The English name for 彼岸花 is “Lycoris radiata”. 彼岸花, also known as the Manjusaka (red) and Mandarava (white), has a legendary association with the realms of hell and heaven. According to folklore, the red 彼岸花 blooms in hell while the white 彼岸花 blossoms in heaven. The red 彼岸花 is one of the Four Flowers mentioned in the Lotus Sutra. It is native to the Yangtze River Basin in China and is distributed in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River as well as some southwestern areas. The earliest recorded mentions of 彼岸花 can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty, where it was known as “無義草” or “龍爪花”.
彼岸花, the tender demons. According to folk tales, it is a flower that willingly entered hell, but was sent back by the demons. Yet, it still lingers on the road to the underworld. Touched by the compassion of the demons, they allowed this flower to bloom along this path, providing guidance and solace to the souls departing from the human world. The snowy white and blood-red 彼岸花 both symbolize death. It is rumored that the Mandarava blooms along the road to heaven, while the Manjusaka covers the path to hell. They both represent death but offer different interpretations — one leans towards the notion of rebirth, while the other embodies the torment and remorse of wandering and faltering: the descent into darkness. Hence, the line between hell and heaven is but a thin one. The difference between angels and demons lies only in color and the burdens they carry.
