I am Japanese, but I don’t know that.

「L’anémone du Japon」The direct translation is “Japanese anemone.”

According to Wikipedia, in Japanese it’s called shūmeigiku or kibunegiku.

It’s a flower I didn’t know when I lived in Japan. I wasn’t particularly interested in flowers or plants back then. There was a garden at my parents’ house, but I only remember the pussy willow tree.

I started to become a little interested in plants after moving to this current house in 2014. I couldn’t just leave the garden unattended. It’s a place with subtle sunlight and wind flow. I’ve tried growing various things, sometimes failing and sometimes succeeding. I enjoy the garden in my own way.

At the end of every summer, very beautiful pink flowers bloom spectacularly in my neighbor’s front garden. It was so lovely that I asked if I could have some to plant in my garden. “Oh, you don’t know this flower? It’s Japanese anemone.” She seemed a little surprised.

“Huh? It’s called Japanese anemone?” I was a little surprised too.

Apparently, it’s a flower that was imported to Japan from China a long time ago, but Europeans found it in Japan and named it Japanese anemone, and that name has become common in the West. How things are perceived is determined by who decides what to call them… Well, it seems this kind of “Japan brand” taking off on its own happens sometimes.

I am currently creating a piece inspired by this phenomenon.

I am embroidering it on a handmade linen handkerchief. It’s planned to be exhibited at a group show organized by a friend in May. I wonder if I’ll finish in time.

Flowers like this…