#Japanese apricot tree

[bonguri]

20240227 Shinsiro 7 by Bong Grit Via Flickr: いつまでも残したい景色。 @Kaore area, Shinsiro city, Aichi pref. （愛知県新城市 川売梅の里）

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Thursday 7 March 2024

The semi-double white flowers of Prunus mume 'Omoi-no-mama' (Japanese apricot, ume) appear in late winter and early spring. This small deciduous tree will grow in moist but well-drained, moderately fertile soil preferably in full sun or light shade.

Jill Raggett

[kitaston]

Japanese Apricot Bonsai

[moaan]

January 13th by Katsuaki Shoda Via Flickr: Leica M (typ240) + Summicron 50mm f/2.0 DR

[japanwords]

桜梅桃李 (o-bai-to-ri) “never compare yourself to others”

This yo-ji-juku-go (Japanese 4-character idiom) is comprised of 4 beloved Japanese trees. They are:

桜 = cherry (sakura)

梅 = apricot (ume)

桃 = peach (momo)

李 = plum (sumomo)

Each of these iconic trees blossoms in its own time and in its own unique way.

桜 (sakura) are of course the cherry blossom trees famous for blooming spectacularly and incredibly briefly once a year, usually in April. Sakura trees in full bloom is an annual event, and people go to their local park to see them, take photos, and have picnics underneath them. It's such a big deal that it's reported on the weather forecast, with reporters commenting on how quickly the "sakura front" is moving northwards across the country.

梅 (ume) is the "ume" in umeshu! This is a sweet liqueur which is made from soaking ume in sake. It tastes amazing, and is one of the things I miss most about Japan. Japanese learners will no doubt recognise "ume" as usually being translated as "plum", however it is technically closer to the Western apricot.

桃 (momo) is one of the best-loved fruits in Japan. There is even a fairy story called "Momo-taro" about a little boy who comes from inside a peach. He grows up to be a great hero, of course, and saves everyone from a demon. "Momo" is also a fairly common girls' name.

李 (sumomo) are known as "Japanese plums" or "Asian plums". The trees are famous for their delicate white flowers. They usually bloom just before the sakura. Whilst not as famous or as showy as sakura, they are well-loved for their elegance, and for being a sign of spring.

This one-off calligraphy artwork is available on my Etsy shop here:

[the-fox-in-the-socks]

The Mai Akasaki Mystery Flower - Solved?

feat. a mini-dissection of Mai's name

Hi! I have seen a few people here guessing what the flower on Mai’s tattoo is (mostly camellias iirc)… and I think I have the answer!

I think it’s Ochna integerrima, which is also known as the yellow Mai flower. (Hoa mai vàng is it’s Vietnamese name). Yes, the answer may be that simple: the Mai flower is literally the Mai flower. It seems to match her tattoo and is a very similar shade to her eyes.

(Note: I found most of this information in February last year when I just searched ‘mai flower’ on google and saw the results and was like ‘huh?’ and went down a rabbit hole from there lol.)

The flower has great significance to the Vietnamese Lunar New year, or Tết, short for Tết Nguyên Đán. They are used to decorate homes and are in full bloom during Tết, which is around late January to early or mid-February and lasts for around 7-10 days, which also lines up with Mai’s birthday (February 1st).

(please correct me if I am wrong, I got this information from Google and I am not Vietnamese and have never celebrated this holiday myself!)

There is a legend associated with the flower as well, which I believe might help explain what happened to Mai Akasaki.

https://botanicgardens.uw.edu/about/blog/2022/01/31/lunar-new-years-and-the-legend-of-the-mai-flower/

The following is copy-pasted from the above website:

"The Mai flower is named after a heroine in Vietnamese lore. Mai, a young warrior set off with her father to slay a giant serpent which had been terrorising their village. Mai’s mother gave her a bright yellow áo dài (traditional Vietnamese dress) to wear when she returned, so her mother could see her coming. Sadly, Mai ended up sacrificing her life to save her father from the serpent. Impressed by her heroic feats, the Gods made her a saint and granted her the ability to return home to her parents during the Lunar New Year celebration. After her parents passed, Mai transformed into a tree in front of her family home which blossomed with yellow flowers every year. Over time, the villagers would collect branches from this tree and decorate their homes for Lunar New Year."

And here are two other websites I looked at when researching this story:

https://scootersaigontour.com/legend-of-yellow-apricot-blossom-and-peach-blossom-on-vietnamese-new-year/

https://heritagevietnamairlines.com/en/the-tale-of-the-yellow-mai-flowers/

This leads me to believe that Mai sacrificed herself trying to protect the cast from a large threat, perhaps the mastermind/MonoTV, or sacrificed herself during the HPA operation that @1moreff-creator mentions in their post Everything We Know About Mai Akasaki + So Many Theories – @1moreff-creator on Tumblr. (this post is basically the Mai bible, please check it out!)

Additionally, MonoTV’s Mai-related secret quote “It’s all your fault”, and the second anniversary code with the same message, and some of the other Mai secret quotes talking about her in past tense imply that she has already passed, and that the cast is the reason why, which could mean she sacrificed herself for them... so I don't think she is the mastermind!

Her surname can also potentially provide us with clues.

“aka” means red, the same colour as her hair

“sa” means bloom or blossom, a reference to her flower tattoo

“ki” means hope, and why that is important is pretty self-explanatory if you've seen anything Danganronpa related

and "saki" means blossom of hope

(These are all Japanese meanings. I just used google for these translations, I do not know Japanese).

This means that her sharing the same name as this flower is likely not just a coincidence, but a deliberate choice by DRDTdev.

