Local Lotus, Ancient Lotus

Lotus in the garden of Konjoin Temple, Noda City

The gardeners at our local temple display a seasonal symbol each month. This month is the lotus grown in containers. When I passed through the temple garden this past weekend, it was already quite hot, so the lotus blossoms had already closed up. But they're no less beautiful. If you want to see them open, you have to go early in the morning. Lotuses are early risers.

Lotus in front of the Fudo temple, Noda City

Soon it will be Obon, the ancestor festival. Many families display lotus blossoms on their family altars at this time of year. In Buddhist tradition, the lotus is a symbol of enlightenment because they rise from muddy pond bottoms to produce beautiful flowers.

Lotus flowers can remain dormant in dry conditions, and still germinate. The most haunting lotus I've seen is the Chusonji lotus. At the spectacular Konjikido in Hiraizumi, Iwate Prefecture, the gold-covered pavilion is the resting place of the Fujiwara clan leaders. In the 1950s, investigations under the pavilion revealed among other remains a casket containing the head of Fujiwara no Yasuhira, surrounded by lotus seeds. The seeds were cultivated, and 800 years later, they bloom in the murky ponds below the temple.

Chusonji lotus at Hiraizumi, Iwate Prefecture

The petals of these lotus flowers are a little different, with narrow petals. Whenever I think of lotus flowers, I think of these ones. Glorious.