#plum blossom festival

[tanuki-kimono]

Fantastic hikizuri (trailing kimono, probably a maiko's considering the sode-age sleeves tucks and pattern) depicting all-seasons sceneries & festivals.

[nickysfacts]

I hope everyone gets a chance to enjoy the cherry blossom festival this year!

🌸⛩️🌸

[kyotodreamtrips]

A few days ago, I went to Inabe City in Mie Prefecture. There is a plum blossom park and a matsuri.

[timelordandhisart]

Postcards and a sticker pack for 春节 FANZINE.

[aishiteru-kenshin]

Setagaya Plum Blossom Festival

February

Over 650 plum trees (about 50/50 red and white plum trees) blossom in Setagaya’s Hanegi Park between early February and early March. Traditional performances (koto sessions, haiku classes, tea ceremonies) are held in the park and at the weekends there are also stalls selling refreshments and plum foods.

[theodoreangelos]

Rhododendron schlippenbachii (Royal Azalea) Peaceful sunrise on Royal Azalea (철쭉)-covered Hwangmaesan Mountain (황매산, 黃梅山), 1,108 metres above sea level (3,635 ft), South Korea (대한민국). Hapcheon Hwangmaesan Mountain Royal Azalea Blossom Festival

Amanecer...🍀☕💕🌻🌺

[mooberryink]

5.4.24 | The cherry blossoms are melting into the rich green hues of late spring & I cling to the poetry of the moment. I woke up to rain this morning, a new transition. My heart is full from a month of spring festivities & now the pause before the chaos of summer. ♡ 𝑁𝑜𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑖

𝐹𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠

▪︎ Poetry & the Creative Mind gala live stream event (I will never pass on the chance to hear Meryl Streep read poetry: "So Much Happiness" by Naomi Shihab Nye.) ▪︎ Cherry blossom festivals ft. my favorite taiko 太鼓 drummer group, taiyaki 鯛焼き soft serve, Shiba Inu puppies, crochet flower bouquets & a giant narwhal plushie ♡ ▪︎ Poetry Month w/ the Big Six Romantics & haiku masters, sipping plum wine, reading beneath plum blossoms

[gojosatoruwifey]

ㅡ恭喜发财

✑ greeting everyone as lunar new year enters ♡(◕ᗜ◕✿)

✿ warning/s: fluff, jealousy, slight sexual insinuation, swearing, use of chinese terms, nothing much has changed it's just chung myung with a dragon tail, starts with pbss and ends with mhdd, let me know if i missed something!

✿ character/s: chung myung/cheong myeong, g/n! reader

✿ alt. title: telltale tail

📜🖋️🎀SUPPORT MY KO-FI🎀🖋️📜

straight and thumping on the ground impatiently. fast rhythm beat with 0.95-second intervals.

—and with that crease between his eyebrows, pout so evident in his lips, eyes boring through the side of your head. there’s no need to turn front to see the literal dragon of mount hua is displeased at the slow pace of his order shīzitóu. it’s not like you can afford to flat-out be rude to the half-huili jing server eagerly asking for more affirmations about their restaurant’s food. goodness, you’re not chung myung…

“the sauce? is it sweet enough? or perhaps you like it sticky…” the half huili jing server’s voice lowered in a purr. “..daozhang?”

you’re about to correct the server when a sarcastic, gruff voice enters the conversation. “no, they don’t like sweets that much and they prefer thin consistency sauce to sticky.”

speaking of, your companion finally spoke up. the entire time chung myung is either grunting or clicking his tongue to respond as you put out the orders on the menu. you wanted to let out a heavy sigh but held it in. he spoke up but at what cost?

chung myung tapped his palm on the table a little bit too hard. “put the shīzitóu down. that’s what i ordered.”

faced with the natural hierarchy’s top one, how could a huili jing fight against a dragon? even more to a half huili jing? with a graceful movement, the half huili jing set out the tray full of appetizing meals rich in different flavours and seasonings.

the silence was too loud despite the busy chatter heard outside the private room and so, once the sulky half huili jing strolled away, you picked up the chopstick, ready to eat. that’s how you and chung myung spent the rest of the evening with occasional banters, two unfilled cups holding beads of alcohol, and an abandoned bottle of peach baijiu in the side.

moves languidly

the elders and the youths alike have watched a certain senior-junior pair dance around with each other. be it when they are younger than they are now—the plum blossoms in winter’s seasonal bloom and summer’s jovial heat sighing at the young man finding himself to get the point across and you dodging every little thing almost nil. the terrified junior brothers betting on who will try to make a move first.

so far the winning score is on those who placed bets on chung myung’s side…

a group of junior brothers set aside their lunch once they saw the two together with the taller one carrying a box with decorative materials for the spring festival and the other having a ladder.

you propped the ladder to the wall and started climbing on it while chung myung set the box down.

