:52:06
You recall the time, when we all had a sake party at the main
farmhouse after the rice harvest, that one time...?
:52:11
Umm, oh...
:52:12
Yep. And that time, a buncha guys crashed the party? Don't you recall
that...?
:52:18
Well, to be quite frank, since they got wind of a young Tokyo gal
being there, they decided to go check her out. I was one of those
fellas.
:52:30
Ah, ah...
:52:32
That fool!
:52:48
You came out here to pick benibana? Are you into dyes or something?
:52:54
No, just curious. You see, benibana are unusual...but maybe not so
much for people here.
:53:04
Nah. What's famous is just the name of the cosmetics made from it, but
it ain't so common anymore. Like my farm doesn't make it these days,
for one example.
:53:14
But I heard it prospered during the Edo era.
:53:17
True, 'cause there was a politician who gained influence through its
sales. It would've been a big deal for the wealthier people, but it
was only a product as far as we peasants were concerned.
:53:28
Ummm...
:53:30
``In the end,/Someone else's skin would be touched by/The vermillion
flower.'' Do you know this one?
:53:35
Right, its a haiku by Basho { }, right? I had looked it up before I
came here.
:53:40
Do tell? Well, honestly, I looked it up myself yesterday.
:53:46
Really...
:53:50
That same book also said that the women who gathered the flowers never
were able to wear the lipstick made from them.