Submitted Surnames with "red" in Meaning - Behind the Name

Tenma Saki | Project SEKAI Wiki | Fandom

(yes I just cited the project sekai wiki as a source in my drdt theory, I don't know how I got here either)

The only problems with this theory that her flower is a Mai flower (that I know of) is probably the Literature Girl Insane flowers and the flowers in the bonus episodes being different colours. For the LGI flowers they may just be different flowers altogether that are there to symbolise something else, or a different aspect of Mai... I'm not sure. And the bonus episode flowers could just be coloured differently for aesthetic purposes.

tl;dr The flower on Mai's tattoo may actually be called 'Mai', it suggests she sacrificed herself and probably isn't the mastermind and her surname reinforces the idea that her name choice is not a coincidence.

This is my first tumblr post so apologies in advance if anything about the formatting is weird! Also critisism is appreciated, I would love to hear your thoughts on this :D

[silvermoon424]

what do each of the main PMMM girls names mean?

Here's that info in one handy-dandy post:

Madoka Kaname:

Madoka: Written in hiragana, so there's no way to know for sure. But a popular interpretation for her name is that it should contain the kanji for "round" or "circle," referencing her role as the Law of Cycles. It could also be written with the character for "wish" or "ambition," the connotations of which should be obvious.

Kaname: The characters mean "deer" (鹿) and "eye"(目), respectively.

Homura Akemi:

Homura: Like Madoka, it's written in hiragana which has no special meaning. However, in the show itself Madoka takes it to mean "flame" so that's what the fandom has gone with.

Akemi: The first character (暁) means "daybreak," while the second one (美) means beauty.

Mami Tomoe:

Mami: It's written in katakana and has hundreds of potential meanings when we take all the potential kanji into account. I'm really not aware of the fandom's popular take on the meaning of her name. However, she may be named after another magical girl, Creamy Mami.

Tomoe: The character for her last name (巴) literally means "comma design," a Japanese swirl pattern. She may be named after Sailor Saturn (Hotaru Tomoe), a fellow magical girl.

Sayaka Miki:

Sayaka: Her name is written in hiragana- noticing a trend? Some of the potential meanings of "Sayaka" are "clear," "fresh," and "bright."

Miki: The first character (美) means "beauty." The last character (樹) means "tree."

Kyoko Sakura:

Kyoko: Finally we have an exact meaning! Kyoko's given name is in kanji and means "apricot."

Sakura: Even casual anime fans should know this one: it means "cherry blossom."

Bonus round: Nagisa Momoe

Nagisa: Aaaaaand we're back to hiragana. Some potential meanings of Nagisa are "beach, shore."

Momoe: The first character for Momoe (百) means "hundred", but also carries the connotation of "a lot of things". The second character (江) means "inlet" or "bay." "Momoe" could be translated as "a hundred rivers."

Thanks a bunch to the PMMM Wiki for providing etymology for every single PMMM character, including all spinoffs! Or at least for every magical girl character, which to be real are the only characters who matter.

[epivanosilon]

reading demon slayer: chapter 45 name breakdown

hey guys. just fyi, the name breakdown for this post is gonna be a doozy. we've got seven (7) names to go through!! i'm excited but also a little worried about how long this will take to write up. putting it off will only make it take longer in the end, though, so let's get to it!

in this chapter we are introduced to the rest of the demon slayer hashira (lit. pillars). first up is

炎柱・煉獄　杏寿郎

or in english, flame hashira, rengoku kyoujurou. read as えんばしら・れんごく　きょうじゅろう. 炎柱 is, of course, flame pillar. the family name 煉獄 is actually a regular word in japanese, meaning purgatory. from what i remember about the rengoku family, this seems fitting for the condition of kyoujurou's father when we meet him. trapped between the glory of his past hashira days and the despair of his wife's passing, plus his disillusionment with flame breathing, kyoujurou's father is most certainly in a purgatory of his own making.

on the flip side, kyoujurou's given name is quite sweet--literally. 杏寿郎 consists of the kanji 杏 (きょう), apricot; 寿 (じゅ), age, longevity; and 郎 (ろう), son. 杏 is also used in words referring to plums, ginkgo trees, and a few other living things (including two species of crabs). apricot trees can allegedly live for over 100 years, and ginkgo trees are very resilient so-called living fossils that coexisted with dinosaurs, so kyoujurou's name is a blessing for him to live a long life.

:(

second on our docket is the flamboyant

音柱・宇髄　天元

read as おとばしら・うずい　てんげん. in english, the sound hashira, uzui tengen. 音柱 is sound pillar. 宇 (う) is the same character as in the word 宇宙 (うちゅう), universe, cosmos, space. it is almost exclusively used in space-related words, e.g. 宇宙開発事業団 (うちゅうかいはつじぎょうだん), national space development agency. 髄 (ずい) came up in chapter 5, and it means marrow or pith. so 宇髄 would literally be space marrow, or more figuratively perhaps essence of the universe.

in keeping with the celestial theme, 天 (てん) means sky, heaven, god. 元 (げん) can mean origin, foundation, cause. it can also mean former, past, previous. mathematically, 元 is an unknown in an equation, or an element of a set. 天元 might then be foundation of the heavens or even former god. a flashy name for a flashy man.

third in appearance is

恋柱・甘露寺　蜜璃

read as こいばしら・かんろじ　みつり, or the love hashira, kanroji mitsuri. 恋柱 is love pillar. 甘露 (かんろ) means nectar or sweetness, and 寺 (じ) means temple. 蜜 (みつ) can mean nectar as well, but it is also used to mean honey, honeydew, treacle, and molasses. 璃 (り) isn't typically used on its own. it shows up most commonly in the word 瑠璃 (るり), lapis lazuli, and also in the word 玻璃 (はり), quartz, glass.

all together, her names could be interpreted as something like temple of sweetness and sparkling nectar, if i can be a little liberal with my translation. mitsuri's names are very cute and sweet (badum tss), which is fitting for the type of love that 恋 implies.

in fourth place is the solemn

岩柱・悲鳴嶼　行冥

read as いわばしら・ひめじま　ぎょうめい, a.k.a. the stone hashira, himejima gyoumei. 岩柱 is stone pillar. you might be familiar with the character 悲 (ひ) from words like 悲しい (かなしい), sad, unhappy, sorrowful; or 悲しむ (かなしむ), to be sad, to mourn for, to regret. when pronounced as ひ, however, 悲 can stand for the buddhist term karuna, meaning compassion.

