Japan 89 Colors of life6

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JAPAN
Colors of life
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Physalis alkekengi (Hoozuki)
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Physalis alkekengi (bladder cherry, Chinese
lantern, Japanese-lantern, ground cherry or
winter cherry) is easily identifiable by the
large, bright orange to red papery covering over
its fruit, which resembles paper lanterns. It
grows naturally in the regions covering Southern
Europe to South Asia and Japan. It is a perennial
herbaceous plant growing to 4060 cm tall, with
spirally arranged leaves 612 cm long and 49 cm
broad. The flowers are white, with a five-lobed
corolla 1015 mm across, with an inflated basal
calyx which matures into the papery orange fruit
covering, 45 cm long and broad
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Physalis is a popular ornamental plant, though it
can be invasive with its wide-spreading root
system sending up new shoots some distance from
where it was originally planted.
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In various places around the world, it has
escaped cultivation
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The dried fruit of Physalis alkekengi is called
the golden flower in the Unani system of
medicine, and used as a diuretic, antiseptic,
liver corrective, and sedative
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In Japan, its seeds are used as part of the Bon
Festival as offerings to guide the souls of the
deceased. Also, an annual market is dedicated to
the flower called hozuki-ichi, which occurs in
Asakusa around Senso-ji every year on July 9 and
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Senso-ji is an ancient Buddhist temple located
in Asakusa, Tokyo
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Senso-ji Temple, built in 628, is said to be the
oldest temple in Tokyo. This is a popular spot
among not only local people but also people from
all over Japan. There is a belief that a prayer
offered on July 10 is equivalent to praying
46,000 days, and thus many people have visited
the temple on this day since the olden times
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Why 46000 days, you might ask?This is supposed
to be the number of rice grains in one Japanese
measure of rice, Japan being an old rice-growing
nation and wasting even one grain of it was a big
sin
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'Shiman Rokusen-nichi' means 'day of 46,000' and
it is said that a visit to Sensou-ji Temple in
the Asakusa district of Tokyo on these days gets
you the credit for visiting on 46,000 normal days
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Many thousands of people turn out and hundreds of
stalls sell potted hozuki (ground cherry) plants
and wind chimes until midnight
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Hozuki its cultivated as an ornamental plant and
as a medicinal herb, used by pregnant women to
reduce fever and discomfort
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About 100 stalls are set up to sell ground cherry
pods in the temple grounds, with the breezy sound
of wind bells, the vivid vermillion of the pods,
and people strolling around in colorful yukata
gowns filling the air with a festive shitamachi
atmosphere
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Japanese wind bells are called Furin Fu is
wind and rin is bell in Japanese. The glass Edo
Furin wind bell is particularly beautiful and can
be often seen during Japans humid summer
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Since the Edo period, the Hozuki Ichi (Chinese
Lantern Plant Fair) is held on every year, on
July 9th and 10th, at the Senso-ji Temple in
Asakusa
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Hozuki were also made into a powerful medicine
and sold at the Hozuki market and the monthly
temple prayer days (ennichi) at Asakusa
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This annual market is devoted to the flowering
plant hozuki (also known as ground cherry pods),
but visitors can also find traditional wind
chimes and other summer specialties among the
100-plus stalls dotted around the Sensoji temple
grounds and its environs
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The name comes from the shape and texture of the
fruit that looks like a small paper lantern
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If a special hozuki tea was prepared and drunk on
the tenth day of the seventh lunar month, it
would cure dysenterie and intestinal parasites.
This lore dates back to a dream of a man in the
Shiba district, who saw the Atago deity in his
dream
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Every year, an estimated 500,000 visitors come to
this traditional event
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Physalis alkekengi with its swollen body it
carries a lot of good luck (fuku ?)and is thus a
good omen, bringing good fortune to its owner
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It is also the protector deity for women,
healing ladies illnessen and helps making them
pregnant
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The famous market for Demons Lanterns is held at
the Asakusa Temple in Tokyo and used to be a
specialty already at the Edo period. It is held
for two days on July 9/10 and is in itself a kigo
for summer
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You can use Chinese lantern berries in place of
several fruit desserts, but you will always need
to prepare them first by heating them with water
and sugar until they are soft. Depending on your
preference, you can adjust the sugar content for
desserts and sauces.  Rich in vitamins, with
twice the vitamin C of lemons, but not much taste
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Text pictures Internet All  copyrights  belong
to their  respective owners Presentation
Sanda Foisoreanu
2017
Sound Toshinori Yonekura - Love in the
sky Rain in delicacy
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Colors of life