In the past 'Higan-no-Nakaba' (彼岸の半ば 'Middle of the Equinoctial Week') was a time for visiting graves to honour ancestors.

It was also a time for spring cleaning and for making important changes (such as beginning a new hobby or finishing an important project).

#Kyoto #Japan #springequinox #

Originally the spring equinox was taken up by a Shintō festival called 'Shunki kōrei-sai' (春季皇霊祭), created in 1878 and centered around imperial ancestor worship.
In 1948 this was repackaged as a day for admiring nature and all living things.

In 1644 Tōfukumon-in, consort of Emperor Go-Mizunoo, was bequeathed the old hermitage of Jimyōin Motoko (持明院基子 ?-1644).

She suggested the emperor construct a new temple, and so in 1654 he established Reikan-ji (霊鑑寺) with his daughter Gekkō Sōchō (月江宗澄) as founding head.

winter wind-
camellia blossoms have fixed
their make-up
木がらしや椿は花の身づくろひ
-Kobayashi Issa, 1824.
Trans. David G. Lanoue.

Although predominantly considered a winter plant, camellias can be seen blooming for a large part of the year (from late fall to mid-spring)

Camellia flowers inspire a mind-boggling number of traditional sweets.

The most famous, and one of the oldest (an early version featuring in 'The Tale of Genji'), is 'tsubaki-mochi' (椿餅). Camellia leaves adorn a sticky rice cake, but unlike sakura-mochi the leaves act as decoration only.