鳴 (め) is more commonly read as な, like in 鳴る, to sound, to resound, to echo; and 鳴く, (of an animal) to call, to cry, to chirp. some words that use the め(い) reading are 雷鳴 (らいめい), thunder, and 共鳴 (きょうめい), resonance (scientific term), sympathy. in general, 鳴 refers to a loud sound or echo.

interestingly, 悲鳴 (ひめい) is a word already, meaning shriek or scream. 嶼 (じま) is island. gyoumei's family name could thus be taken as meaning something like island of screams, but it could also be island of resounding sorrow or isle of the call of compassion or any variation thereof.

行 (ぎょう) is, of course, used in the word 行く, to go, but when read as ぎょう it means line (of text), row, verse. it can also be the buddhist term sankhara/samskara, meaning formations. 冥 (めい) carries feelings of darkness and gloominess, particularly as a metaphorical reference to the dead. for example, the word 冥福 (めいふく) roughly means happiness in the next world, and is used in the common phrase ご冥福をお祈りします, which is equivalent to the english phrase "may their soul rest in peace".

i really don't know enough about buddhism to explain what formations and darkness mean when put together, but all the kanji used in gyoumei's names suit his sorrowful demeanor.

the fifth slot today goes to

霞柱・時透　無一郎

read as かすみばしら・ときとう　むいちろう, the mist hashira, tokitou muichirou. 霞柱 is mist pillar (or haze pillar). 時 (とき) is time, and also occasion, opportunity, season, the times. 透 (とう) isn't typically used on its own, but carries meanings of transparency and permeation, e.g. 透明 (とうめい), transparent, clear; and 浸透 (しんとう), permeation, infiltration, spread, penetration, pervasion.

i would read 時透 as meaning seeing through time in a roundabout way. or maybe penetration of time? muichirou and his brother's names parallel kokushibo and his brother's names, and muichirou and kokushibo are related, so there's a penetration of time there. but muichirou's initial amnesia has him seeing through time, so to speak, back to when his brother was still living, and that allows him to emulate his twin.

無一郎 is fairly simple to break down. 無 (む) is nothing, 一 (いち) is one, and 郎 (ろう) is son. however, 無 can be part of many other words, like 無限 (むげん), infinity (literally without limit), as muichirou's brother points out.

the sixth to join the fray is

蛇柱・伊黒　小芭内

read as へびばしら・いぐろ　おばない--snake hashira, iguro obanai. 蛇柱 is snake pillar. 伊黒 uses the same 伊 as in inosuke's name (伊之助), which i covered in chapter 27's name breakdown. 伊 has no real meaning and is mainly used for the sound it represents. 黒 (ぐろ) is, of course, black. metaphorically 黒 can also mean guilt, or refer to a guilty person, or describe someone or something as being suspicious, evil, or unlucky.

obanai's color scheme is black and white, so 黒 fits him quite well. he also carries much guilt for being born to a demon-worshipping family, so that sense of 黒 suits him too.

小 (お) means small, 芭 (ば) means banana, and 内 (ない) means within. i have no idea what this name is supposed to mean. but i do have fun facts!

芭 is part of the word 芭蕉 (ばしょう), which specifically refers to the japanese banana tree Musa basjoo. there is another plant name, the 水芭蕉 (みずばしょう) or japanese swamp lantern, that uses the kanji 芭. supposedly this is due to some similarity between 芭蕉 and 水芭蕉, but i'm no botanist. 芭蕉 are cultivated in japan as ornamental plants and also for their fibers, which can be made into fabric or paper. oh, and the famous poet matsuo basho named himself after the 芭蕉.

(i first learned of basho from the magic tree house book dragon of the red dawn. i think i remember the basho in that book doing something with banana leaves, so there must have been some decent research that went into it. apparently basho is also a character in poptropica, on the island modeled after dragon of the red dawn. ah, memories.)

and last but not least, the seventh hashira we are introduced to is

風柱・不死川　実弥

or the wind hashira, shinazugawa sanemi. read as かぜばしら・しなずがわ　さねみ. 風柱 is wind pillar. 不死川 is an interesting sequence of characters; 不死 (しなず), typically read as ふし, means immortality or eternal life, and 川 (がわ) means river. together, we get something like river of immortality. the unique reading of 不死 here comes from a bit of word play--不死 is literally undying or not dying, and 死なず (しなず), a more literary form of 死なない, means not dying.

実弥 consists of the kanji 実 (さね), which with the reading given means seed (of a fruit), pit, stone, and 弥 (み), meaning more, increasingly, extremely, very. when read as み, 弥 is typically used in words relating to buddhist figures or concepts. i think sanemi's name is supposed to emphasize his harsh personality, as it can be tough to swallow, much like the seeds of some fruits.

okay that's all the names. finally. this post took like 6 hours over 3 days to make. i'm never gonna look at it again. thanks for reading, and please look forward to the next posts! 読んでくれてありがとう！次の投稿を楽しみにしてください！

[pkmnprideflags]

Pokémon Character Etymology Comparison

Most of the time, the translators of the Pokémon games will a choose a name with a similar meaning to the Japanese one; for example, Takeshi comes from ishi, "stone," so he got the English name Brock. But sometimes they give characters random names that have nothing to do with their originals.

