Discussion

Hanami and Umemi

Flower viewing is an extremely popular, in-season pastime in Japan. The flowers being viewed depend on what is blossoming at the time, but it most famously takes place when cherry blossoms (sakura) are in bloom in the spring. That is what hanami (literally "flower viewing") most often means; a time to view sakura in bloom. Huge mobs of people swarm to parks, day and night, where cherry trees are abundant, sit on reserved patches of ground under cherry trees loaded with blossoms, and party with food and drink. Or walk around on pathways surrounded by trees in bloom, munch on snacks sold by vendors taking advantage of the swarms of customers, buy souvenirs, etc. It is a festive occasion.

The practice on a modest scale was adopted from China in the Nara Period (710 – 794) when winter-blooming plum blossoms were the most admired, and the viewing was called umemi (literally "plum viewing"). Umemi is still a thing today, though its popularity was eclipsed by hanami, which became synonymous with sakura viewing, in the Heian Period (794 – 1185). Older people tend to favor umemi because it is less crowded and quieter.

There are red and white varieties of Japanese plums (ume), and though less popular than sakura, their beauty can not be denied.

Prunus Mume

At least three different kinds of plum tree have Japanese Plum as one of their common names, however the Japanese word, ume, this week's painting subject, specifically refers to P. mume, a species of Asian plum in the family Rosaceae. (Mume is an obsolete name for ume.) Other common names for it are White Plum, Chinese Plum, and Japanese Apricot. The latter Western name is perhaps the most appropriate because ume is more closely related to apricots than to plums.

These ume are located in Hanagi Park, Tōkyō.

There are at least 300 cultivars of ume. The weeping plum below is a less common one.

Ume trees grow from 13 to 33 feet tall. The flowers are usually a little under an inch across, and, unlike cherry blossoms, have a strong fragrant scent. Colors range from white to pink to red.

Depending on the region, flowers begin to appear from mid January through February. Though winter-blooming plants, ume are considered to be a harbinger of spring.

Leaves appear after ume petals fall, and fruit ripens around June and July. Only a few cultivars of ume are typically used for commercial fruit growing purposes.

Ume fruit is much more sour than Western plums and is usually processed before being eaten. A very popular ume fruit product is umeboshi, pickled ume.

Japanese consider umeboshi to be a health food that can counteract food poisoning and promote longevity. One way it is eaten is with rice. The rice balls below (nigirimeshi) have umeboshi embedded inside.

Another popular ume-based product in Japan is umeshu, a form of plum wine made by steeping green ume in white liquor and rock sugar. Bottled umeshu often comes with ume inside.

There many other ume-based food products made in east Asian countries.

Artwork

Japanese artists have long favored ume subjects.

Bonsai

Around a thousand years ago, a work of Japanese fiction contained this passage: "A [full-size] tree that is left growing in its natural state is a crude thing. It is only when it is kept close to human beings who fashion it with loving care that its shape and style acquire the ability to move one." The ume bonsai below is one of many that illustrates the concept.

Shikunshi (The Four Gentlemen)

Plum (ume) is among the four painting subjects that sumi-e artists often learn first. It also represents winter. The other three are orchid (spring), bamboo (summer) and chrysanthemum (fall). Together, those four are known as the shikunshi subjects; the Four Gentlemen. All of the basic strokes that beginning sumi artists need to learn are used in shikunshi subjects. Though known as beginners' painting subjects, they can also command the talents of masters. It is common for Japanese artists to paint all four subjects, either in a single composition, or each of them in separate paintings. Nakabayashi Chikutō is one such artist.

Nakabayashi Chikutō (1776 – 1853)

Chikutō began training to be an artist at age 14 with the support of a wealthy merchant. Along with a friend, Uragami Shunkin who he met in Kyōto years later, Chikutō published an illustrated book titled The Heavenly Art of Painting. Both men painted in the Nanga (Southern school) style. Chikutō went on to print several books on his own. An 1853 publication titled The Four Worthies featured several paintings of each of the shikunshi subjects. Examples selected from the book are shown below.

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 – 1858)

Hiroshige is one of Japan's most famous artists, known mostly for his ukiyo-e; Japanese woodblock prints. Strongly influenced by Katsushika Hokusai's (1760 – 1848) landscape prints, he produced several well known series, among them The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō and One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. He was a strong influence on French Impressionists Manet, Monet, and Van Gogh. His Plum Orchard in Kamada is number 27 of the One Hundred Famous Views of Edo series.

Ogata Kōrin (1658 – 1716)

Born into a wealthy merchant family, Kōrin is one of the major founders of the Rinpa school of art, known for its decorative style, along with Tawaraya Sōtatsu (1570 – 1640). Some of Kōrin's byōbu (folding screens) are considered to be among Japan's greatest works of art. One of them is his Red & White Plum byōbu painting on gold leaf, painted sometime around 1712 to 1716. One of the techniques that Rinpa School artists were known for is called tarashikomi. It is the application of drops of paint onto a previously painted area that is still wet, creating a mottled appearance. The effect is seen here on the trunks and branches of the trees.