マルバハギ(丸葉萩、学名:Lespedeza cyrtobotrya)とは、日本、朝鮮半島、中国原産で、マメ科ハギ属の落葉広葉低木です。
本州~九州の山の尾根などの日当たりの良い場所に自生します。草丈は1~3mで多数分枝し垂下或いは直立,葉は表は緑色で裏には毛があり灰緑色をしています。葉柄は短く、クローバーのような3枚葉の長卵形で、その名にもあるようにコロンと丸っこい、特徴的な葉です。可愛いです。
花が咲くのは8~10月で葉腋から短い総状花序を伸ばし、枝いっぱいに小さなマメ科特有の蝶形花をたくさん咲かせます。萩の花長さは1~1.5cmで花色は主に赤紫、他にピンクや白、黄などもあります。
秋の七草にも数えられ、万葉集に最も多く登場すると言われる萩は、日本の秋を代表するような花です。と言っても立秋のあたりから立冬辺りまで咲いているという事なので、実際の感覚としては真夏から、残暑が厳しく残るところまでの時期に咲いているというところです。このすこぶる暑い中でも萩は非常に生育旺盛!短く切り詰めてもすぐに大きく枝を伸ばします。他のマメ科の植物と同じように根に根粒菌を保持しているので、土壌を肥沃にする特性もあります。
さて、米を蒸すか、あるいは炊いた後に潰し、それを丸めてあんこで覆うという和菓子をしっていますか?祖母が春と秋に必ず作ってくれていたお菓子でもあります。
この和菓子の名前は、春は「ぼたもち」秋は「おはぎ」と季節によって変わります。作り方も味も同じものですが、、、その季節代表として愛される花が名付けられて区別されています。
もともとは形状やあんこの種類も異なるものだったそうです。
「ぼたもち」は牡丹の花のように大きな丸い形で作られ、「おはぎ」は萩の花のように細長い俵型のような形状で作られていたとされています。外側を覆うあんこも「ぼたもち」はこしあん、「おはぎ」は粒あんという違いがあったのですって、その理由はあんこの原材料の「あずき」に関係しているということでした。
秋に収穫したばかりの小豆は皮が柔らかく、そのまま皮も潰して食べられるため、秋の「おはぎ」には粒あんが使われていましたが、ぼたもちを作る春には皮が固くなってしまっているため、皮を取り除いたこしあんが使われていたといわれています。
なるほど!昔の人のおいしく食べるこだわりというか、作る人から食べる人へおいしいのを食べてもらいたいという、心使いからの事だったのだろうと想像できます。
「ぼたもち」も「おはぎ」もとても素朴なお菓子ですが、日本の季節を思い、人を思う風情のある素敵なお菓子だったのですね!春のイースターには「ぼたもち」、秋の記念礼拝には「おはぎ」を誰かのためを思い、ふるまってくれた祖母にあこがれの思いを抱かずにはいられません。
もうそろそろしたら今年度産の新米や新小豆が出回り始めますね!急に特別感の急上昇したおはぎ!挑戦したいな!できるかな!?
萩の花言葉は「柔らかな心」「内気」
今はまだちらほら咲きのマルバハギですが、来月の合同記念礼拝ではこの参道で可愛い花をたくさん見せてくれると思います👵以前書いたのも良かったら覗いてみてください→🍀
Maruba-hagi (Lespedeza cyrtobotrya) is a deciduous broadleaf shrub in the legume family (Fabaceae), native to Japan, the Korean Peninsula, and China.
In Japan, it grows naturally in sunny areas such as ridgelines from Honshu to Kyushu. The plant grows to a height of 1 to 3 meters, with many branches that either droop or stand upright. The leaves are green on the surface, while the undersides are grayish-green with fine hairs. The petioles are short, and the plant has characteristic trifoliate, oblong leaves resembling clover — round and plump, just like its name suggests. They're quite adorable.
The flowers bloom from August to October. Short racemes sprout from the leaf axils, and the branches become covered with small, pea-like papilionaceous flowers — typical of the legume family. Each flower is about 1 to 1.5 cm long. The main flower color is reddish-purple, though pink, white, and yellow variations also exist.
Hagi is one of the Seven Flowers of Autumn (Aki no Nanakusa), and is said to appear most frequently in the Manyoshu, Japan’s oldest anthology of poetry. It’s a flower that truly represents autumn in Japan. That said, hagi blooms from around the start of Risshū (early August) to Rittō (early November), so in reality, it blooms during the latter half of summer and the lingering heat of early autumn. Despite the intense heat, hagi grows vigorously! Even if you prune it back, it quickly regrows and extends its branches. Like other legumes, it houses nitrogen-fixing bacteria in its roots, which helps enrich the soil.
Now, do you know the traditional Japanese sweet made by steaming or cooking rice, mashing it, forming it into a ball, and then covering it with sweet red bean paste?
My grandmother used to make this treat every spring and autumn.
This confection is called "botamochi" in spring and "ohagi" in autumn, with the name changing depending on the season. While the recipe and taste are essentially the same, they are distinguished by the names of flowers that represent each season and are dearly loved.
Originally, there were slight differences in their shape and the type of bean paste used.
“Botamochi” was made round and plump like the peony flower (botan), while “ohagi” was formed into an elongated, oval shape resembling bush clover (hagi). The type of sweet bean paste also differed: botamochi used koshi-an (smooth bean paste), whereas ohagi used tsubu-an (chunky bean paste). This difference is said to stem from the state of the azuki beans used.
Freshly harvested azuki beans in autumn have soft skins, so they could be used whole to make chunky tsubu-an, which suited ohagi. But by spring, the skins had hardened, so they were removed, and the beans were strained to make smooth koshi-an for botamochi.
How thoughtful! It’s easy to imagine that this came from the desire to create something delicious, a gesture of care from the maker to the one enjoying the sweet.
Though simple, both botamochi and ohagi are seasonal treats full of heartfelt tradition.
In spring, my grandmother would make botamochi for Easter. In autumn, she would make ohagi for the memorial service. Thinking of her lovingly preparing these for others makes me admire her even more.
Soon, this year’s freshly harvested rice and azuki beans will start appearing in stores. That makes ohagi feel extra special this year! I really want to try making it myself. I wonder if I can do it...!?
The flower language of hagi is: “Gentle heart” and “Shyness.”
Right now, the Maruba-hagi is still just beginning to bloom, but I believe by next month’s joint memorial service, the approach by the church to the kindergarten will be full of its lovely flowers. 👵
Feel free to take a look at what I wrote previously, too → 🍀