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People used to take starch from the root of Katakuri in Japan,too. Early in April purple-red flowers bloom at around 2 o'clock on fine afternoons. Unfortunately we hit there on cloudy day to find only a few of them blooming wide. Flowers are far bigger than I expected: the petal were 4-5 cm long.
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The two preserves locate very close to each other. In summer the leaves of tall deciduous trees protect them from the strong sunlight. The outer side of the petals are pale blue. The crowds have made the beautiful carpet all over.
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It will take 7 years for a seed to fall on the earth and grow enough to bloom. And it takes only 2 months to sprout up the earth, bloom and die. Yakamochi Ohtomo,a poet, about 1000 years ago, composed of Katakuri around a temple-well from which maidens draw water !