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Japanese apricot; rainy season
Kanji 1689

Thank you for visiting this Character Home Page. Below you'll find a synopsis of the essay. If you wish to read the full text, the PDF of the essay is available for purchase to the right.

Synopsis

See how Japanese apricots (ume) relate to the rainy season, the new year, haiku, Osaka, a god sleeping in poisonous ume pits, shochu, senbei, syphilis, pine and bamboo, and childbirth. See how ume blossoms have inspired paintings, sweets, and color terms. Also read about ume-related pickles, a manly candy, flying ume, and shrines with connections to ume. 

Revision history:

Nov. 26, 2024: p. 6: Fixed a line break.

May 9, 2024: p. 8: Added information about 栓 and about the shop to the photo caption.

Nov. 20, 2020: Originally published.

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Kanji PDF
Cover of essay 1689 on 梅, titled "Ume, from Pickles to Pits"
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JOYO ON-YOMI
バイ
JOYO KUN-YOMI
うめ
STROKES10
RADICAL木 (75: tree)
JLPTN1
HALPERN626/833
HENSHALL1689/592
SPAHN4a6.27