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About miyakowasure

This week's subject is the first of two featuring another shikunshi subject, the chrysanthemum. Chrysanthemums, or simply mums, are a subset of the aster family. The specific type of mum to be studied this week is miyakowasure, a perennial that has been cultivated in Japan since the Edo period. While most mums are autumn flowers, miyakowasure is an exception, flowering from April to June.

Depending on the variety, miyakowasure plants grow from 6-8 inches tall (dwarf species) or 12-16 inches tall (high density species). Its blossoms are small, ranging from 1 to 1½ inches in diameter. Blossom colors can be blue-violet, purple, lilac, white, peach, or purple.

The name, miyakowasure, literally means "forgetting Kyōto". Kyōto was the seat of Japan's government at the time that the Kamakura-period emperor, Jyuntoku (1197-1242), was exiled for life to Sado island after losing the Jōkyū War (1221). He found the flower there and greatly admired it, thinking of it as consolation for his loss. This led to the name.

There are roughly 6,000 species of dragonflies and their near cousins, damselflies, combined.

Band-winged Meadowhawk:

Dragonflies start out as eggs, morph into larva, and eventually assume their adult form.

Blue Dasher:

In their larval form, dragonflies live up to 2 years, but adults generally live less than a month, though some can last up to 6 months.

Ebony Jewelwing:

They live in or close to  marshes, lakes, ponds and streams because they are aquatic in the larva stage.

Four-spotted Chaser:

Dragonflies eat other insects and even tadpoles, and they are in turn eaten by birds, lizards, frogs, fish, spiders and even other large dragonflies.

Crimson-tailed Marsh Hawk:

Various species have a wing span of between 2 to 5 inches, but fossilized dragonflies have been found with a wing span of up to 2 feet. Some species can fly as fast as 40 miles per hour. 

Southern Hawker:

The 3 major body parts of dragonflies are the head, the thorax, and the abdomen. The thorax is divided into three parts, each with one pair of legs. The abdomen has multiple segments, too, often around 10. The picture below is an anatomy chart.

Dragon flies have up to 30,000 eyes on their heads, all but a few in their compound eyes.