Ganjin’s Flowers 唐招提寺 蓮の伝来と桂花

Official explanation

The lotus, arguably the most recognizable Buddhist symbol, is one of the flowers for which Toshodaiji is best known. From late June until mid-August, the temple grounds come alive with various types of lotus, in Buddhism a symbol of purity. It is said that those found in ponds and elsewhere in the grounds originate from seeds brought to Japan by Ganjin himself.

Another flower found at the temple is the Chinese snowball viburnum, whose fragrant white flower clusters bloom in late spring. Known as keika in Japan, this flower is also of great cultural significance in China where it is the emblem of Yangzhou, the place of Ganjin’s birth.

Read the full explanation

Famous poet Hakushu Kitahara (1885–1942) wrote the following poem:

Looking at soft young oak leaves

A fragrance comes to me

that’s even whiter than flowers.

(Mizunara no / yawaki wakaba wa / mime ni shite / hana yori mo nahoya / shiro-u niowamu)

Hakushu probably felt an affinity with Ganjin since the poet, too, was almost blind due to illness. The opening word “Mizunara” is a poetic device called “kakekotoba” (literary pun) where two meanings are conveyed through a homonym. In this case “Mizunara” (a species of oak tree native to Japan) also means “cannot see Nara.”

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.