Traditionally, we perform ningyo joruri at an outdoor theatre in Ono around the time the sakura is blossoming.  I’m looking up at the sakura above the theatre and thinking ‘it has no blossom’.  I remember thinking the exactly the same thing last year; why don’t they delay the performance until the flowers are out?  The tree hanging above the theatre is actually a different type of sakura than the normal super-fluffy variety you see in most public areas.  It’s called a yamazakura and unlike the other cherries, it blossoms along with small brown leaves.  While driving through Kamiyama, if you have a look at the mountains you can see yamazakura as subtle patches of white here and there, but only during hanami season.

Above, Adam’s fusuma e in the background (the announcer still introduces it proudly for the crowd).

During the performance there are numerous problems but, as always, no-one seems to mind.

One of our group keeps seeds in her pocket until they germinate.  Apparently, she always has a little bag of seeds with her.  This time she is sprouting corn..

Outside, Kus san spots a shiitake mushroom on a tree.  He can’t eat shiitake mushrooms, not even a 1mm slice of mushroom mixed in with other vegetables.  I couldn’t understand why he was so happy to see this one sprouting on this tree (incidentally, the tree is a species called Shii hence the name of the mushroom).  I stare at it for while and begin to feel uneasy.  It reminded me of a wart next to an orifice.