when I breathe in the scent
of the mandarin orange blossoms
that await the fifth month,
I recall the fragrance of the sleeves
of one I loved long ago
五月待つ 花橘 香をかげば
昔の人の 袖の香ぞする

-Anonymous. Kokin Wakashū (古今集), Summer 139.
#Japan #tachibana #poetry #Kyoto

Tachibana (橘), a fairly uncommon variety of mandarin orange, grow wild in Japan's forests.
Arriving from the mainland about 2000 years ago, they feature prominently in early Japanese poetry and the tale of Tajimamori (多遅麻毛理/田道間守), now considered the 'god of sweets'.

#Japan #tachibana #橘