I watched my mother die.

Just a month ago.

I went to visit Soga Sengen Shrine in Atami.

This shrine enshrines the mother-daughter deities Ooyamatsumi-no-mikoto and Konohanasakuya-hime.

The mirror torii gate is said to have the power to ward off evil spirits and to be a barrier to prevent impurities.

Beyond that are rows of vermilion stepped torii gates.

Konohanasakuya-hime is said to be the guardian deity of cherry blossoms and the origin of the word cherry blossom.

I was also surprised at how many other names it has.

According to one birthday horoscope, Konohanasakuya-hime is also my guardian deity.

And the last picture is of a cherry tree at the entrance to the old Tamagawa Aqueduct Greenway.

It was not cared for, so it was decided to cut it down, and every time I look at it, it gets worse and worse. Now it's so worn out it's sad.

For some reason, I remembered the day I watched my mother die.

Her eyes were open, but she stopped breathing.
This was the cherry tree about which my mother wrote a haiku when she was still healthy.