The peony garden~ ぼたん庭園

My parents had been looking forward to coming to Kamakura since I returned to Japan last September. There is Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu in Kamakura and they have a beautiful peony garden. Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu is the most famous and popular Shinto shrine in Kamakura; it is one of the Important Cultural Properties in Japan.

私が去年の９月に帰国してから、両親がずっと鎌倉に来るのを楽しみにしていました。鎌倉には鶴岡八幡宮があり、そこには立派なぼたん庭園があるのです。鶴岡八幡宮は重要文化財の一つで、鎌倉で一番有名で人気のある神社です。

Last week, I invited them to my house and we went to the shrine. For about ten days, it had been very cloudy in Kamakura, but finally, it was sunny. It is a good season to see the garden; winter peony is in full bloom by February. According to Hachiman-gu's website, peony is the symbol of fertility and nobility.

先週、両親を呼んで、八幡宮に行ってきました。10日ほどずっと曇っていましたが、この日は久しぶりに晴れました。ぼたん庭園は２月まで開いていて冬牡丹は今がちょうど見頃です。八幡宮のサイトによれば、牡丹は肥沃と気高さの象徴だそうです。

The peonies are protected against the snow by straws and umbrellas. When we entered the garden, we were moved by the sight of the garden. This picture shows how beautiful the peonies are.

たくさんの牡丹が霜よけ藁と傘で守られていました。庭園に入るなり、このように美しい光景が目に入り感動でした。

They were pastel pink, bright pink, red, white and yellow. There is a Japanese proverb to describe a beautiful woman. "She stands as a grass peony, sits as peony, walks like a lily." I think the expression is right; the peonies were really beautiful and refined.

牡丹の色は、パステルピンク、濃いピンク、赤、白、黄色がありました。日本には”立てば芍薬、座れば牡丹、歩く姿は百合の花”ということわざがありますが、本当に牡丹は美しく、気品がありました。

My father and I loved pastel pink. It is said that there are about one hundred species of peonies in the garden and it would have been more beautiful if we had seen them after a snowfall because there would have  been snow on the straw that covered them.

父と私はパステルピンクの牡丹が気に入りました。このぼたん園には約100品種の牡丹があって、雪が積もった藁をかぶった牡丹は特に美しいと言われています。

I was so happy to see that my parents were pleased. 

両親に喜んで貰えて、良い一日となりました。