Japan can no longer print money? It turns out that prices have increased...

Is Japan no longer able to print money?

Next year, Japan will issue new 10,000 yen, 5,000 yen, and 1,000 yen banknotes. Recently, Japanese news reported that the manufacturing cost of the new banknotes has soared by 13% [1], which has caused some dissatisfaction among the Japanese public.

The reason why the cost of Japanese banknotes has increased is that the National Printing Bureau of Japan uses the ancient "washi" to make banknotes. To make washi paper, a special raw material is indispensable, that is the bark of the Edgeworthia chrysantha. On the Internet, Edgeworthia chrysantha has another nickname - Ask Suicide Again.

Fragrant osmanthus is one of the most common flowers in spring丨Σ64 / wikimedia

Since Japan’s domestic production of cinnamon is low, the bark of the cinnamon tree needed for coinage is largely imported from countries such as Nepal and China , with the import ratio reaching as high as 90% [1]. Therefore, the price fluctuation of cinnamon bark is one of the important reasons for the increase in the manufacturing cost of the yen.

Spring on paper

One of the uses of knotwood is to make paper . The bark of the knotwood tree is flexible and slightly poisonous, and the paper made from it is not easily eaten by insects. In Yunnan, locals use plants of the same family, such as Edgeworthia gardneri, Stellera chamaejasme, and Wikstroemia, to make paper. Paper made in this way can be preserved for hundreds of years and is quite precious.

W. indica, also known as the King of the Wildflowers, has yellow-green flowers. 丨Aqiao HQ / flickr

Papermaking with kaempferia is more common in Japan. Traditional Japanese handmade paper is called "washi" (わし), and the raw materials are generally plants of the genus kaempferia and paper mulberry. After the 16th century, kaempferia gradually became the main material. These papers are tough and durable. In addition to being used for writing and painting by the nobility, they are also used to make clothes and handicrafts, such as vestments, paper umbrellas, folding fans, etc., so Japan once banned private cutting of kaempferia.

Different types of Japanese paper | Tomomarusan / wikimedia

Because it is difficult to grow plants of the genus Ampelopsis in Japan, in the 12th year of the Meiji era, Ampelopsis began to be used as one of the main materials for making banknotes , and it is still in use today. Ampelopsis for papermaking is mainly grown in Hyogo, Tokushima, Okayama and other prefectures (provincial administrative units in Japan) and Kyoto Prefecture. However, due to the aging of old farmers in recent years and the lack of successors, the production of Ampelopsis is not high, and Japan has begun to rely on imports.

The production of Japanese agarwood in recent years丨Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan

In addition, the branches of yukata are often divided into three branches . There is a Japanese surname "Saneda" (さえぐさ), which evolved from the Japanese name of yukata "Mitsumata" (みつまた).

"Three branches" are often divided into three branches丨peganum / flickr

It is the warm sunshine of early spring

In the south of the Yangtze River in China, the osmanthus tree is one of the earliest deciduous shrubs to bloom , and is also one of the most widely planted but less well-known plants. In winter and spring, its treetops will grow hairy head inflorescences that droop down and are grayish-yellow in color, resembling small honeycombs from a distance.

In early spring, the weather is chilly and many plants have not yet blossomed. At this time, the small flowers on the inflorescence of the osmanthus tree bloom from the outside to the inside, forming yellow and white flower balls on the branches, like the warm sun in winter. The bright light yellow corolla is particularly eye-catching in the withered yellow, exuding a rich fragrance that attracts people to stop and look.

Inflorescence of jasmine丨Qingshui Satsuki/wikimedia

The flower ball of the fragrant jasmine is composed of 30 to 50 small flowers, the calyx is four-lobed, the calyx tube is very long, and the stamens are arranged in two rows, four high and four low. Only early spring insects with long beaks can reach the deeper stamens and pollinate them.

On the inflorescence of the osmanthus tree, the furry little flowers bloom from the outside to the inside. | gailhampshire / flickr

When the warm winds of March start to blow and various spring flowers begin to bloom, the flowers of the osmanthus will quietly wither and the green leaves will begin to sprout. The leaves of the osmanthus are large and thick, similar to the leaves of bayberry or loquat. In spring and summer, all trees are lush and green, and the osmanthus is often planted in the shade, so it does not attract much attention.