Because I'm a nerd, I compiled a collection of examples of this across the main series games, with the meanings for both the Japanese and English names listed. This is gonna be a long post; buckle up, folks.

Kanto

Guriin / Blue

Japanese Meaning: green

English meaning: blue. We’ve all heard of this one, but I couldn’t not include it.

Ayumi / Elaine

Japanese meaning: step or progress

English meaning: a lane. Possibly also chosen because it starts with E, as in Eevee? Sigh.

Shin / Trace

Japanese meaning: advance. Fits with the protags, Ayumi and Kakeru (to dash).

English meaning: uh…the protagonist is tracing his movements? He’s just a trace of what Blue was in the original games? It rhymes with Chase??? Who knows.

Dr. Yukinari Ohkido / Professor Samuel Oak

Japanese meaning: “ohkido” is a transliteration of orchid. Yukinari is similar to the given name of Unshou Ishizuka, the voice actor for Prof. Oak in the Japanese version of the anime; it’s unknown if that is related.

English meaning: So many questions. Why was he downgraded to a professor instead of a doctor? Why Oak instead of orchid, just ‘cause Oak sounds like more of an old man name? Samuel is similar to Salem Oak, a historic tree in New Jersey. Which is still a super random connection.

Nanami / Daisy

Japanese meaning: reference to a type of holly tree. Ironically is part of the Ilex genus, even though that forest is in a different region.

English meaning: the flower, duh. In Western cultures usually represents friendship and innocence. 

Masaki Sonezaki / Bill

Japanese meaning: First of all, yes, Bill kind of has a last name in Japanese. It has never appeared in the games, but was included in the Pocket Monsters Zukan, a supplementary material to Red & Green that is considered somewhat canon. Masaki comes from a type of shrub native to Asian countries, and Sonezaki is named after a region in Osaka, the city that that Bill’s hometown Goldenrod is based on.

English meaning: believed to be a reference to Bill Gates. Because computer man

Matisu / Lt. Surge

Japanese meaning: Seemingly a reference to Clematis, a genus of flower. I can’t find anything symbolically important about this flower that would apply to him.

English meaning: y’know, an electric surge. Could also come from “Sarge.” And they may have given him the specific rank of lieutenant because when abbreviated it kinda looks like lightning?

Kyou & Anzu / Koga & Janine

Japanese meaning: Doing these two together because their names correlate in Japanese. Both words are different ways of saying apricot.

English meaning: Koga-ryuu is a school of ninjutsu, and Janine is ninja with the syllables reversed.

Natsume / Sabrina

Japanese meaning: named after the Chinese jujube tree; big religious symbol in Islam, where it is rumored to be the Tree of Knowledge, and Buddhism through association with Vishnu.

English meaning: Psychic, brain, and possibly a reference to Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

Kanna / Lorelei

Japanese meaning: contains the word for “cold”; full name comes from the Canna lily, which ironically must be moved to a warm location during winter.

English meaning: supposedly after a famous maritime disaster site in Germany, which means “murmuring rock.” We went from flowers to death and destruction so fast

Wataru / Lance

Japanese meaning: cotton; and also a reference to a Japanese dragon-water-god.

English meaning: ok bulbapedia’s stretch here is that lances were used in medieval legends to fight dragons. But that’s stupid. They just chose a cool name

Johto

Dr. Utsugi / Professor Elm

Japanese meaning: from a Japanese shrub in the hydrangea family.

English meaning: the elm tree, continuing the trend of the Japanese doctors being named after shrubs & getting localized into tree professors.

Akane / Whitney

Japanese meaning: the madder plants, which are associated with the color red because of the dye they produce.

English meaning: white (or possibly whiny). Dunno how she became associated with an entirely different color.

Shijima / Chuck

Japanese meaning: several options here. There’s a cultivar of the haworthia genus, the word silence, or a term meaning four islands. 

English meaning: to throw. Possibly a Chuck Norris reference as well.

Mikan / Jasmine

Japanese meaning: citrus fruit, specifically oranges.

English meaning: name of a plant; likely chosen as a pun on “mine” or “mineral.”

Yanagi / Pryce

Japanese meaning: willow. Often seem as a solemn tree; notably only grows in colder or temperate locations.

English meaning: it’s an ice pun haha

Ibuki / Clair

Japanese meaning: Chinese juniper plant, popular in Japan for its use in bonsai art. Also “breath,” a pun on Dragon Breath.

English meaning: Lair. As in a place that dragons live. Wooooo

Itsuki / Will

Japanese meaning: Zelkova tree, popular once again in bonsai and also for furniture and drum making.

English meaning: willpower.

Hoenn

Mitsuru / Wally

Japanese meaning: to be frail; also influence from “vine” and “crane,” possibly referencing the practice of giving origami cranes to those who are ill.

English meaning: supposedly from “wallflower.” I think it’s weird to focus on the social effects of his condition when the Japanese name is so focused on the physical aspects of it but whatevs.

Old Man Hagi / Mr. Briney

Japanese meaning: the Japanese clover plant.

English meaning: brine, salt water.

Mari & Dai / Gabby & Ty

Japanese meaning: mari is “ball;” Bulbapedia posits this might refer to the end of a microphone, but I’m not convinced. And dai is a topic of an interview.

