More Evidence of How Cool Minekura Is

[soliandxpyne]

So I was doing research on flower symbolism for a school project, and I came across some interesting information.  There is a type of flower called a "snowdrop" and, unlike other most of the other flowers I came across in my research that had multiple meanings, this one only had one recognized symbolism: hope.

And here I'd thought the Snowdrop arc

Comments

[soliandxpyne]

hahaha if we have them in the US, we don't have them in sunny southern california. i've never seen a real one; I didn't know there was such a flower until i came across it in my research. And, coincidentally enough, my research was on white lilies. During the Victorian era, they took on the meaning of the purity of the soul after death and are still used abundantly at funerals to this day. KM claimed her Gensomaden flowers didn't have any deeper meaning, but obviously she chose the snowdrops with their meaning in mind

[soliandxpyne]

hehe!! right. one of my favorite discussions when I was studying Eastern philosophy was the idea that life is a state of reconciling paradoxes. like, non-attachment also means the ability to become attached, because it's a burden to try and close out reality, as well as the ability to let go without resentment

[soliandxpyne]

mudra! otherwise known as Buddha gang signs.<---LOL NO. I learned about those in my history of Eastern Art class. mmm, this discussion makes me want to revive my passing plans to make a Sanzo-illustrated post explaining the significance of mala (eastern religion prayer beads), haha. i dont know what happened to my research on the subject after i moved, though. i'd have to dig through my packrat boxes. ,':P

ps. The Earth Touching Mudra: often performed by a meditating figure with one hand palm up to humbly accept earthly alms & spiritual gifts alike and the other touching the earth to remind the meditator to remain grounded in this life even while experiencing bliss--aslcfndjnavjba--nguh!! and i LOVE how it all comes back to 3 + 9 = ULTIMATE L♥VE! wahahahaaha! \(939)/

[soliandxpyne]

i'll see if i can find it. CX but if i don't get around to it asap, basically mala are like the buddhist equivalent of a christian rosary. 108 beads, (just like there's 108 mudra, actually) and you hold them a special way. plus there's customs to how you obtain them. your first mudra is always supposed to be a gift from someone else. there's more to get into, of course, but that's the basic lowdown so you dont have to wonder in suspense, lol. ;)

[soliandxpyne]

::squeal:: ♥ niiiice. and here's another silly thought for you: Soli and I were discussing exactly what/when Goku's white costume is supposed to be from, cuz when characters talk about ST, he's usually imaginarily/reminiscently(?) depicted in that outfit, but he's obviously older than when we meet him in Gaiden, and certainly doesn't own that outfit now. so, our conclusion is that it must be from the future. It's goku's wedding suit for when he finally ties the knot with Sanzo. ::trying to keep a straight face:: XDDDDDDDDD rotfl and hence came our ridiculous idea to make Bride Sanzo cosplay to go along with my white ST costume. ♥

[smillaraaq]

Mmmmm, bead-geeking! Also, kind of like with Catholic rosaries and chaplets, there are also different sizes of mala -- the 108-bead string is the default full-size, but there are also fractional-sized half or quarter strands, or ginormous ten-times-bigger strands occasionally used by priests -- think Kami-sama's insanely long string of beads! The 1/4 size "bracelet" version is apparently a popular informal nenju for laypersons -- if you've seen Samurai Champloo, that's what Jin is wearing on his wrist.

[smillaraaq]

There is a Japanese "language of flowers" distinct from the Victorian version -- hanakotoba; unfortunately there aren't a lot of English resources on it, and other than a handful of the really popular flower symbols that are seen particularly often in art and textiles and tattoos -- sakura, ume, maybe botan for tattoo fanciers -- the Japanese flower symbolism really doesn't seem well-known in the West. If that Wiki page is to be believed, Western-style flower language and symbolism might also be even better-known in Japan than you might think...

[smillaraaq]

A lot of times the symbolism is similar-but-not-identical as you look to Japan and China, which complicates matters further.

Chrysanthemums in Japan have an association with the imperial family -- their mon is a stylized chrysanthemum design. The flower's a solar symbol (hence the link to the imperial family, who claim descent from the sun goddess Amaterasu), and due to its blooming season it's associated with autumn (much like cherry blossoms are emblems of spring and plum blossoms, along with bamboo and pine, are associated with winter); in the modern day white and yellow chrysanthemums in particular are also very, very common as funeral flowers, although I'm not sure just how far back that goes. The Chinese longevity association also comes from that late blooming season -- they're still blooming in autumn when most other flowers are long done, so that's emblematic of a long life

[soliandxpyne]

LOL i love you.

[smillaraaq]

*grins and holds up the "GIANT FLOWER NERD" sign*