"Syoumen-wo Muita Tori-no E-ga Kakemasuka?" by YAMAGUCHI Masami

The author is a psychologist and a professor at Chuo University. And this book is about the human beings recognition of vision through his/her eyes by his/her brain, which is the author's specialty.

The title means "Can you draw a bird's picture from the front?". This is an example of the difficulty in drawing pictures. We see solids in the three dimension, and figures are drawn on a paper in the two dimension. As you may notice easily after thinking a little, this action of drawing is very difficult. In addition it's not appropriate to draw a picture like a photograph, because we see only the solids which we want to see, and that makes very large distortion in our brain memory. Then when we human being to recognize solids? Recently many interesting results are coming out by the experiments using babies. The newest results are easily presented in this book.

(Finished reading on Dec.24, 2007)


The more detailed Japanese version of this article is here!

Japanese character(s) (kanji)
* YAMAGUCHI Masami : 山口真美
* Syoumen-wo Muita Tori-no E-ga Kakemasuka? : 正面を向いた鳥の絵が描けますか？

Cold Camellia(?)

The picture below shows 'Kan-Tsubaki'. It originates in Japan, and it has no English name as far as I know. The Japanese name means cold camellia. The botanical name is Camellia hiemalis.







The difference between Kan-Tsubaki and Sazanka (Sasanqua) is the height: Sazanka grows more than 1m height, while Kan-Tsubaki grows horizontally.


The Japanese version of this article is here!

Japanese character(s) (kanji)
* Kan-Tsubaki : 寒椿

Japanese Beautyberry

This is 'Murasakishikibu' or Japanese beautyberry. The other Japanese names are 'Mimurasaki' or 'Komegome'. The botanical name is Callicarpa japonica.



Murasakishikibu is a Japanese writer who lived in Heian-period, about 1200 years ago. She is famous for the story called 'Genji-Monogatari'.

I wrote about 'Komurasaki' and 'Shiroshikibu' on the end of last October. At that time I also tried to find out this 'Murasakishikibu', but failed. However, suddenly I found it! The leaves are died, but this must be 'Murasakishiibu' due to the plate on the plant.


The Japanese version of this article is here!

Japanese character(s) (kanji)
* Murasakishikibu : 紫式部
* Mimurasaki : 実紫
* Komegome : コメゴメ

English Holly

Christmas has almost over...
But anyway, this is 'Seiyou-Hiiragi' or English holly. The other English name is common holly. The botanical name is Ilex aquifolium.





The Japanese version of this article is here!

Japanese character(s) (kanji)
* Seiyou-Hiiragi : 西洋柊

Chinese bush fruit?

This is 'Yusura-ume' or Chinese bush fruit. The other English name is nanking cherry. The botanical name is Prunus tomentosa.





... so the plate said. But the real one seems to fruit around July... (^_^;;;


The Japanese version of this article is here!

Japanese character(s) (kanji)
* Yusura-ume : ゆすら梅

Ornamental Kale

This is 'Habotan' or ornamental kale. The other Japanese names are 'Botan-na' and 'Oranda-na'. The botanical name is Brassica oleracea var. acephala.





The meanings of 'Habotan', 'Botan-na', and 'Oranda-na' are leaf-peony, pony-green, and Holland-green. This is one of typical winter plants in Japan.


The Japanese version of this article is here!

Japanese character(s) (kanji)
* Habotan : 葉牡丹
* Botan-na : 牡丹菜
* Oranda-na : 阿蘭陀菜

Pansy

This is 'Pansy'. The English name is also pansy. The other Japanese name is 'Sanshiki-Sumire'. The botanical name is Viola tricolor var. hortensis.







The small breed is sometimes called 'Viola'. The Japanese word 'Sanshiki-Sumire' means a viola with three colors. And there are also many kinds of pansy in the world.


The Japanese version of this article is here!

Japanese character(s) (kanji)
* Pansy : パンジー
* Sanshiki-Sumire : 三色菫
* Viola : ヴィオラ

Sasanqua

This is 'Sazanka' or sasanqua. The botanical name is Camellia sasanqua.







This plant opens its beautiful clear flowers in this silent (little flower) season, so it stands out very much. There seems to be many kinds of Sazanka even in Japan. I guess the one on these pictures is 'Iromokamo', 'Hinohakama', or 'Musashino', but I am not so sure.


The Japanese version of this article is here!

Japanese character(s) (kanji)
* Sazanka : 山茶花
* Iromokamo : 色も香も
* Hinohakama : 緋の袴
* Musashino : 武蔵野

Pink-head Knotweed

This is 'Himetsurusoba' or pink-head knotweed. The botanical name is Polygonum capitatum or Persicaria capitata.







This plant originates from Himalayan region. The stalks spread horizontally, so this plant can be used as a ground-cover plant.


The Japanese version of this article is here!

Japanese character(s) (kanji)
* Himetsurusoba : 姫蔓蕎麦

Cherysanthemum

This is 'Kiku' or chrysanthemum. The English name is sometimes abbreviated to mum. The botanical name is Dendranthema x grandiflorum cv. or Chrysanthemum x morifolium.







But... there are many many kinds of chrysanthemums even in Japan, so it is very difficult to distinguish the detailed type.


The Japanese version of this article is here!

Japanese character(s) (kanji)
* Kiku : 菊

Ginkgo

This is 'Ichyou' or ginkgo. The botanical name is Ginkgo biloba.







All leaves had been fallen already around here (in a mountain (^_^;;;), but still we can see them in the town under the mountain!


The Japanese version of this article is here!

Japanese character(s) (kanji)
* Ichyou : 銀杏 or 公孫樹

Autumn Sage

This is 'Cherry Sage' in Japanese, and it is different from that of the same name in English, and the English name is autumn sage. The botanical name is Salvia greggii.







