Thursday, February 5, 2009

Members of the "Plum Mission" from Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine Pay Courtesy Call on the Prime Minister

Prime Minister Taro Aso received a courtesy call at the Prime Minister's Office from members of the "Plum Mission" of Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine. He was presented with red and white plum bonsai trees by Ms. Masami Shinagawa, a miko or shrine maiden at Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, along with another miko.

Every year, around this time marking the beginning of spring, approximately 6,000 plum trees of 197 varieties, including Tobiume (the Flying Plum Tree), Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine's sacred tree, start blossoming on the approximately 300,000 square meters of the shrine grounds. The members of the "Plum Mission" paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister bearing plum flowers heralding the start of spring.