It has turned quite cold — more winter than late autumn. Trees and flowers in the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace just before Palaceside Building in Takebashi, Tokyo, are shifting to autumn-winter dress. Among subdued winter colors, senryo (Nandina) and manryo stand out with abundant red berries, inviting birds.
Senryo bears fruit atop the leaves; manryo hangs berries beneath. Fruit on top seems easier for birds to spot and is eaten sooner.
Besides manryo and senryo, hyakuryo, jyuryo, and ichiryo also bear small red berries and look alike; names are said to come from how heavy the fruit looks — the most laden first.
Both senryo and manryo have auspicious names and are indispensable New Year decorations. In Kansai, ichiryo — alias aridōshi ("ant passage") for sharp thorns at the leaf base that only tiny insects pass — joins them as "manryo, senryo, (all year) aridōshi" for good luck.
Jyuryo is also called yabukoji. All four except senryo belong to the yabukoji family. Does "yabukoji" ring a bell?
Yes — in rakugo "Jugemu," in the child's name: "Jugemu jugemu gokō no surikire~~" A monk advising on the name explains: "There is a sturdy tree called yabukoji — spring brings young leaves, summer flowers, autumn fruit, winter red against frost and snow — a blessed tree." Knowing that, they look even more auspicious.