2025 08 17 むくげ

むくげ

ムクゲは、アオイ科フヨウ属(ハイビスカス属)に属する落葉性低木です。

このムクゲという名前は中国名の「木槿（モクキン）」からや、韓国名の「無窮花（ムグンファ）」から来たものではないかといわれています、後者は花が咲き続けること（花に困らないこと）を意味するとのことでした。

　日本に渡来したのは平安時代で、園芸が盛んだった江戸時代以降は多くの品種が作られるようになり。花には五弁の一重、八重、半八重咲きがあり、花色もピンク、白、紅紫、水色など人気のある花であったようです。一輪一輪は一日で散る「一日花」ですが、花の少ない夏に咲きつなぎ楽しませてくれるからではないかとおもいます、次々に開花するため木全体としての花期が長く。主な開花期は８～９月で、4時頃にはしぼんでしまうので早い時間帯ほど花色は鮮やかで美しいです。

 教会のむくげの幹に恐竜が潜んでいました😆

余談ですが、韓国の古い遊びで

「むくげの花が咲きました」というのがあるそうです、

どんな遊びかご存知でしょうか？

　これは日本でいうところの「だるまさんが転んだ」と同じ遊びだそうです。「イカゲーム」というスリラー映画の中で登場して話題になったゲームでもあります。

この「だるまさんが転んだ」ですが地方によって文言が変わりますね、京都育ちの私にとっては「ぼんさんがへをこいた」という遊びでした。しかもこの文言、後半には「においだらくさかった」がつき、遊びの時はこの2つの文言を繰り返し、早く言ったりゆっくり伸ばしたりいろいろ抑揚をつけて大きな声で遊んでいましたよ。。😅

なんとも説明しがたい文言ですが。。お寺の多い京都ならでなのでしょうか。。いつのころからか、「だるまさんが転んだ」に代わり、今は「ぼんさんが…」で遊んでいる子は全く見かけないです！うちの子に話したら、「屁をこいた、とか大きい声で言うの恥ずかしいわ。」ですって。

それと比べると。。「むくげの花が咲きました」は、美しい調べのようです🌺。

そんな話をした後で「むくげ」の花を見ると、幼い頃の「ぼんさんが～…」と遊んだことを懐かしく思い、クスッと笑いがこぼれてきます。

以前に書いたのも良かったらどうぞご覧ください→八重むくげ

Hibiscus syriacus (Mukuge)

The Mukuge is a deciduous shrub belonging to the mallow family, genus Hibiscus.

It is said that the name Mukuge may have originated from the Chinese name "木槿 (Mùjǐn)" or the Korean name "無窮花 (Mugunghwa)." The latter means "eternal flower," referring to the fact that it keeps blooming—never running out of flowers, so to speak.

It was introduced to Japan during the Heian period, and from the Edo period onward, when horticulture flourished, many varieties were developed. The flowers are popular, coming in forms like single five-petal, semi-double, and fully double blooms, with colors ranging from pink and white to reddish-purple and light blue. Each flower blooms for only a single day—what's known as a "one-day flower"—but perhaps because they continue to bloom one after another during the flower-scarce summer months, they provide ongoing enjoyment. As the flowers open successively, the entire shrub has a long blooming period. The main flowering season is from August to September, and since the blossoms begin to wilt around 4 p.m., their colors are most vivid and beautiful in the early hours of the day.

Incidentally, a dinosaur was lurking in the trunk of the mukuge at the church 😆

As a side note, there’s an old Korean children’s game called

“The Mugunghwa Flower Has Bloomed.”

Do you know this game?

Apparently, it's similar to the Japanese game "Daruma-san ga koronda" (The Daruma doll fell over). It even featured in the thriller series Squid Game, which brought it some global attention.

Now, speaking of "Daruma-san ga koronda," the phrase actually varies depending on the region. Growing up in Kyoto, we used to say "Bon-san ga he wo koita" (The monk passed gas). And not only that—it continued with "Nioidara kusakatta" (And it stank if you smelled it). 😅 When we played, we’d repeat these two phrases, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, adding all sorts of rhythm and intonation as we shouted them out.

It’s a hard phrase to explain… but perhaps one that's unique to Kyoto, with all its temples.

Somehow, over time, “Daruma-san…” became the more standard version, and now, I don’t see kids playing with the “Bon-san…” phrase at all.

When I told my child about it, they said,

"Saying 'passed gas' out loud? That’s embarrassing!"

Compared to that… "The Mugunghwa Flower Has Bloomed" sounds almost like a lovely tune, doesn't it? 🌺

After telling stories like this, when I see a mukuge flower, I can't help but remember those childhood games, shouting "Bon-san ga…" with friends. It brings a warm nostalgia and a little chuckle to my lips.

If you’re interested, feel free to read what I wrote about  mukuge flower before →八重むくげ