Shiwasu—December—has begun. The air of the city is shifting from late autumn to early winter, and the sense of hurry grows: we must make a list of work to finish this year, and soon get New Year cards ready.
In the “city turning color” series around the Palaceside Building we have so far featured leaves; this time, flowers. Red blossoms are open on the Uchibori-dori sidewalk along the Imperial Palace’s Ote-bori. A flower road from Otemon through Hirakawamon to Takebashi. Instinct said “sasanqua!” but I felt a little unsure. I had heard that sasanqua and camellia look alike.
Online there are several ways to tell them apart—bloom season (sasanqua October–December, camellia December–April) and differences in the leaves—but the easiest was how the flowers fall. A camellia drops whole from the neck; sasanqua sheds petals. On the Uchibori-dori sidewalk a red carpet of petals had formed at the trees’ feet, so this was sasanqua without a doubt. To be sure I phoned the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which manages the road, and received confirmation that they are sasanqua.
The flower language of sasanqua is “overcoming hardship” and “single-mindedness.” I recall SEKAI NO OWARI’s “Sasanqua,” the NHK theme for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics: “You have fallen more than anyone, cried more than anyone, and stood up more than anyone.” Less than a month remains this year. Let us keep going!