Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
I left home in the evening. The intense heat of the past few days finally seemed to be easing up, so I took advantage of the opportunity to walk around my neighborhood, pondering various things. Even just walking around a residential area, I noticed small changes and found it surprisingly interesting.
For example, the things the children talk about on their way home are the same as they were when I was a child, or the cracks in the asphalt there are wider than they were in the winter, and other trivial things.
Well, this may now be a common sight in Japan, but I'm sure you'll find roughly one in 20 houses in any residential area in Japan with rows of unkempt planters at the entrance or on the eaves.
The plants, planted haphazardly in the messy planters, gradually grow wildly, and ivy begins to creep up the walls...
On my walk today, I passed by a house like that just during blue hour, at the end of twilight.
The house, which must have been built two generations ago, is decorated with brown brick tiles, and just in front of them are rows of plants. The light filtering in bathed the area in a pale blue-gray hue, strangely making the familiar house and plants stand out.
Then I notice a scent spreading. It's a languid sweetness like jasmine, emanating from small purple flowers in a planter on the wall. The flowers' slightly reddish purple color is even more eye-catching against the pale tones of the sky that are only there at this time of day, and it looks somewhat seductive.
It wasn't a special view, but it was a special time. I enjoyed it for a while on the eaves, then headed home on my usual route.
Regretting my lack of knowledge about plants, I immediately looked up the name of the flower at home. It appears to be a flower called the fragrant pine. Found in South America, it is a species that blooms around this time of year, with purple flowers that gradually fade to white, making it a delight to the eye.
Its English name is "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow," which means "lucky," "enthusiastic," and "unfaithful." Its sweet, summery scent and fickle expression certainly evoke these words.
That moment, which I will probably never experience again, suddenly appeared in my daily life and left an impression on my heart.
Beauty is surely hidden everywhere. The important thing is to have an open mind and be able to notice it.