Persimmons are one of my favorite fall fruits. I love the simple taste. Walking around Tokorozawa, you'll see a lot of persimmon trees in people's yards.
And although I'm not the best person to start talking about Japanese literature...I do remember a very famous haiku that almost all Japanese people know or have at least heard of. It's by a famous haiku poet named Masaoka Shiki (正岡子規).
"Kaki kueba Kane ga naru nari Horyuji"
(柿食へば鐘がなるなり法隆寺)
This translates to something like "Bite into persimmon, a bell resounds, Horyuji." Shiki wrote this while he was in Nara during his travels, sitting in a tea room close to Horyuji while eating persimmon, which was said to be his favorite fruit. And although it's said that the sound of bell he refers to is actually from Todaiji, a different temple in Nara, this famous haiku composes a lovely fall scene and remains to be one of the most famous haiku in Japan.
21 comments:
I had a Japanese friend who loved persimmons. Maybe you kind of heard of her. She is known as kaki kuu Keiko.
Personally, I really love dried persimmons. Their seasonal timing was always so good to help blast away the occasional winter cold.
If Shiki lived in a certain Saitama city and had his own persimmon tree could you call it a Shiki no Shiki-shi ki? 子規の志木市木
I kind of like this photo of the monks cleaning the Buddha at Todaiji.
Beautiful photos and a very interesting post!
One of my fav fall fruits too. Yum, lovely and sweet.
ps. かき is one of the first Japanese words I learnt because I drew a persimmon, and decided to write the word next to the drawing so that I'd remember. :) it worked.
I never tasted one before. They look good though.
Thanks for your visit to my blog and for the nice comment.
Now I know why here they are called cachi or kaki...
A beautiful haiku , did your hear the bell ? :)
Oddly enough, it was my mother who introduced me to persimmon/kaki only a few years ago, and now I love them too. Once, though, when she came to visit in Manila, we were having lunch in a Japanese restaurant and they were selling them at the counter. She said she wanted one and my friend immediately offered to buy it for her. We all almost choked to learn the fruit was more expensive than our lunch! But my friend felt she could not back out any more... :-D In the grocery story they were 1/5th the price.
If you ever do have a chance, Kaori, go see the Kobe Luminarie. The surprise did add to the mystique of our experience, but it was moving.
@Tall Gary, we eat a lot of dried persimmon when in China... delicious!
Wow that looks so good. Just from your pictures alone, I can tell it's so much warmer than it is here.
I don't think I've ever had any but now I want to try!
I tried a persimmon once and it was...well, you phrased it well: a simple taste. We don't have them around here except in grocery stores.
Lovely photos. I first tried a persimmon a few years ago, and I enjoyed it.
A joy for the senses all.
Please have a wonderful weekend.
daily athens
Those look good! I would love to try one someday.
Persimmons are great when very ripe, soft, then frozen and added to smoothies.
Tall Gary, I like the pic of Todaiji, too. I've never tried persimmons with smoothies before! I'll have to try it ;-D
Greyscale Territory & Abraham Lincoln, thank you so much for the comment! :D
Evelyn, that was your first word? very cool! Kaki can also mean "oyster."
VP, do they call it the same there, too? Very interesting! :-)
Babzy, I didn't hear the bell in this photo...maybe I'll visit Nara someday :-D
Fransisca, I've never heard of expensive persimmons! But I don't think I'd have the nerve to say no either ;-)
T, you wouldn't believe how warm it was today! 17C...it was like spring :-D
Ciel & Michael, I think you'd both like it :D
Becky, I think they have the softer persimmons down in Cali!
Al, aren't they a great fruit? I really like them :-)
Robert, yes it really is!
It is true: Caco, kaki, diospyros kaki
I remember Persimmons from my time teaching English in Gifu-ken! I don't think we can buy them in the grocery stores here??
VP, Thank you for the link! That is very cool ;-D
Leif, I don't think we had them in MI either!
It is the first time that I heard about that fruit but I bet that you can only get it on Japan and importation should be pretty expensive.
Hello .. I have never seen a fruit .
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