“will the elder make a move?”

“shush.”

“come on, shixiong. he is right. how about we bet if the elder makes a move on them this time?” junior brother lu nodded to the oblivious pair. he pushed his lunch forward, “i’ll bet my lunch set a, elder chung myung will make a move.”

junior brother ming, the shixiong, responded dryly. “i’ll bet mine he will not.”

“i’m with brother lu!”

“shixiong, you can’t possibly think elder will not when you also saw him–”

“watch.”

“huh?” instinctively, junior brother lu inclined his head just to see you playing with the ends of the red lantern for the spring festival, let it brush to your senior’s nose as chung myung sneezed. sending you a harmless glare as you laugh loudly. elder chung myung may be directing witty remarks to you but this little junior brother lu can see the tail of the elder languidly swishing behind him.

he sighs and thinks, elder chung myung is almost never too honest and yet his tail is saying otherwise. 

wiggles in excitement

a new series of tomorrow awaits as the booming fireworks line up to the dark skies, below were the firecrackers noisy and frizzled. the sect adorned in red lanterns and spring couplets can be seen hanging on the doors. the disciples of mount hua gather all around in different places; some are in the dining hall, some are burning bamboo sticks and firecrackers, laughter fills up the festive mood, and some are watching the abundant glowing light flutters seen above to the lowered ground.

a single stick fell out from the fortune shaker.

you stare at it, losing interest in picking it up as each second passes by until the black-clad swordsman nudges you with his shoulder in a bump, snickering. “will you look at that.”

you can’t believe the gods had decided to be mean to you on the eve of the spring festival. the harmonious atmosphere feels like mocking you as the fortune stick reads ‘misfortune.’

then you shove the stick back into the cylinder, shake it violently, a stick falls out and you’re miniscule away throwing away the damn fortune shaker. tsk, should’ve known it’s a sham.

chung myung clutches his stomach from too much hysterical fits as he then grabs one of your hands that was choking the cylinder. surprised at his gentle touch, chung myung easily slides his fingers between the gaps of yours as his stare pins at you with a gaze swirling playful pink billows, night light kissed skin. suddenly, peering up into him through the shadows settled by the moon feels intimate as the two of you sit on the rooftop.

“there,” he whispered. “i’m sharing half of my great fortune with you.”

you swallowed thickly, wanting to squeeze your heart to shut up. 

a comical exclaim escapes out of you, shiny eyes admiring him, “gege!”

chung myung reacts to your address with a sudden burst of triumph. his tail wags frantically, displaying his excitement. hearing you calling him 'gege' has clearly delighted him, and he seems eager to engage whatever his mind is scheming.

[azu1as]

au where cm goes undercover in a brothel/tavern as a courtesan.

It initially started out as chung myung wanting to help setup an information network for mount hua. This way, they wouldn't have to rely on the beggar's sect alone, meaning they can never get double-crossed. Let's just see you try, Hongdaekwang 💢

surprisingly, chung myung ends up enjoying his trips to the tavern because of the way the sisters there supply him with endless sweets and the nice oils and scents they use on him.

The scent of one of the hair oils reminds him of Tang Bo. It's…nice.

Of course, this is all a plus to the crazy dirt and tea that the sisters and tavern-goers provide him.

Inside the tavern where the night turns hazy as warmth and alcohol loosens lips and tongues in more ways than one, chung myung finds that people there are more willing to divulge secrets and information that would normally cost a fortune (read: several threats) if he turned to the beggar's sect.

Chung Myung also finds out that people open their wallets more frequently with a simple swish of a robe and basic swordless dances.

He can already see Chung Mun's appalled and exasperated face heaven if he knew Chung Myung discovered another way to scam people.

A little plum blossom step here and he has clients throwing wads of cash and coins at him, begging for another show.

'Suckers.' Chung Myung hides his wildly gleeful smile. 'AHEM, I mean my generous clients.'

Not only was he getting blackmail material on several notable figures, but he was also learning about smaller movements from major families thanks to their visiting associates.

He was also earning a lot of money. Can't forget about that.

Unbeknownst to him, however, he becomes a very well-known courtesan for his dances (chung myung's just going through basic sword forms, but shhh nobody needs to know) and supposed beauty.

Rumors say that his moves are so graceful and elegant that flowers bloom with every step and that heaven, if it could, would stop to watch.

And as for the rumored beauty...