English meaning: from the verb “to gab,” and…possibly a reference to TV?

Mayumi / Lanette

Japanese meaning: from a type of spindle plant. It’s in the same genus as the plants Bill and Celio are named after.

English meaning: from LAN (local area network) and net, as in internet.

Azusa / Brigette

Japanese meaning: another spindle plant.

English meaning: bridge, a device to connect several networks, like how Pokémon Box connects to RSE. And then the same suffix as Lanette.

Director Kusunoki / Captain Stern

Japanese meaning: camphor tree

English meaning: the stern of a boat. No idea why his title was changed.

Higana & Shigana / Zinnia & Aster

Japanese meaning: Higana refers to the red spider lily, a plant commonly associated with death and the afterlife. Shigana, literally translated as “this shore,” refers to the mortal world, with higana (“other shore”) referring to the afterlife.

English meaning: Both flowers. Zinnia is usually associated with remembering an absent or distant, but not necessarily dead, friend. Kind of a watered-down version of the Japanese name. Aster is named after a Latin word for star, and is usually associated with faith and wisdom.

Tsutsuji / Roxanne

Japanese meaning: the rhododendron species of flowers.

English meaning: you guessed it, rocks.

Tessen / Wattson

Japanese meaning: passion flower clematis, the same genus referenced in Lt. Surge’s name.

English meaning: you guessed it, watts

Asuna / Flannery

Japanese meaning: from asunaro, a type of cypress tree. Ironically would not be a good tree for Lavaridge Town, as it is not drought-resistant.

English meaning: flames or something? I’m not convinced this is a real name

Senri / Norman

Japanese meaning: senryou, an herb often used for Japanese New Year decorations; also 1000 li (Chinese unit of measurement), a distance equivalent to over 300 miles. Yeesh

English meaning: you guessed it, normal

Nagi / Winona

Japanese meaning: the Asian bayberry plant; also a word for calm/lull.

English meaning: wind, wing, or winnow, a verb that means to remove chaff from grain via a strong gust of wind. Her Japanese name is calm, her English name is a forceful gale.

Kagari / Courtney

Japanese meaning: from kagaribi, bonfire.

English meaning: from “country,” likely to go along with Team Magma’s land theme.

Ushio / Matt

Japanese meaning: tide

English meaning: likely from the “mast” of a ship.

Izumi / Shelly

Japanese meaning: spring, as in a water location

English meaning: you guessed it, shell

Purimu / Glacia

Japanese meaning: primrose, a flower with some species that have adapted to cold climates; or possibly the adjective prim, meaning formal to a standoffish - or cold - extent.

English meaning: omg glaciers

Daigo Tsuwabuki / Steven Stone

Japanese meaning: last name comes from a plant that contains a kanji meaning “stone.” Daigo comes from the Indian coral tree, the blooming of which is associated with impending typhoons and drought. Makes me think of how Steven starts investigating Groudon & Kyogre way before anyone else, as if he can sense what’s coming.

English meaning: steel and stone. Why are the english names so not complex in gen 3

Datsura / Noland

Japanese meaning: from datura, a group of poisonous flowering plants.

English meaning: presumably from the word “knowledge” cuz he’s a buff nerd

Rira / Anabel

Japanese meaning: from lilac, which might just be the color of her hair.

English meaning: bulbapedia claims it comes from “ability” but I don’t buy it

Ukon / Spenser

Japanese meaning: from turmeric, the spice and plant.

English meaning: supposedly from “spirit”

Jindai / Brandon

Japanese meaning: both a reference to a plant and to ancient times (lit. “age of the gods”)

English meaning: supposedly from “brave”

Hiisu / Tucker

Japanese meaning: from heath, the plant type. Unrelated to Hisui.

English meaning: supposedly from “tactics”

Kogomi / Greta

Japanese meaning: ostrich fern

English meaning: “guts” or “great”

Sinnoh

Jun / Barry

Japanese meaning: probably from Junichi Masuda, longtime composer and contributor to the Pokémon games.

English meaning: No one really knows! It was his first default name in Diamond and Platinum. It’s what the anime dubbers chose for him when he first appeared, and it’s been his name ever since.

Ayako / Johanna

Japanese meaning: no one knows for either of these names! Ayako has a lot of meanings, many of which have to do with kimono designs for whatever reason.

English meaning: ultimately comes from Hebrew, meaning “God is gracious.”

Mizuki / Bebe

Japanese meaning: from the dogwood genus of trees & shrubs. Notably not related to the group of plants the previous storage developers were named after. Fun fact, Selene also has this name in Japanese.

English meaning: BBCode, a programming language used to format forum messages.

Hyouta & Tougan / Roark & Byron

Japanese meaning: doing these two together since their Japanese names correspond. They’re both named after different types of gourds.

English meaning: Roark is rock & ore; Byron is iron.

Makishimamu Kamen / Crasher Wake

Japanese meaning: literally, “Maximum Mask.” Thought to come from the orchid genus Maxillaria.

English meaning: Crashing waves & wake.

Merissa / Fantina

Japanese meaning: an herb genus; also a Western name, indicating that she’s a foreigner.

English meaning: phantom, and also fantasia, a type of tango.

Akagi / Cyrus

Japanese meaning: bishop wood tree, known for its red bark.

English meaning: a Persian name associated with the sun. Likely chosen to fit with the Commanders’ planet names.

Puruuto / Charon

Japanese meaning: Pluto, fitting with the other Commanders’ planet names.

English meaning: Jupiter’s biggest moon. Not a planet. Good job, guys

Ryou / Aaron

Japanese meaning: Japanese clethra tree

English meaning: likely from arachnid and arthropod

Kikuno / Bertha

Japanese meaning: both the English & Japanese names share the theme of being similar to Kikuko/Agatha. Like Kikuko, this name references chrysanthemum.