There are many kinds of sages, so it is very difficult for me to distinguish them (-_-;;;


The Japanese version of this article is here!

Japanese character(s) (kanji)
* Cherry Sage : チェリー・セージ

Devil's beggartick

This is probably 'America Sendan-gusa' or devil's beggartick. The other English name is stick-tight. The botanical name is Bidens frondosa.







The Japanese version of this article is here!

Japanese character(s) (kanji)
* America Sendan-gusa : 亜米利加栴檀草

Melampodium

This is 'Melampodium' both in Japanese and English. The botanical name is Melampodium paludosum.





The Japanese version of this article is here!

Japanese character(s) (kanji)
* Melampodium : メランポジューム

Japanese Anemone

This is 'Syuumei-giku' or Japanese anemone. The other Japanese names are 'Kisen-giku', 'Kibune-giku', and 'Syuu-botan'. The botanical name is Anemone hupehensis var. japonica.





The white parts are not petals but calyxes!

The English name is OK, while the Japanese names contain 'Kiku' which means chrysanthemums. Of course, however, this is *NOT* a chrysanthemum but an anemone! In Japan this flower blooms in autumn and it resembles a chrysanthemum - that is the origin of the Japanese names. Also the word 'Kisen' is a name of a district which locates at the north of Kyoto.


The Japanese version of this article is here!

Japanese character(s) (kanji)
* Syumei-giku : 秋明菊
* Kisen-giku, Kibune-giku : 貴船菊 (This has two ways of reading.)
* Syuu-botan : 秋牡丹

Bluewings

This is 'Torenia' or bluewings. The other Japanese names are 'Natsu-Sumire', 'Hanauri-kusa' and 'Panda-Sumire'. The botanical name is Torenia fournieri.







The Japanese version of this article is here!

Japanese character(s) (kanji)
* Torenia : トレニア
* Natsu-Sumire : 夏菫
* Hanauri-kusa : 花瓜草
* Panda-Sumire : パンダ菫

American Sweetgum

This is 'Momijiba-Fuu' or American sweetgum. The other Japanese name is 'America-Fuu'. The botanical name is Liquidambar styraciflua.







As I wrote yesterday, 'Momiji' and 'Kaede' are the same plant. But today's 'Fuu' is different from that.


The Japanese version of this article is here!

Japanese character(s) (kanji)
* Momijiba-Fuu : 紅葉葉楓
* America-Fuu : 亜米利加楓

Japanese Maple

This is 'Iroha Momiji' or Japanese maple. The other Japanese names are 'Iroha Kaede', 'Takao Kaede', and 'Koha Momiji'. The botanical name is Acer palmatum.





This tree has been very familiar in Japan since very long time ago, and many short poems in a famous Japanese playing cards called 'Hyakunin-Issyu' contain this tree:

'Okuyama-ni Momiji-fumiwake Naku-Shika-no Koe-kiku-Toki-zo Aki-ha-Kanashiki'
'Konotabi-ha Nusa-mo-toriahezu Tamukeyama Momiji-no-Nishiki Kami-no-manimani'
'Ogurayama Mine-no-Momiji-ba Kokoro-araba Ima-hitotabi-no Miyuki-matanamu'
'Yamagawa-ni Kaze-no-kaketaru Shigarami-ha Nagare-mo-ahenu Momiji-narikeri'
'Arashi-fuku Mimuro-no-Yama-no Momiji-ba-ha Tatta-no-Kawa-no Nishiki-narikeri'


The Japanese version of this article is here!

Japanese character(s) (kanji)
* Iroha : いろは
* Momiji : 紅葉
* Kaede : 槭 (or usually 楓 is also used, but strictly speaking, this is not correct one)
* Takao : 高雄
* Koha : 小葉
* The short poems are:
奥山に　紅葉ふみわけ　鳴く鹿の　声きく時ぞ　秋はかなしき
このたびは　幣も取りあへず　手向山　紅葉の錦　神のまにまに
小倉山　峰のもみじ葉　心あらば　今ひとたびの　みゆき待たなむ
山川に　風のかけたる　しがらみは　流れもあへぬ　紅葉なりけり
嵐吹く　三室の山の　もみぢ葉は　龍田の川の　錦なりけり

Jumpseed

This is 'Mizuhiki' or jumpseed. The other Japanese name is 'Mizuhiki-sou'. The botanical name is Polygonum filiforme.





The Japanese word 'Mizuhiki' means a small ornament on an envelope, which is used for blessed gifts in Japan. The ornament is made of red and white strings and they are tied. I forgot to check when I took these pictures, but this flower seems to have white color when we see from the back. That's why this flower named 'Mizuhiki'. (The word 'sou' means grasses in Japanese.)


The Japanese version of this article is here!

Japanese character(s) (kanji)
* Mizuhiki : 水引
* Mizuhiki-sou : 水引草

Winter Cherry(?)

This is 'Fuyu-zakura'. I cannot find out the English name, but if we translate the 'Fuyu-zakura' into English, it is a winter cherry. The other Japanese names are 'Koba-zakura' and 'Jyuugatsu-zakura'. Their means are a cherry with small leaves and a cherry in October. The botanical name is Prunus X parvifolia Koehne.







While one third of the flowers open in winter (between October and December), the other two third open in spring (April). The above pictures were taken about 1 month ago in Okayama prefecture, and soon, I think, they will be in full bloom! (^_^)


The Japanese version of this article is here!

Japanese character(s) (kanji)
* Fuyu-zakura : 冬桜
* Koba-zakura : 小葉桜
* Jyuugatsu-zakura : 十月桜