JUJUBE

I hope you already know my name. My name is Natsume. “Natsume” means jujubes in English. Do you know jujubes? It is not famous one, so maybe you don’t know, and actually I also don’t know well. So I researched about it and introduce it today.

Firstly, I’d like to talk about the reason why my name is Natsume. When my oldest brother was 3, my mother was pregnant. While he was taking a walk with my mother, she found trees of jujubes and told him its name is natsume in Japanese. The nuts were little and cute, and had red color. He saw them and said to her, “If this baby is a girl, I want to name her Natsume because I hope she becomes cute like these nuts.” The baby was a boy (he is my second oldest brother), and 7 years later, I was born and named Natsume by my oldest brother. Who were you named by? I think it is not common that brother or sister names his or her younger siblings. When I was told this story by my mother, I was so happy and I came to like my name much more than before.

Jujube tree is deciduous one. Its nuts are about 2cm, and when it gets ripen, it becomes red. It is famous for its nutritive value and often used as an herb medicine especially in China. Jujubes are said to be the big five fruits in China with peaches, plums, apricots, and Japanese apricots. There is a proverb that if you eat three jujubes a day, you don’t age because of the nutritive value. Not only in China, jujubes are eaten in some countries. In Taiwan, people eat green unripe ones. I also have eaten some before. It tasted like apples. In Korea, it is used in Samgyetang, a nourishing food. Jujube tea is popular too, but I don’t like the taste. In Western countries, it is sometimes used in candies. Jujubes are loved by people in all over the world.

Of cource jujubes are loved in Japan too. You can see dried jujubes at supermarkets. And there are small containers called natsume. It is used for put Japanese tea leaves. The shape of it is like a jujube so it is called natsume in Japanese. I think the word natsume has Japanese images. When I become an old lady, maybe my name fits me. Actually natsume is sometimes used as a name of Japanese restaurant and shops. I like something Japanese so it is one of the reason I like my name.

I'm thankful to my family for giving me my name of Natsume. This name is not common so everyone quickly remember my name. I feel happy when my family and my friends call my name. And my name is written in Hiragana, Japanese style, so it looks soft and feminine. I'm proud of my name and also jujubes. I hope everyone know about jujubes much more. I want to be loved by everyone in all over the world like jujubes.