English meaning: has the same sound as “Earth.”

Goyou / Lucian

Japanese meaning: five-needle pine; also enlightenment.

English meaning: light, possibly also illusion or hallucination

Shirona / Cynthia

Japanese meaning: white-fruited nandina, a flower associated with growing love and good homes.

English meaning: epithet for Artemis, the Greek goddess of the moon; possibly chosen to contrast with Cyrus.

Kokuran / Darach

Japanese meaning: the pantropic widelip orchid.

English meaning: Gaelic word for oak. Probably a reference to Prof Oak tbh

Neziki / Thorton

Japanese meaning: staggerbush, a kind of plant.

English meaning: from “thorn.” Staggerbushes do not have thorns.

Unova

Banjirou / Benga

Japanese meaning: the guava fruit.

English meaning: the Malabar kino tree.

Tetsu / Curtis

Japanese meaning: iron

English meaning: comes from a French word that means polite or courteous

Ruri / Yancy

Japanese meaning: from lapis lazuli

English meaning: similar to “fancy” I guess.

Nobori & Kudari / Ingo & Emmet

Japanese meaning: up-train & down-train, respectively. Refers to global train track directions.

English meaning: Ingo is believed to be a pun on “ingoing” train, so you’d think Emmet would be some pun on outgoing, right? Nope. He’s a variation on “emit.” Why? Who knows

Dento, Poddo, & Kohn / Cilan, Chili, & Cress

Japanese meaning: the brothers are all named after corn: dent corn, pod corn, and…just corn.

English meaning: in English the brothers are named after herbs and plants: cilantro, chili peppers, and watercress.

Hachiku / Brycen

Japanese meaning: black bamboo.

English meaning: it’s an ice pun

Shaga / Drayden

Japanese meaning: from the fringed iris, therefore tying him further to Iris. 

English meaning: shortening of “dragon’s den.”

Vaabena / Anthea

Japanese meaning: from a flower genus that symbolizes “tender love.”

English meaning: epithet of Hera, the goddess of women and family. Also has some added musical symbolism - her name is similar to anthem, and Concordia is similar to concord, another word for harmony.

Giima / Grimsley

Japanese meaning: comes from a shrub; but also may reference words for the devil, deception, and the transliteration of “boogeyman.”

English meaning: grim or grimace + sly

Katorea / Caitlin

Japanese meaning: from Cattleya, a genus of orchids.

English meaning: roughly similar to Japanese name, with possible influence from “castle.”

Kakitsubata / Drayton

Japanese meaning: the Japanese iris, connecting to Drayden & Iris’s Japanese names. Also contains an anagram of tatsu, a word for dragon.

English meaning: similar to Drayden. And kind of similar to dragon if you squint

Kalos

Karumu / Calem

Japanese meaning: from calme, calm in French.

English meaning: looks similar enough to the word calm, but it technically comes from a Scottish name meaning “dove.”

Sana / Shauna

Japanese meaning: either Latin for “healthy” or Arabic for “brilliance.”

English meaning: probably just chosen because it’s similar; technically comes from the name John, meaning “God is gracious.”

Dr. Platane / Professor Augustine Sycamore

Japanese meaning: French for plane tree.

English meaning: sycamores are not plane trees; however, to be fair, Augustine Henry is a cultivar of plane trees. Officially headcanoning Henry as his middle name now

Koruni / Korrina

Japanese meaning: from cornichon, french for gherkin. 

English meaning: vaguely similar to Japanese; also, the words KO and arena.

Gojika / Olympia

Japanese meaning: the midday flower; also time.

English meaning: an unrelated genus of flower; also Olympian (godlike, superior).

Akebi / Aliana

Japanese meaning: from the chocolate vine.

English meaning: from the genus Aliana, and possibly a liana, a type of woody branch that grows from the ground.

Bara / Bryony

Japanese meaning: their word for rose.

English meaning: the bryony plant.

Korea / Celosia

Japanese meaning: Correa genus.

English meaning: Celosia, a genus in the amaranth family.

Alola

Nariya Ohkido / Samson Oak

Japanese meaning: nariya-ran is a name for the bamboo orchid, making his full name an orchid genus. Nariya is also similar to Yukinari.

English meaning: keeps the similarity to Samuel, but otherwise has no special meaning.

Kaki / Kiawe

Japanese meaning: kaki means fire; also, the Asian persimmon,

English meaning: kiawe, a species of tree often used for charcoal and long-lasting firewood.

Raichi / Olivia

Japanese meaning: transliteration of lychee, a tropical tree.

English meaning: from a flowering plant called maile, and possibly also the rock olivine.

Galar

Rurina / Nessa

Japanese meaning: from the Cupid’s Dart flower.

English meaning: lots of options here. There’s nesses, a type of shoreline; the infamous Loch Ness; the Greek name Nerissa, meaning “from the sea;” or a Cornish word meaning second.

Hisui

Omatsu, Otake, & Oume / Charm, Clover, & Coin

Japanese meaning: respectively, pine, bamboo, and plum; these three combine to form the symbols called the Friends of Winter in Chinese art, which symbolize perseverance and resilience.

English meaning: all three are named after objects that are believed to be lucky.

Tsuiri / Tuli

Japanese meaning: the beginning of the rainy season.

English meaning: supposedly from “Tulip.”

Sharon / Anthe

Japanese meaning: possibly from Rose of Sharon, a Biblical term referring to an unknown flower; likely also from the word for “gauze.”

English: the Greek word for flower; possibly also chrysanthemum.

