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Touring Four Kamakura 'Hydrangea Temples'
Seasonal flowers bloom almost continuously throughout the year at Kamakura's temples and shrines. The most popular of these is undoubtedly the hydrangea, masses of which add color during the rainy season at the end of spring. The temple Meigetsuin in Kita-Kamakura is the forerunner of what are popularly called ajisaidera (hydrangea temples). Over 50 years ago, word of Meigetsuin's gorgeous stands of hydrangeas spread, and growing the shrubs became popular at temples and shrines throughout the country. Blue mophead hydrangea line Meigetsuin's stairs. (© Harada Hiroshi) The first stop of our tour of hydrangea temples is, naturally, Meigetsuin. This spot is highly popular even during the rainy season, when rain or overcast skies are frequent, so the best times to avoid the crowds are immediately after the temple opens in the morning, or in late afternoon, just before closing time. Nearly 2,500 mophead hydrangeas ( Hydrangea serrata ) in varying shades of blue known as 'Meigetsuin blue' fill the grounds, lending a cooling feeling to the air. The weathered stairs leading from the entrance to the temple's gate, lined on both sides with the blooms, are the temple's most visited attraction. Visitors here tend to focus on the hydrangeas, but the splendid garden behind the temple's main hall should not be overlooked. And at the front of the main hall, crimson azaleas bloom in the dry landscape garden, creating a wonderland of flowers. The temple's expansive iris garden, open when the flowers are in bloom. (© Harada Hiroshi) Next is the nearby temple Jōchiji. This renowned Zen institution is less well-known as a famed hydrangea spot, promising visitors enjoyment of the flowers in a more relaxed atmosphere. Lacecap hydrangeas at Jōchiji. (© Harada Hiroshi) Lacecap hydrangeas ( Hydrangea macrophylla ) bloom by the pond in front of the temple's main gate. The worn stairs leading to the belfry gate create a contrast between the ephemeral beauty of the blooms and the weight of the long history of this temple, founded in the late thirteenth century. Iwatabako ( Conandron ramondiodes ) can also be spotted blooming quietly amid rock faces. (© Harada Hiroshi) A Lesser-Known Spot Becomes a Meigetsuin Rival Nearly 2,000 stalks of mōsōchiku tortoise-shell bamboo ( Phyllostachys edulis ) occupy the grounds of Hōkokuji. (© Harada Hiroshi) The third stop on our tour is the temple Hōkokuji, in the east of the city. This temple is known for its beautiful bamboo groves, but connoisseurs also visit for its hydrangeas, which form an attractive combination with the bamboo and the moss-covered ground. Particularly striking are large hydrangea shrubs that act as a backdrop to the numerous stone buddhas dotted throughout the temple grounds. Pause here for matcha while admiring the bamboo groves to enjoy a quintessentially Japanese experience. Blue and purple blooms form a stunning backdrop to the stone statues. (© Harada Hiroshi) A short hop on the Enoden—the Enoshima Electric Railway—brings us to our last stop, the temple Hasedera, Meigetsuin's rival as a Kamakura ajisaidera . But in contrast to Meigetsuin, where only mophead hydrangeas are cultivated, Hasedera features over 40 different varieties of the blooming shrubs. Not only do they offer a medley of colors, the flowers also bloom at different times, offering a much longer viewing season. Nearly 2,500 hydrangeas shrubs bring color to this sloping terrain. (© Harada Hiroshi) Here too, the stairs lined with hydrangeas are the main attraction. Access is via queue numbers, so prior online reservations are recommended. At the top, the splendid panorama of the sandy Yuigahama shoreline unfolds in the distance, making Kamakura unique and unparalleled as the ancient capital with a view of the sea. The view greeting visitors at the top of the staircase's two hundred steps. (© Harada Hiroshi) (Originally published in Japanese. Banner photo: Hasedera's hydrangeas come in a myriad of colors. © Harada Hiroshi.)
Telegraph
14-02-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Passion fruit makes these three recipes sing
There are great highs in my job, though testing recipes at 3am is not one of them (I'm still scarred by last year's Christmas testing). The gift is that you can, from time to time, devote yourself to a single food. I feel a mixture of serenity and joy as I've been able to read about and cook with passion fruit for the past month. The passion fruit yo-yos below, filled with passion fruit buttercream, could have been made by angels – the biscuit component is what, in the UK, is known as a melting moment. If you decide to bake them, get a friend to hide them from you, or accept your fate. The simple yo-yo illustrates passion fruit's greatest strength. Most fruits, except for lemons and limes, aren't intense enough to take on cream, meringue, pastry, cake and sugar. In fact, passion fruit saves fruits you wish had more acidity. It makes a classic strawberry Eton mess sing and energises peaches in a compote, and it does this without losing its power. Passion fruit posset? Passion fruit loaf cake? Hell, yeah. And don't even get me started on mango and passion fruit jelly. You expect passion fruits to be sweeter than they are when you taste them for the first time. Before they're ripe they're as smooth as eggs, but with a slightly leathery purple skin. Watch for the wrinkles that appear as they ripen, but don't let this go too far as they become dry and the pulp shrinks. The fruit's interior is not what you expect either. Get the pulp and juice out with a teaspoon and look inside what feels like its 'shell'. In some there's a delicate rim of mauve, orange and blue – a tiny rainbow – as if the most beautiful bird had hatched from it. The pulp makes you shudder. You wait a little before you go for a second slurp. Once you add sugar it doesn't lose this sharpness, or the indescribable flavour of the tropics. There are different varieties but passion fruit – most commonly Passiflora edulis – comes from South America, specifically southern Brazil, Paraguay and northern Argentina. Now it's grown in other South American countries as well as Florida, Hawaii, California, Australia and New Zealand. It takes four kilos of fruit to produce one litre of juice, which means it's expensive. Often, I've thought about giving a recipe for passion fruit sorbet, only to conclude that I can't ask cooks to shell out so much, so I blend the juice with mango purée. It's easier now that you can buy Funkin passion fruit purée (Ocado has it). That's expensive too, at £11.20, but comes in a one-kilo pack so you can portion and freeze it – it'll be there the next time you want a passion fruit hit. Marks & Spencer stocks 90g plastic packets of fresh pulp and seeds. I sometimes end up in such a frenzy of anticipation that I give up the search for my kitchen scissors and stab the packet with a sharp knife. Its destination? Plain yoghurt sweetened with a little brown sugar. It's a solitary treat – passion fruit just for you. It's hard to believe that such a simple combination can be so good. The pulp can also provide a layer of sharpness in the bottom of a crème brûlée, be spooned over rice pudding or be transformed, along with rhubarb, into an ice cream perfectly poised between sharpness and sweetness. I don't usually make savoury dishes with it, save for salads of mango and avocado, grilled langoustines and raw fish. The sea bass recipe here is great with raw scallops as well. It is very good in a vinaigrette too, sweetened with a little honey. The cook must choreograph the dance between sweet and tart, finding the spot where they balance. Passion fruit is the food that makes your taste-buds go crazy and transports you to a place you've dreamt of but have never been.
