fan columbine; Aquilegia flabellata
Only when written 苧環
A perennial plant with distinctive spurred flowers, native to Japan. Often written in kana.
Fan columbines are blooming in the garden.
hemp yarn ball; hollow ball of hemp yarn
Only when written 苧環
Traditional craft item; hemp yarn wound into a hollow sphere. Now mostly a historical or cultural term.
odamaki-mushi; egg custard on udon
Abbreviation of おだまき蒸し. A steamed dish with egg custard poured over udon noodles, often containing chicken or vegetables.
See also: おだまき蒸し
In the past, odamaki were made by winding hemp yarn.
I ate odamaki-mushi in Kyoto.
Full name of the dish; おだまき is the common abbreviation.
Kana spelling is standard for all senses; the kanji forms are rare and mainly decorative or historical.
Kanji form for the plant and the hemp-yarn ball; rarely used in modern writing.
Katakana spelling, sometimes used for the plant name or in botanical contexts.
Kanji form for the noodle dish; very rare, mostly historical or in restaurant names.
The plant name is said to come from the resemblance of the flower's shape to a traditional hemp-yarn ball (苧環). The dish name derives from the yarn ball shape of the noodles under the custard.