Speaking of rape, it is
inappropriate word for blog, but it is one of definite plant names.
Rape seed flower which
means “ 菜の花、nanohana” is a prefectural
flower in Chiba prefecture. Until this age of 75, I thought that "rape
flower" is a rapeseed flower in
Japanese“菜種の花、natanenohana”.
But ,I learned that it is
a generic term for Brassicaceae Brassica flowers. Uploaded here images are
called Oriental mustard or Mustard greens.
Oriental mustard is
strong, it grows on dry riverbed and rough land, so sowing in riverbeds,
embankments, vacant lots, there are cases to make rape flower fields.
The flowering period of
rapeseed flowers in this area is from around mid April, while the oriental
mustard begins to bloom in early March.
So, there is clearly
difference between rapeseed flower and oriental mustard flower.
Here I quote the famous
haiku that Yosa Buson composed on a rapeseed flower in the Edo era. The haiku
in Japanese is "Nanohanaya tsukiha
higashini hihanishini"
This “菜の花や 月は東に 日は西に“"Nanohanaya tsukiha
higashini hihanishini" has been
translated in English as follows;
Flowers of rape / the
moon in the east / the sun in the west (weblio)
Rape blossoms and the moon is the day to
the east to the west (Google)
Rape-flower fields, rising moon in the east, sinking Sun in
the west (Ｈｉｒａｇａｎａ ｔｉｍｅｓ)
The sun is in the west/the moon is in the east/kanola blossoms in
the middle (Syougai gakusyu)
It was said that Buson
composed this phrase on March 23, 1774 around current Mayasan Nada Ward, Kobe
City , but, on March 23 of the old calendar is present May 3. but the day does
not appear to a full moon, and also the sun is not heading to the west.
Probably it is said to
have been 10-15 days in March ten days ago that Buson watched this scene.
By the way, when I was a
child, only rich rapeseeds are tall and I will misunderstand the season when
this flower of oriental mustard will be in full bloom in March.
and when I was a child ,
was found only rapeseeds, but oriental mustard was not found anywhere.
In this country, edible
oil which was squeezed from rapeseed earlier was said to be "rapeseed
oil", but today it has come to call it canola oil.
In addition, I was
studying the influence of rapeseed meal on the thyroid of poultry in college.
After graduating from university I worked as one of the large general food manufacturer in this country for 40 years.
After graduating from university I worked as one of the large general food manufacturer in this country for 40 years.
Cherry blossoms will bloom
at the end of this flower, and the place where the famous cherry blossoms will
be filled with many people.
And it is especially
beautiful in night.
References
Yosa Buson or Yosa no
Buson (与謝 蕪村?, 1716 – January 17, 1784[1]) was a Japanese poet and painter of the Edo period. Along with Matsuo Bashō and Kobayashi Issa, Buson is considered among the greatest poets of the Edo
Period.
Canola may refer to an edible and industrial
oil (also known as canola oil)
produced from the seed of any of several cultivars of rapeseed bred to be low
in erucic acid from the Brassicaceae family of plants, or to the plants themselves, namely
cultivars of Brassica napus L., Brassica rapa subsp. oleifera, syn. B. campestris L. or Brassica juncea. To be called canola, the oil must contain
less than 2% erucic acid and the leftover meal must contain less than 30 micromoles of aliphatic glucosinolates per gram.(quote from Wikipedia)
.JPG)