Yura / Vessa

Japanese meaning: from “Yuraa!!”, Spiritomb’s cry before it battles the player.

English meaning: from vessel.

Paldea & Kitakami

Kaede / Katy

Japanese meaning: from the word for maple.

English meaning: possibly referencing katydid (bush crickets).

[thegirlwhohid]

The apricot blossom is wilting. Roads and pavements are covered with a thin layer of white petals. It's mesmerizing; I think I finally can understand the Japanese and why they're so in love with Sakuras.

I watch the blooming apricots and think of the Ukrainian author Lyubov Yakymchuk's words: 'Where apricots do not grow, russia begins.' She was born in the Luhansk region, the same region as my mom. Today, I read that the Gauleiter of her occupied hometown said that they were going to confiscate the property of those who left the city. My grandma was one of them. She left almost everything: her photos, books, my mom's childhood toys, and the mug I gave my grandma as a memento. I guess some russian family will move in and appropriate everything.

I wonder if some kid would enjoy my mug.

I watch the wilting trees and think of the Entwives. How delighted they must have been to plant their orchards and about everything that happened to them. I don't have any hopes about their fate—they were killed or turned into slaves, doomed to forget themselves and the light. Centuries ago, their land was still desolate. There were no trees, not even grass—just scorched ground.

I guess my mom's homeland is becoming the second Brown Lands.

I watch the fallen petals and think of winter - but the air is hot, too hot for April.

That's a wind from Mordor.

It comes closer and closer to my home.

[bonguri]

20240227 Shinsiro 6 by Bong Grit Via Flickr: どこを見ても満開です。 @Kaore area, Shinsiro city, Aichi pref. （愛知県新城市 川売梅の里）

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Tuesday 5 March 2024

The fragrant flowers of Prunus mume (Japanese apricot, ume) appear in late winter and early spring. This deciduous tree has dark green shoots and the flowers appear on the bare branches and are followed by edible but sour, apricot-like, yellow fruit.

Jill Raggett






[arisaontheinternet]

So I'm Going to Solve a Mystery

So I've had an Idea. Not a particular new idea, but a fun one. I just checked out the English language version of The Inugami Curse by Yokomizo Seishi from my local library. All I know about it is from the back of the book, a wealthy man dies, and there is a bloody fight over his inheritance. I picked it up because it was referenced in Don't Call It Mystery. But my plan is to try to solve the mystery!

Opening the book, there is a list of characters. So before reading any more, I drew a family tree. I guess I should clarify that in the book, they use Given then Family name. But since it's a Japanese book, I've swapped it to Family and then Given, and I looked up the kanji because I find that helpful. For instance, Inugami is the characters for dog and God. Or the 3 daughters' names are highest, middle, and lowest child. Also pine, bamboo, and plum/apricot.

[the-habitat-ring]

The (Real) Stardew Valley Farm

So a year and a half ago we bought a house, AKA the real life habitat ring. I swear the yard came with every single non-aquatic invasive plant we’ve got. Slowly but surely we’ve been murdering all the Japanese honeysuckle and poison hemlock, tearing up a truly inhumane amount of weed barrier and pea gravel, and adding truckloads of wood chips and other organic matter to start to repair the soil. Our goal is to replace everything with mostly native plants with an emphasis on food production.

But of course I needed more of a challenge. I love playing Stardew Valley. It’s really the only video game I play. And somewhere I got the idea, “Hey, wouldn’t it be cool to grow everything in Stardew Valley in our yard?” So here we are. Obviously I don’t live on some magical land with perfect weather, a giant greenhouse, and a second farm on a tropical island, so I have to make plenty of substitutions. I’m also trying to grow native plants whenever possible. Any suggestions are welcome!

2021

Amaranth - Native white amaranth (the birds love it!)

Grape - Native riverbank grapes (so many grapes) and some green cultivated variety from the neighbors

Dandelion - Obviously

Maple Tree - Native silver, red, and sugar maples (also an invasive Norway maple but we chopped it down)

Pine Tree - Not sure what kind of pines they are

Apple Tree - Not in great shape. I’d love an Enterprise apple tree at some point

Coffee Bean - Chicory (maybe that’s cheating, but it’s a naturalized plant commonly used as a coffee substitute)

Salmonberry - Not native to the Midwest, so we’re sticking with native black raspberries. We’ll likely add some pink/yellow raspberries later though

2022

Kale

Rhubarb

Strawberry - Both cultivated and native

Tulip

Radish

Tomato

Beet

Eggplant

Fairy Rose - Not a real thing so I substituted the native prairie rose

Cranberries - Native cranberry viburnum

Orange Tree -Native persimmons, which produce orange fruit

Daffodil

Spring Onion - Native nodding onions and also green onions indoors

Spice Berry - Native spicebushes

Wild Plum - Native

Hazelnut - Native

Crocus

Cherry Tree - Native black cherries and nonnative bush cherries

Tea Leaves - Native New Jersey Tea bush

Banana Tree - Native pawpaws, which are also known as Indiana bananas

Mango Tree - One of the pawpaws is a named variety called mango so I think that counts

Ginger - Attempted native wild ginger, which I don’t think survived, but am also growing ginger indoors

Green Bean

Sweet Gem Berry - Native Juneberry (Downy Serviceberry) which are a redish color

Planned for 2023

Blue Jazz - Not real so I went with the native Ozark Bluestar, which seems similar enough

Garlic

Parsnip

Apricot Tree - Native passionflower vine. Not a tree, but it is known as wild apricot

Blueberry

Sunflower - Both native and non-native sunflowers

Pineapple - Neither my spouse nor I like pineapples, so we’re going with white strawberries known as pineberries that are said to have a tropical taste

