My Book Ⅰ
Written by Hiroyuki Ikeda
［ No.27］ ‘Dancing Ladies Ginger’ and Mr. Isozaki 9.17 2013
Last week, pretty flowers arrived at my house from Mr. Isozaki on Hachijoujima Isl., Tokyo. Every year around the time of my birthday of August 22, Kotaro Isozaki, who lives on Hachijojima Isl. and has been working as the owner of a B & B (name is Isozakien ) and a horticulturist, sends me pretty flowers which seem to be dancing flowers when in full bloom. They are called “ Siamese dancer ( Shamu-no-Maihime in Japanese)”. He has been sending me flowers for years and I am so pleased because there are few flowers in summer.
Hachijojima Island is one of the Izu Islands. It’s a volcanic island 287km south of Tokyo. It’s temperature is 17.8 degrees in an average year. It rains often and there are strong winds throughout the year and it gets hot and humid due to Kuroshio, the Black Stream or Japan Current. Typhoons pass through quite often near here, but well, it is called ‘the island of everlasting spring’, and also Japanese Hawaii’ due to the warm oceanic climate. There are also many hot springs and special products: Kusaya (horse mackerel dipped in salt water and dried in the sun ) , Ashitaba ( a vegetable), Shochu ( sake ), Kihachijo ( yellow silk cloth), freejia flower, Asian passion fruits and of course delicious fish. Dan Ikuma, a famous composer(Opera オペラ"夕鶴Crane of the Evening" ) and author who wrote essays such as “ Paipu-no-kemuri, smoke pipe” loved Hachijojima and Mr. Isozaki’s home and stayed a long period of time every year in Hachijo and enjoyed the cuisine of the island all of his life. When I visited Hachijojima Island, I introduced a newly opened Jet Airways flights to Hachijo Island from Nagoya in 1984 on my TV program and I introduced Mr. Isozaki to the audience too. Correspondence with him has continued ever since that time and Isozaki sends me many products of the island all through the year. He is kindly entertaining me from time to time each and every year with such flowers as freejia, orchids, Stlechia ( bird of paradise’ ) and delicious potatoes from spring to summer and from autumn to winter, ‘Dancer of Siamese’ and celery. Dancer of Siamese seems to be a kind of flower of the ginger family from the leaf, but it’s named "Siamese dancer" in Japan from the figure of the flower. (Dancing ladies ginger is an English name.).
I immediately sent a thank-you note for the flowers from Isozaki and wished him well. It'll soon be the end of the year, and soon his delicious celery will come. Looking at the flower, I made up my mind to send him a delicious cookie of Kobe.
磯崎光太郎 Kotaro isozalki :
Isozakien, 347 Kasidate, Hachijo-cho,Hachijojima,Tokyo 100-1621
( Phone 04996-7-0041)
Hachijo-jima : www.town.hachijo.tokyo.jp/
Globba grand flora,Globba winiti : http://yasashi.info/ku_00028.htm
Globba winiti : http://happamisaki.jp-o.net/flower/k/guruppa.htm
’Siamese Dancer’ シャムの舞姫
