Photo/Illutration Snap peas (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Until I started growing broccoli, I never knew its buds could blossom into bright yellow flowers typical of plants in the rapeseed family.

The flowers signaled the harvest season was over for my broccoli as a vegetable. But I wanted to keep enjoying my little patch of yellow a little longer.

Harvesting has begun for "sunappu endo" (snap peas), the white flowers of which remind many people of butterflies with their wings spread.

With just the right breeze, the flowers could start fluttering away.

A haiku by poet Akira Ogushi goes to the effect, "Not enough wind for the snow pea flower to become a butterfly."

"Endo no hana" (pea flower) is a springtime subject in haiku, while "endo" (pea) is a subject for summer.

But drawing a clear line between the seasons must be difficult, as peas develop flowers in rapid succession, followed immediately by fruit.

However, this is precisely why this legume fits the present weather that keeps oscillating between spring and summer.

A haiku by Seison Yamaguchi (1892-1988) goes: "Picking the vigor of peas every morning."

I enjoy my peas blanched right after picking. My humble vegetable garden, which I started because of the COVID-19 pandemic, is now in its second year.

I feel the vigor of the plants every day. Their stems and leaves keep growing southward, as if determined to catch every ray of the sun.

Though invisible, legumes take in nitrogen from the air through bacteria on their roots to use as a fertilizer.

It wasn't until the early 20th century that humans acquired the technology to obtain nitrogen from the atmosphere, which facilitated the production of chemical fertilizers and dramatically transformed farming.

But the peas had already been doing that for God knows how long.

While strolling in my neighborhood the other day, I saw purple Chinese milkvetch blooming in rice paddies. I understand the milkvetch is also a legume, which explains why it has always been valued as a natural fertilizer.

On that peaceful spring day, I tried my best to be at peace with myself.

--The Asahi Shimbun, April 23

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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