872-1963) and was composed by Sakunosuke Koyama(小山 作之助 1864-1927).

卯の花の匂う　垣根に
時鳥 早も来鳴きて
忍び音もらす　夏は来ぬ
"A lesser cuckoo perched on a branch of scented deutzia hedge.
I've heard this year's first song of the cuckoo.
It announced summer has come."

neighborhood Japanese bush warblers

Waiting for the traffic light to change near a station, I heard the song of a Japanese bush warbler today. He sings very well every year, so his performance is nearly perfect for this time of year. In contrast, a Japanese bush warbler near my house is poor at singing. I guess he's not popular with girls.

Toki(The Japanese crested ibis) died

Toki(朱鷺:The Japanese crested ibis)

Eight killed and two injured crested ibises were found at the Sado Japanese Crested Ibis Conservation Center on Sado Island, Niigata Prefecture, on the morning of March 10. One injured crested ibis also died later. They were in training for releasing into the wild. A marten is suspected of killing and injuring them.

It's a painful incident. They had never been able to fly in the sky.

Toki's scientific name is Nipponia Nippon which means Japan. The crested ibis was registered as a special Japanese natural treasure and is an internationally protected bird.
The last wild Japanese-born crested ibis died in 2003. The crested ibises now remaining at the center are a pair of Chinese crested ibis and their children.

Toki-iro(朱鷺色,鴇色:toki-color) is pale pink. Its name comes from the underside of the wings.
Feathers on the back of the wing are toki-color. When a crested ibis is flying in the sky, we can see the color.

the first day of spring

Today is Rissyun(立春:the first day of spring).
This is the right song for today.

早春賦(作詞:吉丸一昌、作曲:中田章)
"Sousyun-fu(The Song of Early Spring)",written by Kazumasa Yoshimaru,composed by Akira Nakada

春は名のみの　風の寒さや
谷の鶯　歌は思えど
時にあらずと　声も立てず
時にあらずと　声も立てず

It's springtime according to the calendar.
Having said that, I feel the cutting cold wind.
A bush warbler of the valley thought of singing.
But it didin't so. Because it's too early to sing a song now.



Japanese bush warblers begin to sing in the middle of February. That time of year mostly coincides with New Year's Holidays according to the lunar calendar, so that ancient people prized their first song of the year called Hatsune(初音) as a sign of early spring.

あらたまの年たちかへる朝より待たるるものは鶯の声（素性法師）
"The start of a new year gives me a longing for the first song of bush warbler", written by Sosei.

The first thing I come to mind when thinking of Hatsune is "The Tale of Genji". Female novelist Murasaki Shikibu wrote "The Tale of Genji" in 54 chapters about 1,000years ago. She portrayed the life of the hero Hikaru Genji in this story. "Hatsune(初音)" is chapter 23. Its name comes from the following waka poem.

年月をまつにひかれて経る人にけふ鴬の初音聞かせよ
"I've been considering you most important for years.
bush warbler, Get your first song of the new year heard to me.
(Bring me the first tiding of the new year today.)"

The poet was not abel to meet her daughter even on New Years Day. Her daughter lived on the paternal side. This poem represents a mother's grief.

Marriage furniture associated with hatsune have been handed down in the feudal lords.



うぐいす袋ーデザイン/南尚代
uguisu-bukuro(pouch in the shape of bush warbler) designed by Hisayo Minami
An original work was made in the latter half of the Edo Era.
Shigeyoshi Inoue(ed),Shiki-wo-Kazaru-Chirimenzaiku,(Tokyo:ONDORI SHA,2000),p.8.
井上重義監修,四季を飾るちりめん細工,(東京:雄鶏社,2000年),p.8.


uguisu-mochi(鶯餅)
these confections in bush warbler's color are soft rice cakes stuffed with bean paste and coated with dried and powderd green soy beans.

confection in the shape of bush warbler







this is the Japanese White-eye which is the same as the Japanese bush warbler in color. Bush warblers are very cautious, so I have never seen any one in my garden.
Historically, it was kept as a cage bird to enjoy its beautiful birdsong. Even now, only one white-eye per household is allowed to keep.


The Japanese White-eye feeding on nectar.

Now, wild birds are having very hard times with food shortage. I can see only tree sparrows, pigeons and crows in my garden during the seansons except winter. However, in winter, another kinds of wild birds such as mejiro(目白:Japanese White-eye), shijukara(四十雀:Great Tit), hiyodori(鵯:The Brown-eared Bulbul), mukudori(椋鳥:The White-cheeked Starling) often come down to my garden. During the New Year's season, nanten(南天:Nandina or heavenly bamboo) and manryo(万両:Ardisia crenata or coralberry) trees bore full fruit. Now, Brown-eared Bulbuls are likely to eat up the berries on that plants.

Seijin-no-Hi & Kagami-Biraki

Coming of Age Day (成人の日:Seijin-no-Hi)
The second Monday of January, 11th this year, is a national holiday called Coming-of-Age Day in Japan. Coming-of-age ceremonies are held all over Japan. The ceremonies by upper-class people date back centuries.

We can see many women wearing long-sleeved kimono called furisode on this day. When wearing a furisode, we used to tie obi(帯) in the back with a bow like this doll. The bow is called fukurasuzume(福良雀:full sparrow) because it looks like a sparrow with spread out wings. A sparrow fluffed up its feathers to keep out the cold with warm air. Its full figure is associated with prosperity.




















成人式(seijin-shiki:coming of age ceremonies) made based on:
Akiko Sadamori,Kisetsu-no-Chirimen-Komono,(Tokyo:Patchwork Tsushin Co., Ltd.,2009), p.33
定森朗子・美保・加奈著,季節のちりめんこもの(東京:パッチワーク通信社,2009年),p33.

This is a homemade dry confection called rakugan(落雁) in the shape of fukurasuzume.










The Eurasian Tree Sparrow is the most familiar bird to the Japanese. Although the sparrow eats crop pest, it eats grains of rice during the harvest. So it has both a good and a negative image.

a sparrow has a good image in the well-known haiku poems written by Kobayashi Issa(1763-1828).
雀の子　そこのけそこのけ　お馬がとおる
"Young sparrow, clear the way, toy horse comes by"
われと来て　遊べや　親のない雀
"Come and play with me, orphan sparrow"
"a sparrow" is a seasonal word of spring in haiku. As a child, I used to take care of a baby sparrow that dropped out of the nest.

Meanwhile grilled sparrows are eaten in some areas. The folk tale called "The Sparrow's Inn" does not judge a sparrow as right or wrong. One year is a typical lifespan of the tree sparrow in Japan. Recently its population has decreased sharply.

鏡開き(Kagami-Biraki)
On January 11th New Year's rice cakes(Kagami-mochi) are cooked and served with stewed red beans and sugar. I use homemade tsubu-an(つぶ餡) which is made by mixing boiled adzuki beans and sugar,retaining the original form of beans. The an(餡) can freeze well.