It's all because of the mystery and allure that his thick, gauzy mask brings. People say that the courtesan's beauty is simply too much for the mortal man. so much so that he had to hide his beauty lest people go crazy.

The rumors inflate—as they often do—as they're passed around to the point where a large majority would agree that this courtesan is the type of generational beauty that would start wars.

This ends up as a major concern for Mount Hua since the tavern falls under their sect's jurisdiction.

So the Sect Leader sends some of the Swords to check up on the tavern to ensure that their security is sound while Chung Myung was 'away'.

Maybe even offer additional protection, just in case, what with the increased number of visitors from different villages and even sects due to the ongoing festival and a rumored dance performance from the tavern with the blooming courtesan at the center.

And when the courtesan takes center stage that night, each swordless step brings a plum blossom petal fluttering into the evening air, bringing with it a sweet scent and coloring the dark blue sky with a warm pink.

It's a homage to Mount Hua. That much is clear.

The courtesan does one final pose, an empty swordhand outstretched towards the sky.

Baek Cheon knows he isn't the only one who falls a little in love.

»—————————–✄

I'm currently trying to breakthrough my writer's block so other on-going fics/asks in my inbox have been going, but very slowly HAHAHA

Here's the link to the twitter post that spurned this word vomit <3

[nardo-headcanons]

National Holidays in the Ninja Villages + Bonus

I've had this idea in mind for a while, and now I finally got to write it down. Feel free to use these for your own works. Please tag me so I can read em all! <33

Iwagakure: The Lunar Lights of Gratitude The moon has a special place in the heart of every Iwa citizen. To them, it is a part of the earth, now observing its mother body from space. So naturally, the spectacle of a blue/super moon is a special occasion in Iwagakure. To honor and greet the moon, which is actually called "daughter" in the earth country's language, large fireworks are organized every new moon after a blue moon. As previously established, the earth country's firework industry is the largest, which Iwa shinobi are very proud of. Lighting the sky on fire and turning night into daytime is the Iwa way of giving back some of the light that the moon gives us at night.

Kirigakure: The Moonshine Sea Festival Despite the rivalry between the land of earth and the land of water, there is one thing they have in common, which is their spiritual connection to the moon and space. To water country citizens, especially the fishermen, the moon is a protector and guardian of the night, along with the stars. They strengthen the their connection to their biggest source of both faith and fear: the sea. The special climate in the water country, combined with its great biodiversity give a great habitat for biolumescent plankton, turning the sea itself into a starry night sky. It is one of the only pieces of culture that has been preserved, since the celebration itself was founded by the water country's union of fishermen, who don't belong to a particular clan with a kekkei genkai; most of the kekkei genkai wielders in Kiri have been wiped out, along with their culture, traditions and religions.

Sunagakure: Winter's Return The wind country is often ravaged by agonozingly hot summers, sand storms and heat waves are not a rarity in this country. While foreigners might groan and roll their eyes at the thought of the return to cold, foggy winter days, in Sunagakure it is a day for celebration. On the day where the sun stays for the longest, in the middle of the year, a large celebration is held across the nation. The way it is celebrated is different from family to family, and every Suna family is convinced that their way is the right one. Typically, markets are closed the whole day, and any missions rank B or below are halted for the day.

Kumogakure: Whale Festival of Generosity During winter, whales can be found emigrating along the lightning country's coast line, towards the land of iron. This holiday once came to be to celebrate the whales emigration towards a more prosperous habitat to mate and provide enough food for their young - a truly generous gesture. Over the years, many kumo shinobi have forgotten the old tale behind this festival, and it has turned into more of a mere gift giving occasion. And yet, it is widely popular and celebrated throughout the whole country.

Konoha: Cherry and Plum Blossom Viewing In Konoha, Hanami is annually celebrated. It is a custom celebrating the transitionary nature of cherry and plum blossoms blooming in spring.

BONUS: Uchiha Clan Honoring one's ancestors and traditions is of high importance to the Uchiha. Every year, on a clear fall night, the whole clan gathers together to light up little candles using their katon. The tealights are arranged in the Uchiha crest and left to light up the night and the clan share the evening together eating dinner, drinking hot tea and praying at the nakano shrine.

That's all, folks!

[enstars-popularity-tournament]

Round 1

[chinesehanfu]

[Hanfu · 漢服]Chinese Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD)Traditional Clothing Hanfu Photoshoot

【History Note】

During the Northern Song Dynasty, women who are 命婦 to attend formal occasions or common people's women often wore crowns and long-sleeved shirts and skirts when they got married.

※命婦(ming fu):Generally referred to as titled women. A married woman enjoys various ceremonial treatment, and generally refers to the official's mother and wife.

