My favorite summer tree is in full bloom now. It has a very smooth trunk, and the flowers are pink, red, purple, or white. Can you guess what kind of tree I am talking about? In English, we call it crepe myrtle. In Japanese, it is called “sarusuberi.” It is said that the trunk is so smooth that even monkeys will fall off. This tree is also found in China, but the Chinese name has a different meaning. It means “red for 100 days.” That’s because the flowers of the tree stay in bloom for a long time. Last Thursday, I drove along a road that had crepe myrtle on both sides. It was so beautiful that I had to stop and take a photo!     (125 words) Jaremaga now comes out online on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. To become a paid subscriber and read it 5 days a week, go to “Support Jaremaga”

Wednesday’s story reminded me of another plant, Japanese ginger, or “myoga” in Japanese. It is often used as a condiment in Japanese cuisine, for example  with tofu and soba noodles. Some people say that if you eat “myoga,” you will become forgetful. This belief comes from a story about one of Buddha’s disciples. The disciple was so forgetful that he could not even remember his own name. Buddha made a flag with the disciple’s name written on it and put it on his back. However, the disciple even forgot that the flag was there. After he died, a strange plant grew on his grave. It was “myoga.” Of course, this is just a myth, but I remember my grandmother telling me this story when we lived together.     (127 words) Jaremaga now comes out online on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. To become a paid subscriber and read it 5 days a week, go to “Support Jaremaga” below for more information. You

My wife made pickled lotus root for the first time in a long time. It was nice and crunchy. Before I came to Japan, however, I had a completely different image of lotus. I thought it was a drug. I first heard about it while reading the “Odyssey” by Homer (“Homerus in Japanese). He tells the story of Odysseus and some sailors who are trying to get back to Greece. They land on an island of lotus-eaters. Everyone on the island is peaceful because they eat a sweet plant called lotus. When the Greek sailors eat it, they forget everything and lose interest in going back to Greece. I’m sure Homer was talking about a different plant. The lotus root I eat isn’t sweet, and it doesn’t make me forget.    (130 words) Jaremaga now comes out online on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. To become a paid subscriber and read it 5 days a

Summer is the time for rice paddy art, and you can see one example in the western part of Nagoya. The image is designed so that it looks perfect from the tower next to the paddy. Six different kinds of rice are used, one for each color. The rice we eat is used for the green background, but very old kinds of rice are used for black lines, and there are special kinds of rice that have yellow, white, red, and orange leaves. Although the best time to see rice paddy art is in July, you can still see it now. This year’s picture was designed by a popular YouTuber, Sakai Takahiro. It is a picture of his characters, Himari and the bear, at a Sports Day event. They are with a local character, Minapi, a bird that comes to Fujimae Tidal Flat in winter.   (145 words) Jaremaga now comes out online on

These days, I see a lot of plushies. They are soft toys that people can collect. Some are characters from anime and manga. Others are dolls of popular singers and idols. Junior high school and high school students in Japan often attach them to their bags. Sometimes, there are so many plushies that you can hardly see the bags! When I was growing up, we didn’t have those kinds of plushies. We had stuffed animals like teddy bears, and we kept them at home. Then, zoos and aquariums started selling different kinds of stuffed animals and fish. At Disneyland, they even sell jumbo-sized characters of Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh. What about you? Do you collect plushies and put them on your bag? Or do you have stuffed animals and keep them in your room? Send me an email and tell me your answers.    (145 words) Jaremaga now comes out online on