Historical Mentions
It is mentioned twice in the Kojiki, the oldest surviving historical record of Japan. The first mention, under the name hihiragi, is in connection with the name of a kami, Hihiragi-no-sono-hana-madzumi-no-kami (translated by Chamberlain as "Deity Waiting-to-see-the-Flowers-of-the-Holly"), with the word madzumi (rarely seen) being used to describe the plant's characteristic of its flowers rarely blossoming, as interpreted by the scholar Tominobu. Its second mention occurs during a passage referring to how a holly wood spear, made of material from the tree and spanning "eight fathoms long", was presented to the Prince Yamato-take by the Emperor prior to him being sent to subdue the East. Its prickly and non-prickly variations are sometimes described as "male" and "female" respectively, though this does not equate to its true plant sexuality.
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Bonsai specimen in the Jardin botanique de Montréal
Read more about this topic: Osmanthus Heterophyllus
Famous quotes containing the word historical:
“What is the historical function of Parliament in this country? It is to prevent the Government from governing.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)