Beach Rose (2)

I’m not a fun of cultivated garden rose yet I got a soft soft spot with Beach Rose. Beach Rose originated from north eastern side of the asia, China, Japan, Siberian sea shore. There was a popular misconception that the Beach Rose spread while riding on the sea wave —– but they came to the west by the human hand. Anyway the Beach Rose of which Japanese calls Hamanas makes impenetrable dense bush on the beach. And this Hamanas is a long cherished flower to the back-pack traverors — since they appeared in the many books, poems, sang in the songs — yet still, we could not see them often because this plant was not easy to handle with its dense sharp thorn = we had to go to the Hokkaido to see the Hamanas in a huge landscape. So, I dreamed like my far inspiring roman when I was in my secondry school boy —– and it took another 5 years for me to see the real flowers.

(This photo above was taken by 110 Pentax 24mm lens on Nikon Z7 — rest of the photos here were taken either by Helicoid (B) or ZM-2 lens)

Whatsoever, I’ve been seeing this rose in the past 18 years, since I came here. —– blaime, When I came here, I was a young(er) man. Ha ha ha.

.

Beach Rose

I don’t think I need to show whole plant of this Rose as you can find them just round

a corner of street — with a sweet fragrance but having such dense sharp prickles. 

I thought this rose, Rosa rugosa is a common rose in any sea coast in the northern

country though, it seems it was originated from east, and once introduced to the west,  

it spread everywhere since,  even they were classified as “Invasive plant” in the US.

[]

The reason why I thought they are common was that I was thinking their seed pod 

(some people calls them “Sea tomato” ) was carried by the sea stream and spread

to other places.  —– When I saw them first time in the northern Japan, where people

call them as Hamanasu or Hamanashi,  I was overwhelmed by its impenetrable bush 

spread on a sea  side as far as I can see.  Then,  its sweet fragrance was embedded to my

subconscious alongside a Song “Shiretoko-Ryojo” (知床旅情／A memory in Shiretoko)

Since, I was on the way to Shiretoko Peninsula with the botanists who wants to see an

unique species of Violet only grow in a remote corner of that Peninsula.

[]

So that, when I saw this rose again on the shore of  Helsingor, Denmark,  just outside

of Kronborg Castle  (famous for Hamlet)  33 years ago, its smell instantly took me

back into its old memory.  ( Sigh !   How far, we have drifted —— 🙂 )  

Though, in reality, her ancestor didn’t come riding on the wave, but travelled in a box.

( Not so romantic.    How shame.   🙂 )

[]