'Tis the season in Japan for chrysanthemum festivals. When I was an exchange student, I cut class and hung out in Hibiya Park to check out the flowers. They had the works: the hundreds of flowers from a single plant, the bonsai'd chrysanthemums, and the flocks of little old men. Chrysanthemum geeks who hung around, telling flower stories and drinking beer. I took lots of pictures (too bad I don't have a scanner), including some of their regiments of dead soldiers nestled in the fallen leaves.
On the weekend news of late, the human interest stories have touched on these festivals. One they mentioned last week featured animatronic samurai dolls dressed in kimono made of chrysanthemum. Floral mannequins of Yoshitsune and Benkei act out five different scenes, a la this year's NHK epic drama. When I stopped laughing, I tried to find some pictures online but the best I could do was another flower festival where they have the flower kimono thing happening.
166 words | November 13, 2005 06:42 PM | Real true story