Pumpkin

Melon

Wild Horseradish - Except I’ll be growing it in a pot because it tends to get a little too wild for my tastes

Holly - Native winterberry holly

Oak Tree - Native dwarf chinquapin oak

Sweet Pea

Hot Pepper

Palm Tree - Obviosuly not going to work here but there is a native palm sedge that I’ll plant instead

Planned for 2024

Potato

Corn

Hops - Hoping to get a cutting from a native hops vine (if the local beer people don’t kill me)

Winter Root - I’m gonna go with native ground nuts because you can dig up the roots in winter

Poppy - Hopefully native wood poppy

Red Cabbage

Artichoke - Native Jerusalem artichokes

Cactus Fruit - Native prickly pear cactus

Yam

Bok Choy

Leek

Fiddlehead Fern

Blackberry

Crystal Fruit - I’m gonna go with honey berries, which produce fruit earlier than anything else

Ancient Fruit - Native Aronia berries are the only thing I can think of for this one. They’re blue(ish) and have lots of antioxidants so you live to be ancient

Figuring Out Substitutes

Rice

Wheat

Starfruit - Not really sure how to swing this one, so suggestions are welcome

Summer Spangle - Not real, so I’m open to suggestions of native plants. Possibly prairie lily? It has a similar-ish shape, is orange, and blooms in summer

Qi Fruit - Creepy little man

Taro Root - I would have to plant it in pots

Morel - I wish I could grow this

All the other mushrooms - I think I’ll just ignore any varieties and just try plugs or similar

Snow Yam

Cave Carrot - Trying to find a native carrot substitute

Coconut - I shouldn’t count this separately from palm trees, right?

Mahogany Tree

Peach Tree

Pomegranate Tree - There are Russian pomegranates that are hardy to zone 6, which just might work with climate change

[japanwords]

桜梅桃李 (ō-bai-tō-ri) “never compare yourself to others”

This yo-ji-juku-go (Japanese 4-character idiom) is comprised of 4 beloved Japanese trees. They are:

桜 = cherry (sakura)

梅 = apricot (ume)

桃 = peach (momo)

李 = plum (sumomo)

桜 (sakura) are of course the cherry blossom trees famous for blooming spectacularly and incredibly briefly once a year, usually in April. Sakura trees in full bloom is an annual event, and people go to their local park to see them, take photos, and have picnics underneath them. It's such a big deal that it's reported on the weather forecast, with reporters commenting on how quickly the "sakura front" is moving northwards across the country.

梅 (ume) is the "ume" in umeshu! This is a sweet liqueur which is made from soaking ume in sake. It tastes amazing, and is one of the things I miss most about Japan. Japanese learners will no doubt recognise "ume" as usually being translated as "plum", however it is technically closer to the Western apricot.

桃 (momo) is one of the best-loved fruits in Japan. There is even a fairy story called "Momo-taro" about a little boy who comes from inside a peach. He grows up to be a great hero, of course, and saves everyone from a demon. "Momo" is also a fairly common girls' name.

李 (sumomo) are known as "Japanese plums" or "Asian plums". The trees are famous for their delicate white flowers. They usually bloom just before the sakura. Whilst not as famous or as showy as sakura, they are well-loved for their elegance, and for being a sign of spring.

Each of these beloved trees blooms in its own time and in its own unique way :)

This artwork is available from my Etsy site here.

[annonniiiiieeeee]

I’ve been thinking a lot about the future of leosagi and what it will be like later in life. I’ve already given a snippet of it in a one-shot but I have their children all planed out.

Jotaro is the oldest and is biologically their’s. Draxum made him using dna. They had the option to pick if they wanted more of Usagi or Leo’s looks to shine through and after many debates Leo won. He insisted that he look more like Usagi. Usagi agreed as long as the next kid looked like Leo. Jotaro is a bunny but he does has some yellow strips in his white fur. He had Leo’s grey eyes and his strength and speed as Draxum made the turtles extra strong and that gets pasted down to his grandchildren.

The next kids come almost two years later and they were not planned. There was an attack on a village in Usagi’s world. At the time the family was visiting and was asked to go help out. As they were heading there they came across a women, a bunny, who was injured and pregnant, she was from the village. Usagi and the other head for the village while Leo helped women back to the Tenshu. The village was destroyed. When they returned to Leo the women had also passed away after giving birth to twins. There was talk of sending them to an orphanage but they would probably be separated there. Leo had helped deliver the twins. He hadn’t left them since and there was no way he was letting anyone separate twins. Usagi took one look at his husband holding twin girls and knew that those where their daughters now. The girls are speckle brown and white. They named the older one Sakura after they cherry blossom tree they spent so much time under and the younger Ume (Japanese Apricot or Plum Blossom) as they look similar to cherry blossoms and also produce sweet fruit. (Also as baby’s they defiantly had cherry and apricot/plum themed outfits)

Two year later Usagi argued for one more. He wanted at least one of their kids to look like Leo. They talk to Draxum again and this time the kids come along. They were talking about gender and Jotaro said he wanted another little sister. He loved his two little sisters and why not have another one. Besides he already had the coolest older brother, Casey Jones. So a female red ear slider it was. They named her Kaida which mean little dragon. (Shout out to 2003 where they become dragons) Usagi was so excited until he saw just how tiny a turtle baby was, then he was terrified. “We could lose her down the sink drain! Why are you laughing at me Leonardo-chan?” She grows fast just like her father and uncles and by the time she a toddler she’s caught up to the size her siblings were at that age but Usagi was very stressed the first year.

I will be drawling them later but I just need to get them out of my head.