IX: Peony
The Japanese month of women is here.
Good morning. Today is nonidi, the 29th of Prairial, Year CCXXXI. We celebrate la pivoine, an elaborate flower that I mistakenly posted a photo of on carnation day.
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Peonies are more than just a pretty flower in traditional Chinese and Japanese herbal medicine. White peony root (from P. Lactiflora, the famous variety painted by Monet, Van Gogh, and Renoir) is traditionally used a medicine for female troubles, and is one ingredient in Four Things Soup, a tonic for women. (The other three are rehmannia, lovage, and angelica.) An older word for peony in Japanese is ebisugusuri, which simply means "foreign medicine."
If you're into the wheel of seasons, the natural rhythms of the planet and her flora and fauna – which I'm guessing you have at least a passing affinity for if you read this newsletter at all – then you should really know about hanafuda, the Japanese card game with 12 suits, one for each month of the year, each represented by a different flower. And, wouldn't you know it, the flower for the month of June (and therefore the tail end of Prairial) is the peony.
