The true virtue of the Ajisai (hydrangea) flower is its continuous and subtle changing of colors, which is caused by intricate and enigmatic chemistry of nature in the rainy season.
Ajisai plants soak up plenty of rainwater from the earth during the rainy season and show off their variety off flower colors, which reminds me of the magical shapes and colors of old French surrealist painters.
These flowers show red, blue, purple, and other mixed colors, and the base of these colors is the pigment called anthocyanin.
Anthocyanin is normally red, but when it reacts with the aluminum absorbed in the rainy soil, it changes to blue by chemical reaction. Therefore, Ajisai flowers that absorb a lot of aluminum are blue, those that do not absorb aluminum are red, and those in between are purple.
In Japan, Ajisai flowers are also called "Shichi-henge" which means "seven quick changes of clothes." This naming comes from the traditional Kabuki dance in which the star actor quickly changes his beautiful clothes seven times in the highlight scene.
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