Okinawa's Official Flower Blooming Now

These Flowers Light the Hills Up

 

 

They caught me by surprise and, I'm lucky to have spotted them, blooming along HWY 58.

The reason, I had stopped at this little village office, was to see if, I could get a historical book.

The kucho (village mayor) knew what I was talking about and, left the building.

He hopped in his car and, drove off, down the highway. Had me thinking WTF !

So, I walked around, taking photos while, my tummy was growling for lunch.

It seemed like twenty minutes, went by before the kucho returned.

He pulled his car alongside the office and, waved for me to come over.

Handing me a brand new, historical photo book of the village, he refused to take any payment.

Bowing, I thanked him, turned around and, saw those bright red flowers.

Whoa.  "Are those red things Deigo's," I asked him.  And, he said "Yes." 

The best deigo flowers, I've seen in Okinawa this year and, a free book, all at the same spot.

I'll never say a bad word about that kucho, ever again !

Camera:  Pentax K3

Lens:  Pentax 18-250 at 154MM

Exposure:  f/8   1/160   ISO 100

Location:  Ginama, Kunigami, Okinawa, Japan

Latitude: 26.845875  Longitude: 128.255294

Date and Time:  APR 29 2016  12:53PM

More About Okinawa's Prefectural Flower

King Sho En Once Lived Here

Beyond the Torii: King Sho En (尚圓王) Once Lived Here

His Name Was Kanamaru

 

 

Born on an island off the northeast coast of Okinawa, Kanamaru farmed the land.

Hard working and successful, his ambitions may have led to his downfall.

One year, during a dry spell, his fields were the only ones where the crops had water.

Envious neighbors, accused him of stealing the water if, you can believe that.

Stealing, a precious thing like water, was considered a capital crime it that neck of the woods.

So, Kanamaru, hopped on a boat and, escaped to the big island of Okinawa.

Back behind the torii gate above, was the first place he resided.

It's in Ginama, a peaceful little fishing village, scrunched between the ocean and mountains.

There isn't much room for farmland so, maybe he decided to move along.

He might have suspected the captain of the boat he sailed on, would snitch and collect a bounty.

Or, it's possible, he tried his hand at fishing and, decided that wasn't the life for him. 

What possess people to move from the country, to the big city, always baffles me.

He moved to Shurii and got some sort of job with the government.

Pretty soon folks figured out how efficient he was and, the king hired him as treasurer.

Somehow, a the Sho Dude heading the dynasty started, disappointing the rest of the royalty.

They asked Kanamaru, how he would like to become the king.

He changed his name to Sho En and made all of his family some kind of royalty.

And, he kicked all the other Sho people out of the castle so, they couldn't be royalty anymore !

Dang. Don't you just love a good story with a happy ending ?

REFERENCES:

ISBN 978-0-8048-2087-5 The History of an Island People

Baltimore Sun
 

Okinawa Island Guide

Second Sho Dynasty

The Forgotten Dynasty of the Ryukyu Islands

The Samurai Archives

Travel Photo: This Waterfall Was Just a Trickle Last Week

Located in Ginama, Kunigami, Okinawa, it wasn't much to see.

Some waterfalls, are so well concealed, you hear them before, seeing where they are located.

Rainy season has started and, that gives me an idea.

We need to go back up north and, see what this one looks like when it's roaring with water.