Ume, Japanese Plum

梅 Ume

Ume, Japanese Plum or Japanese Apricot, is known as a flowering tree that first colors early spring in Japan after winter. It has a long history as a garden plant that adds elegance to landscapes. Its fruits are also liked and often used in Japanese cuisine. Traditionally, ume is considered an auspicious item together with other things.

Ume belongs to the rose family (Rosaceae) together with sakura, Japanese cherry. It is a deciduous broad-leaf tree native to China. Its tiny blossoms, often pink or white with five petals, bloom in Japan's early spring, mainly between February and March. At its peak, the blossoms give off relaxing, slight sweet scent in nearby areas. It is one of the earliest flowers enjoyed in spring therefore the Japanese get to know that the spring is around the corner as soon as they find ume blossoms started to bloom.

Because of its elegance, ume has been loved for long years in Japan. The famous figure in Japanese history who loved ume is 菅原道真 Sugawara-no-Michizane, a government official of the Imperial Court around 900 in Japan's 平安時代 Heian Period. There is a legend implying his love to ume; When he was demoted to 太宰府 Dazaifu in Kyushu from the Imperial Court due to a plot by his political enemy, he composed a tanka (Japanese poem) about his sadness to leave the ume tree in his yard. Then the tree feeling also sad flew all the way to Dazaifu, following its master. In Dazaifu's 天満宮 Temmangu Shrine, where Michizane's spirit is enshrined, we can see that legendary tree. Ume is also incorporated into the shrine's crest.

Ume is often an important element to add a Japanese taste of beauty. It has been favored as a subject in traditional ink wash painting. Bonsai (Japanese potted tree) artists like to grow ume trees. Moreover, it has been often planted in Japanese landscape gardens. 偕楽園 Kairakuen Garden in 水戸 Mito is traditionally known as one of the three great Japanese gardens and also for thousands of ume trees that occupy almost a half of the whole garden. Here, the trees are not only for appreciation, but for some strategic reasons as well. Back in the feudal days, planting ume trees were encouraged in Mito in order to secure food in case of wars. Fruits of ume trees were considered one of emergency food in the past.

Now, ume fruits are eaten all over Japan. In particular, umeboshi, pickled ume fruits with strong sour taste, are essential for standard Japanese meal. One umeboshi is often placed in the middle of white rice like Japanese flag particularly in bento lunch boxes. It is also buried in an onigiri rice ball as an ingredient. A considerable number of Japanese people believe that eating one umeboshi a day can improve their health condition. Its distinctive taste are also favored as a seasoning for Japanese dishes. Aside from pickled ones, the ways of the fruit's usage are to flavor sweets or drinks like shochu, one of distilled alcoholic drinks.

Ume is a very important plant for Japanese culture in many aspects. It is also thought as an auspicious symbol together with matsu (pine trees) and take (bamboos). In Japanese, these three things are collectively called 松竹梅 Sho-chiku-bai. We can learn how familiar ume is for the Japanese and how various it can be taken in to traditional Japanese culture.

・菅原道真が「東風吹かば」と詠えば、梅は空を飛ぶ | 歴史上の人物.com (colorfl.net)

・梅と日本文化 | 梅と日本 — 株式会社トノハタ (tonohata.co.jp)

・自然編｜みんなで学ぼう！偕楽園｜日本三名園 偕楽園 (ibaraki-kairakuen.jp)