In autumn, the leaves of the osmanthus fall off, leaving only the reddish-brown branches , which makes it even more indistinguishable from other trees. Its branches are often divided into three branches, and the bark is covered with lenticels and scars left by petioles, which can be slightly distinguished from other shrubs.

Leaves and branches of the jasmine tree | Derek Ramsey & Flobbadob / wikimedia

The specific epithet chrysantha of Edgeworthia comes from the Greek chrysos and anthos, meaning "golden flower"; the genus name Edgeworthia is to commemorate the 19th-century Irish botanist Michael Edgeworth and his sister, the children's writer Maria Edgeworth. The former worked for the East India Company, and her family surname was also used to name some other Asian plants, such as the common maidenhair fern (Adiantum edgeworthii) and the amphicarpaea edgeworthii.

Red-flowered jasmine丨Σ64 / wikimedia

Flower knot is hard to untie

The branches of the osmanthus tree are flexible and can be tied into knots without breaking. Many people come here to tie knots, and it has even become a custom. Therefore, you can often see osmanthus trees with knots tied into twisted and deformed shapes in scenic spots , which greatly affects the viewing effect.

It is said on the Internet that if you put the flower of the osmanthus tree under your pillow, you will not have nightmares, and if you tie a knot on the osmanthus tree branches, you can make your dreams come true, so it is also called "dream flower". This is also one of the motivations for many people to tie knots.

Twisted osmanthus branches丨jieyu16 / Tuchong Creative

The name "Dream Flower" may come from Daphne odora, which is in the same family as Osmanthus fragrans . According to the "Qingyi Lu" in the late Five Dynasties, a monk was sleeping on a stone in Lushan Mountain. He smelled a strong flower fragrance in his dream. After waking up, he found a flower with a strange fragrance and called it "Sleeping Fragrance". Later generations believed that this was an auspicious flower and called it Daphne odora. There are many plants with yellow flowers in the Thymelaeaceae family, similar to Osmanthus fragrans. The legend of "Dream Flower" may have come from this.

Daphne koreana is the most common plant of the Thymelaeaceae family besides Osmanthus fragrans. The horticultural variety "Daxonia odora" is a common New Year flower. It is fragrant indoors when it blooms and is very popular.

Daphne odora 'Aureomarginata'丨Leonora (Ellie) Enking / flickr

Another legend is often seen in scenic spot propaganda, saying that the bending of the branches of the osmanthus tree symbolizes lingering, and tying knots on the tree means sweet and happy love, which means "heart has thousands of knots". However, "heart has thousands of knots" comes from the Song Dynasty Zhang Xian's poem "Qian Qiu Sui", "The heart is like a double silk net, with thousands of knots in it", which refers to net knots, not flower knots .

Of course, there are flower knots in ancient poetry, but they are not osmanthus, but cloves . The term "lilac knot" often appears in poems after the Tang Dynasty, such as Yin E's "He Manzi" in the Tang Dynasty, which has "I want to express the sadness of separation, and the lilac knot is in my heart"; Wei Xiang's "Luoyang Spring·Lilac Flowers" in the Song Dynasty also has "I want to hate the spring breeze for no reason, and I hate that it cannot untie the thousands of knots."

The clove knot here does not refer to a knot tied on the lilac branch, but refers to the four-cracked front end of the lilac bud, which is shaped like a knot.

In fact, in ancient poetry, no matter which type of knot it is, it is generally used to describe the sadness, resentment, and unhappiness in the heart, and has nothing to do with the sweetness of love.

Syringa oblata

There is another common plant in the Thymelaeaceae family called Daphne genkwa, which blooms purple flowers in spring, with flowers first and leaves later. The shape of the flowers is very similar to that of lilac. In this way, we can forcibly link the knot of lilac with the knot of lilac.

The "芫" in 芫花 is pronounced as "yuán" here. Another pronunciation, "yán", is used in "芫荽[suī]", which is coriander. Jeffdelonge / wikimedia

The meaning of knotted incense is a forced association by people. No matter how you tie the knots, it cannot untie the knots in people's hearts. I hope the fragrance of knotted incense can untie the knots in people's hearts.

References

[1] New banknotes, manufacturing cost 13% high raw material input dependence - Japan Economic News https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGKKZO75979150Y3A101C2QM8000/

Author: Frost Moth

Edit: July

Title image source: wikimedia