Heart-calming lotus flowers loved by Japanese over centuries as symbol of purity

July 30, 2013

Heart-calming lotus flowers loved by Japanese over centuries as symbol of purity

Lotus flowers have continued to calm Japanese people’s heart over centuries, sometimes seen as a sacred Buddhist symbol or as a symbol of purity.

The bee farm, located in Asakura, Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, attracts customers not only with its honey products but also thousands of lotus flowers planted in a 3,600-square-meter field in the backyard.

Lotuses, planted in damp grounds or ponds, have horizontally extending subterranean stems. The plant comes from the mud but beautifully flowers every summer, making people view the lotus flowers as a symbol of purity. Lotuses not just charm people with its pink or white flowers, but their stems are also edible and their fruits can be candied. As lotus flowers are frequently referred to in Buddhist scriptures, Buddha statues sit on the pedestal made in the shape of lotus flowers.

The lotus field, which lies behind the 104-year-old Fujii Bee Farm, is manured with compost made of wastes from its honey-producing line. The pink flowers bloom from late June to August, but the abnormally hot weather this summer has made them blossom a little earlier.

Winds are blowing around me with a sweet fragrance given off by blooming lotus flowers; the water in my heart is being purified before the pond out there.

(A personal translation)

This is a poem made by Teika Fujiwara, a noted waka poet who was active in the Imperial court from the late 12th century.

The lotus flowers in the backyard of the bee farm are exposed to heat waves almost every day this summer, but the flowers and leaves stand upright on their feet, gently swaying on summer breezes.