: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.
:54:12
Is there going to be a festival here?
:54:14
Yep, the riverbank'll be full of people.
:54:32
Agriculture's still in trouble, isn't it, with fields being reduced to
make way for markets, and such.
:54:37
Sure, already there's a lot of trouble, and if it goes on, Japanese
agriculture'll be ruined. Just some day, suddenly ``poof,'' and it's
gone.
:54:47
But y'know, even with all this trouble or not, if you're trying your
best, it still doesn't come easy. The work in the big city must be
the same, right?
:54:59
Sure...but the people who think work is everything are becoming fewer
in number.