About to bloom,
And exhale a rainbow,
The peony!
– Buson
虹を吐てひらかんとする牡丹かな
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Peonies were poet Buson’s favorite flower. The first poet I ever fell in love with was Buson. And like Buson, I also love peonies.
I will never forget the first time I arrived at my tea teacher’s home in Tochigi. It was a warm day in mid-May. And stepping through the wooden gate into her garden was like entering a fairyland. An explosion of dazzling magenta. Everywhere I looked were waist-tall peony bushes. Heavy under the weight of gigantic pink blossoms, each flower was the size of a small child’s head.
Some flowers had bamboo parasols shading them from the sun.
It has been my favorite flower ever since. Whenever they are in bloom, it feels like a miracle. Filling up the entire house with as many as I can afford: such joy!
飯椀に一杯ぎりの牡丹哉 蕪村
For more on tea ceremony, please see my essay Wind in the Pines at Entropy.
My neighbor shields her peonies from too much sun or rain with umbrellas. I love it. Their blossoms are still a couple weeks out here in Cambridge.
What a stunning memory! I can't imagine how lush! When "too much" is only the beginning of opulent petals. Thanks for bringing the image alive, Leanne!