Sei Shōnagon : "Flowering Trees"
from "The Pillow Book" (ca. 1002 CE)
Flowering Trees
Plum blossoms, whether light or dark, and in particular red plum blossoms, fill me with happiness. I also like a slender branch of cherry blossoms, with large petals and dark red leaves. How graceful is the wistaria as its branches bend down covered with whorls of delicately coloured petals!
The u no hana is a more modest plant and deserve…