under the silvery full moon

the moon is in her plenitude tonight. and, it is a harvest moon and called 十五夜 jugoiya (the 15th night). this mid-autumn full moon festival falls on october 3rd this year, so peoples in many asian counties are partying today. we japanese also have a little celebration. our aristocratic ancestors would gather to recite poetry under the full moon. we modern japanese, meanwhile, put a foodie custom first like we usually have special dishes such as a rice dumpling. so, i am going to turn my ordinary pumpkin risotto into a “月見 tsukimi” dish by adding a poached egg to it. "tsukimi" literally means moon-viewing. any dish with an egg, which is likened to a full moon, can be called tsukimi-style.
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regarding activities, needless to say, nobody reads poetry anymore. traditionally, we arrange ススキ susuki (japanese pampas grass) in a vase to deck the room. many japanese still do that. most importantly, we view the full moon. unfortunately, the chances look rather slim over here in osaka at the moment. i am hoping that the clouds will clear out in the evening, though. for the japanese, moon always represents good or romantic things. nothing ominous. and i am sort of a moon power believer. whenever something unmemorable happened in my life, i noticed a full moon up in the dark but cloudless sky. i always come to think that the moon goddess would make things to happen for me.


well, this could sound a little bit lunatic, but i’d feel like taking photos of a moon when shinning brightly. i in fact captured it with my camera when i was in London, new york, buenos aires. naturally, wherever i was, the moon was always there. in other words, the full moon you gaze at tonight no matter where you are is the same moon as i do from my window. quite fascinating, don’t you think? let’s make a wish upon the mid-autumn full moon.

pic 1
nuts, which somehow resemble some planes, from the park. i wish they were edible.

pic 2, 3
both full moon photos were taken from my balcony last year. i’ve had mystic full moon experiences in my life. but i’ve never turned into a werewolf so far.

pic 4
have you ever heard of japanese beautyberry (callicarpa japonica)? this shrub is named after the great novelist, 紫式部 murasakishikibu (lady purple). it’s usually purple as the name tells its colour (take a look at my pic in the old post). white one is relatively unusual and looks like a pearl or even a full moon? it’s lovely to find it laden with lots of tiny berries in either purple or white in my neighbourhood.

pic 5
the bloom of 金木犀 kinmokusei (sweet olive/osmanthus fragrans) has passed the peak now. you’d never imagine how heady the sweet scent of this little flower was. it was just like dreaming.

pic 6
my pumpkin risotto á la tsukimi. i’m pretty good at poaching eggs. i am proud of my son who can make a poached egg, by the way.

wishing you all a beautiful full moon!