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Fortune's Crimson. Erythrina crista-galli, Cockspur Coral Tree, Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan

I'd not been here for 15 years or so and didn't remember this tree. It hails in fact from South America and I don't know how or when the tribe arrived in Japan. I would think probably after the mid of the nineteenth century... But perhaps earlier by Dutch or Portuguese traders before then. Anyway...

Vaguely behind the flowers is the Zeniduka-Jizou. Its history is amusing. A woman called Yamaguchi found a highly-valued treasure of Edo-period coins. Shrewd, she buried them thinking that that wealth would make her family less industrious. It turned out their work prospered and that they became wealthy. it was decided to leave the treasure buried and to erect this shirine over it.

Red is Chinese and Japanese for good fortune and love!

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Uploaded on August 12, 2023
Taken on August 12, 2023