``Misho-ryu Sasaoka'' was founded in 1919 (Taisho XNUMX) and is known for devising a new ``Sasaoka style morika'' using Western flowers. The current headmaster, Ryuho Sasaoka, is attracting attention for his activities in a wide range of fields, including not only traditional flower arranging expressions, but also collaborations with other genres such as musicals and Kyogen. Mr. Sasaoka, who lives in Kyoto, talks about the monthly flowers and Kyoto's special features for each month in his series ``Monthly Flowers, Monthly Kyo'', and in December, he writes about ``Yuzu'' and ``Okera Pilgrimage''.

A large black pine tree can be grown at Nijo Castle, a world heritage site.

This is Kuromatsu from the kitchen of Ninomaru Palace in Nijo Castle. The building, built in the early 17th century, is characterized by a wide dirt floor and wooden floor, and was literally used as a kitchen at the time of its construction. In order to stand out against the solid space, we used black pine, which has a strong presence. It is well over 2 meters tall. Pine trees with such tasteful branches are hard to find in the wild, so they must be obtained from a specialist gardener.

Pine trees are relatively easy to handle, but when they are this big, they require plenty of water. When this work was exhibited, it was on display for a long time, so it was quite difficult to take care of it, such as replenishing water every day.

Nijo Castle, a World Heritage Site and Important Cultural Property, is subject to various regulations from the perspective of protecting cultural properties. For example, water. It is strictly forbidden for water to spill between the boards, so a huge container is installed inside the flower stand wrapped in scarlet wool, so that even if water leaks from the rotten wooden basin in which the pine tree is kept, We made it possible to catch water with a huge container. We also carefully check to make sure there are no insects or other creatures lurking in the pine needles or trunks.

As was the case with the flower offering at the Phoenix Hall of Byodo-in Temple in Uji, I believe that some level of regulation is unavoidable in order to protect such valuable cultural properties. On the other hand, it is also a good experience for flower arrangers to be able to arrange flowers in a historic building while clearly meeting these regulations.

Mizuo no Sato yuzu has been cultivated for over 1000 years

Because the exhibition will be long, the seasonal flowers placed at the foot of the pine tree will be displayed every 1000 days, with the theme of ``XNUMX seasons and XNUMX seasons'' according to the lunar calendar. I decided to change it. The real thing in the photo is a kumquat and a small yuzu. We created a wonderful combination of majestic pine trees, lovely kumquats, and small yuzu. Speaking of the winter solstice, it is yuzu. Yuzu has a strong aroma that expels evil spirits, and has been believed to ward off evil spirits since ancient times. It is also connected to ``yuji'', which has the same sound as ``winter solstice'', so it is said that if you take a ``yuzu bath'' on the day of the winter solstice, you will not catch a cold. In Kyoto, Mizuo no Sato, located in Okusaga, is known as a production area for yuzu, which has been cultivated for about XNUMX years.

On New Year's Eve, I went to visit Mr. Yasaka.

After the winter solstice, it is already the end of the year. At my house, we aim to finish preparing the tokonoma and kadomatsu for the New Year by the 28th. And on the night of New Year's Eve, I went to Yasaka-san for a "wokeramairi". After the New Year's Eve Festival, which is held at the main shrine from around 7 p.m., the lanterns set up on the grounds are lit. At that time, the dried roots of the chrysanthemum family called ``wokera'' are also burned. This root emits a very strong odor, and like the yuzu, it has been said to ward off evil spirits. This ``Okerabi'' is transferred to a match rope and taken home so that it does not go out, and is used as a fire for New Year's ozoni.This is called ``Okeramairi'', and the person holding the match rope twirls it around. The sight of them walking along Gion-cho and Shijo Ohashi Bridge is said to be a Kyoto New Year's Eve tradition.

The ``Okerabi'' is burnt from around 7:7 p.m. until early morning on New Year's Day, and as the evening progresses, the shrine grounds of Yasaka-san become extremely crowded as people make their first shrine visit. Therefore, my family always goes out early, around XNUMX:XNUMX p.m. It's originally a New Year's ozoni, but since it's still early, I use it as a starter when making Toshikoshi Soba on New Year's Eve.

People in Kyoto are said to love new things, but on the other hand, they value these old events and repeat them every year, even saying, ``We spent the same time last year.'' Personally, I have spent almost every day of events such as Gozan Okuribi and Okera Pilgrimage in Kyoto ever since I can remember. If I miss it even once, to put it bluntly, I feel like I've neglected my roots... I guess that's what Kyoto people are.