In this bouquet of essays, flowers represent far more than beauty. Those showcased here (including the Chinese bellflower of the 梗 essay and the tree peony of the 丹 essay) symbolize everything from the emperor, nobility, and wealth to honor, love, and feminine beauty. The Japanese also associate some of these flowers with hardiness or with grief. People celebrate them in family crests, at festivals, with dolls, and in a range of artistic creations. Supposedly, the flowers even confer health benefits—curing headaches, cooling and invigorating the blood, and removing phlegm.

Sushi comes in infinite varieties (as the 寿 essay shows). Noodles can take many forms and be made from a multitude of flours (as the 麺 and 拉 essays demonstrate). Sweet potatoes differ by region (as the 芋 essay makes clear). In Japan these favorite foods inspire not only cravings but also deep passion, nostalgia, arguments over origin stories, and hairsplitting about the preparation methods particular to certain locales. People also have strong beliefs about these dishes, eating certain noodles for longevity, treating sweet potatoes as guilty pleasures, and regarding uncut sushi as lucky.

This "fruit basket" has caused creative juices to flow in Japan. The trees and fruits connect to colors, haiku, proverbs, myths, folktales, and wordplay. People associate peaches with Shangri-la and instability, Japanese apricots with happiness, and persimmons with Mount Fuji and writing brushes. The Japanese fully use certain trees—the wood in furniture, the leaves in tea (and even in sushi!), and fruit, roots, and bark in dye, paper, and Traditional Chinese Medicine. The juice goes into drinks, alcoholic or tame. And the Japanese and ancient Chinese have viewed these fruits and their trees as warding off misfortune!

This essay collection about hilly topography focuses in part on the physical world: bumpy surfaces, volcanic cones, lens curvature, embossed paper, and especially flat abs! But such topics are also rich in figurative possibilities. One essay first examines objects that stand apart from the rest, then demonstrates how being separated from the main action affords a clear vantage point. That essay also touches on unrequited love. Another illuminates how it feels to be overwhelmed and slightly depressed. A third addresses the ups and downs of life. Uneven ground proves to be fertile!