These wildflowers are called Adonis or Fukujuso, native here. I am growing these.
In Japan there is a legend just like the Greek one that gave it its name Adonis. According to the Ainu legend, the goddess turned into this plant when she refused to marry the god of her father’s choice. This flower starts blooming sometimes in time for the New Year and its name fuku-ju-so means wealth and happiness grass.
Below is Linda Inoki’s article on the Adonis or fukujuso.
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| A long letter came from my younger sister, Mitsuko, in which she wrote: “On my desk is a lovely Adonis. While I was looking at it today, I couldn’t help remembering our hometown. We often walked around the graveyard searching for violets and Adonises, remember?” |
| From “Romaji Diary” by Takuboku Ishikawa (1886-1912), translated by Sanford Goldstein and Seishi Shinoda (Charles E. Tuttle) |
This cheerful Japanese alpine is a harbinger of spring. Its golden-yellow flowers, which often break through snow, have made it a symbol of the new year. The Japanese name, fukujuso, means “plant of joy and fortune,” but the English name relates to the handsome youth Adonis who, according to Greek legend, was killed by a wild boar. When the goddess Aphrodite wept over his fate, her teardrops formed the flowers of the red Mediterranean anemone. As you may guess from its feathery leaves, the Adonis amurensis belongs to the botanical family Ranunculaceae, which includes buttercups and anemones.
NATURE IN JAPAN 