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

The shrine was likely founded by Agatainukai-no-Michiyo (県犬養三千代 655?-733), mother of Empress Kōmyō (光明皇后), to enshrine her family ancestors (she was the first of her clan to hold the name Tachibana).

Empress Kōmyō then moved the shrine to the capital Heijō-kyō (平城京 the old name for Nara).

#Nara #Tachibana #平城京