Red spider lilies from Kuma Visit there. These flowers have two Japanese names: manjushage (曼珠沙華) and higanbana (彼岸花). One theory about the etymology of manjushage is that it’s part of a Buddhist sutra with origins in Sanskrit. According to the theory, in the sutra, the sound of the Sanskrit word for “red” was translated into Chinese characters and that was then brought into Japanese. No wonder Japanese can seem pretty darn difficult at times!
https://www.otani.ac.jp/yomu_page/b_yougo/nab3mq0000000rnh.html
The other word, “higanbana,” means “the flower that blooms around the time of the Autumnal Equinox” which is September 23 this year. That’s today! Right on time!
https://www.facebook.com/kumavisit/posts/693189695601412:693189695601412