Women in the Song Dynasty had the custom of wearing flower crowns, some with fresh flowers, some with fake flowers(make by paper or silk); some with single branches, some with several branches; some of them will take flowers of the four seasons and combined it inserted on a crown, which is called "one year scene(一年景)".

Song Dynasty Lu You(陆游)'s "Notes on Laoxue'an(老学庵笔记)" records: “ 靖康初京师织帛及妇女首饰衣服，皆备四时。如节物则春幡、灯毬、竞渡、艾虎、云月之类，花则桃、杏、荷花、菊花、梅花，皆并为一景，谓之一年景。而靖康纪元果止一年，盖服妖也。 ” ​

【Translate】

“At the beginning of Jingkang era(1126-1127AD). In the capital city,the weaves silk and women's jewelry and clothes pattern, all prepared for the four seasons.

For example, the festive objects pattern are spring banners, lanterns, racing boats, aihu(艾虎:Dragon Boat Festival pattern), and cloud moon pattern, and the flowers are peaches, apricots, lotus, chrysanthemums, and plum blossoms. They are all combined into one scene, which is called one year scene. 

But the The Jingkang era(Emperor Qinzong's Reign) really ended in one year,sure enough, strange fashions will herald changes in the world.”

Just like the maid standing beside the Empress in the Portrait of Empress Cao of Song Dynasty:

________________

💃🏻Model： @寇白吃不饱

💄Stylist： @仰望的花鼻子

👑Song Dynasty Crown： @皇家传承御用手作 ​​​

📸Photo：  @realyn

👗 Hanfu： @山涧服饰 ​​​

🔗Weibo：https://weibo.com/2878787212/MnbL74qxn

________________

[ge]

tangchung getting married when the plum blossoms are in bloom, wearing lavish red robes w pink and green accents.. their reception is more like a party than a banquet, lasting several days and nights of nonstop cheer and food and drink.. even huayin prefecture below the mountain throw their own festivities, celebrating the official ties of alliance between the sichuan tang family and shaanxis mount hua sect..

early into their reception, tangchung quietly slip away with a couple bottles of wine to hide away deeper into the mountain range to watch the merrymaking from afar, bathing in each others presence and the realization theyre married now..theyre husbands.. sitting in the dirt on top of a mountain underneath the plum blossom trees in their expensive robes and jewelry, drinking locally brewed cheap wine, and happily laughing, leaning on each other, drunk on love and alcohol.. ooh.. i just got emotional..

[thirdlotusprince3]

Inside Out characters feelings about vacationing to China.

Joy wants to eat all the delicious food like dumplings and buns. She wants to see the Chinese New Year and lantern festival with the dancing and lanterns, Guardian lion dance, dragon dance.

Both Joy and Envy really want to see the pandas and hold them. They want to try fruit teas and boba tea. They want to try all the foods like dumplings and buns. They also like the CN tower and Shanghai Planetarium.

Envy really wants to see the Chinese temples and palaces.

Both Disgust and Envy admire the makeup and clothes on the Chinese Opera Peking performers. They both want to see the Chinese traditional dance, ribbon dancing.

Envy, Joy, Disgust want to see the plum blossoms and want to see the Chinese traditional clothing and umbrella dance, Summer Palace, Forbidden palace.

Anger wants to learn about kung-fu and the Chinese warlords. He also wants to see the Terracotta warriors. He wants to try spicy food. Anger also likes the fighting in the Chinese Opera plays.

Both Fear and Anxiety want to try all the teas, massage, and want to try cupping.

Joy, Anger, Fear, Anxiety are all table tennis masters.

Ennui likes the night view and maybe looking at the river at night, with lily pads and lotuses, with the moonlight reflecting from it.

Embarrassment and Sadness want to see the Yellow River. They like the drama in the Chinese Peking Opera. And they like the lanterns lighting up the sky, above the river, and lotuses on the lakes, admiring the moon.

Sadness wants to go to the war museums.

[hibischush]

a shipment of flowers

description; Adeline is reminded of what happened between her and the farmer the previous day.

notes; I told y'all I'd be posting. Enjoy🌺💗

word count; 878

warnings; references to The Princess Bride; minor in-game spoilers (festival)

Her head is throbbing. 

Adeline sighs as she slams her fountain pen down on her file-covered desk. Normally, the leader-in-waiting enjoys the thoroughness of official papers. With the New Year’s Eve celebration coming up, she had been busy ordering supplies for the manor and planning for small activities for the townsfolk to partake in at the party. Recently, however, she’s found it hard to focus with her slothful mind always stumbling back to the farmer. 

The farmer, for whom all they do, still finds the time to sit down and have tea with her. The farmer, despite having an endless list of arduous tasks, of which require thousands of tesserae, seemingly set aside the budget to give Adeline peaches & cream once every week to “celebrate her many accomplishments.”

They will do almost everything that she asks of them. 

And every time, speaking quietly enough for only Adeline to hear, they whisper:

“As you wish.”

It’s that very phrase that makes her knees weak. 

Maybe it’s been a while since Adeline has thought of pursuing someone romantically-- she ascertains that she pushes away the feelings as she hasn’t yet known the farmer for a year, and she’s not even certain they return said feelings. However, with the gentle sprinkling of snow against the window of her office, it reminds her that a year is coming up. And it has become much, much harder to mask her feelings.

She begrudgingly recalls the previous day when the farmer made their usual rounds to the manor, stopping by her office with the sweetest grin gracing their features. The bite of winter frost made the tips of their nose and round of their cheeks a pleasant pink. Bundled up in winter attire, Adeline didn’t think it was possible to be more endearing, but her most trusted ally had a way of surprising her.

“Lady Adeline, I’ve completed your request for the shipments of Poinsettias,” They exclaimed, unwrapping their snow-flecked scarf to reveal their face, “you just give me the signal for when you want me to ‘deck the halls’ for the party, so to speak.”

Looking up from her mass of papers, she sighed dejectedly, “I told you to call me Adeline,” she shook her head with a gentle grin. “Thank you, though. I believe they will bring some much-needed color to the foyer and ballroom.”

Even if Adeline said nothing of importance of all, the farmer permanently held a sparkle in their eyes as she talked to them. Maybe her sleep deprivation was getting to her, though. Were those snowflakes on their eyelashes?

Perhaps she was staring too long in silence, because the farmer looked down bashfully. Her face heated. Did she make it awkward?

“It would be rude if I said otherwise, Lady Adeline,” and before the baroness could scoff and repeat her wishes more firmly, the farmer continued, “I also came to gift you this…”

The farmer shyly revealed a bouquet-- jasmine, crocus, snapdragon, and even a few twigs of plum blossom, all wonderfully arranged and wrapped in a pink paper and tied together with a white ribbon. 

Adeline could feel her breath get caught in her throat as her face refused to cool down. A bouquet? Flowers, specifically a few that the farmer knew she liked? For a moment, it felt like time stopped, with only her erratic heartbeat pounding in her ears. This was a romantic gesture, was it not? A few moments had passed, but it felt like an eternity. She needed to respond.

“I--I don’t even know what to say! But in a good way. Not in a bad way! It would never be in a bad way with you-- it’s always perfect. You’re just perfect--”

Oh my god. Bad. Bad response.

She mentally slapped her forehead. Did her years of speech lessons not teach her how to speak eloquently? She didn’t even know it was possible to blush more, she thought nervously, wringing her clammy hands together to compose herself.

The farmer’s face was red as well (from the cold or from second-hand embarrassment, she wasn’t sure), but they still had a comforting smile on their face.

She cleared her throat, gently taking the bouquet in an embarrassingly robotic manner. She brought them closer to her face (totally not to hide from shame, that would be undignified), the sweet fragrance wafting in the air. 

“Thank you. They are beautiful.”

Their smile softened more, their eyes pouring into Adeline’s. “Of course. I’m glad you like them,”

They kept their gaze on her for another moment, perhaps maybe a second longer than they should have. With one last tick from the clock on her wall, they turned to leave.

“Well, it’s always a pleasure, Lady Adeline.” She shivered, and clutched the bouquet tightly.

Adeline panicked. 

“Wait!”

They looked back with a curious tilt of the head.

“You will be attending the New Year's Eve party, won’t you?” She said quietly, with a desperate amount of hope, she might add.

They took a second to formulate a response, looking to the ground for an answer. With a breath, they set their gaze confidently back on her. “Do you wish me to attend?”

She swallowed thickly. 

“I expect you to attend, dear farmer.” They grinned, “As you wish.”

I started writing this a few months ago after watching the Princess Bride. I hope y'all like it, even if this one is a bit self-indulgent lol. I just got the time to play fom yesterday and I missed it sm. Over break, I should be posting more, so stay tuned!

[lifebuoyjournals]

Ueno 🍇

Visited Ueno market and absolutely loved the vibes and seeing all the local produce. Went to a plum blossom festival at a local temple as well, and here was the only time I ate sushi in Japan 🐟 Ueno park was pretty and I can imagine how gorgeous it would be in full Spring 🪷