I notice that some nurseries are referring to A. japonicum 'Aconitifolium' as 'Maiku jaku'; further research brought further questions. Peter Gregory states that 'Aconitifolium' is now preferred through usage. I guess that's OK but Vertrees gives mai as meaning dancing and kujaku as meaning peacocks and Masayoshi Yano in Book for Maples gives 'Mai kujaku' as the proper Japanese cv. name. So for historical and instructional purposes, which transliteration should be used? Thanks. Zenob.
Jacobson 2006 lists Maiku-jaku as a Japanese common name - it depends on in what sense the term is/was used in Japan. Have they been using dancing peacock for the equivalent of a western cultivar, or something broader, like a general type? I think there is a history of some Japanese garden plants being introduced to the West using Japanese common names or approximations as cultivar names, when that is not quite what was being referred to in Japan. For instance, names that convert to terms like pink wisteria in English. Seems like you'd have to be in Japan and study closely how nurseries there were using each name to be sure what the context was. We are talking about a completely non-western culture that was growing ornamental plants and talking about them a long time ago - probably centuries before the binomial naming system was even invented.
I agree with Ron. To elaborate further... Its my understanding that Aconitifolium, would be considered a "garden variety" of hauchiwakaede or ハウチワカエデ (the wild variety of Acer japonicum) in Japan. Terms used to describe this variety and its charicteristics: -itabuki 板葺 is used to describe how the dense leaves overlap and fit together like shingles on a roof. http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/i/itabuki.htm -Mai Kujaku 舞孔雀 舞孔雀 My peacock or dancing peacock -tengu 天狗 Leaf is described as fan of tengu or son of tengu (see sketch of tengu on jaanus, fan is in his left hand, other sketches on the web show a more elaborate fan) tengu is a bird-like goblin frequently encountered in Japanese folk-beliefs, literature and their pictorial depictions. http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/t/tengu.htm Aconitifolium would be described in Japanese as the following for example: The leaves are like native Hauchiwakaede, but smaller and feather like. The feather like lobes are joined together like feathers in a center ring. The leaf has a long petiole similar to Itayameigetsu (aka Kohauchiwakaede or Acer sieboldianum). The leaves extend nearly horizontal like a "mold coating" (aka intersection warning sign - http://ec.midori-anzen.com/shop/g/g4068894310/ ). My peacock or Dancing peacock, the garden variety of Hauchiwakaede in the fall, has leaves that are reminiscent of a male peacock, tail open, and feathers fluttering like beautiful clogs of feathers ( http://blog.amiami.com/amiblo/2012/08/post-764.html ) in a peacock dance. As you can see, in the above example, the Japanese have almost a poetic or artistic description full of visual images. For those of us in the west, our minds are programed to get to the point, be specific, black and white. This is a big part of the reason why things are lost in translation. For the Japanese, these descriptions paint a picture of a detailed description using well known references. For us to understand, it's like a history lesson that most will not take the time to understand. I am sure that 90% of the people that look at this post will not take the time to read this, because they are in such a hurry and don't have the time or don't really care. So it's easier to sell trees and appeal to us in the West, by just saying the Japanese call this tree Mai Kujaku. If we were to call it itabuki (roof shingles) or fan of tengu (a Japanese goblin), the tree would not market as well or have the same appeal to the west as a dancing peacock. Helpful Japanese links: Historical recordings of Acer japonicum- http://bean.bio.chiba-u.jp/bgplants/ylist_detail_disp.php?pass=4777 Japanese description of Aconitifolium and Acer japonicum- http://www.wood.jp/konoha/p24.htm Example of modern Japanese online sale listing for this tree, listed as kaede (Japanese for maple) mai kujaku: http://www.hanahiroba.com/fs/hanahiroba/niwaki_kaede_itaya_maikujaku_n More information on Japanese maple varieties with the Japanese and Latin names with pictures- http://stewartia.net/engei/tree/Kaede/Momiji.htm ***Helpful hint- Use google chrome to translate the above websites into English. Remember, to make sense of the translations, sometimes its easy to look at the sentences that don't make sense from right to left to better understand the meaning.
Here is a picture of tengu or daitengu statue in great detail. Notice the fan and the clasp that holds it together (where the feathers meet) resembles the leaf of Aconitifolium and how the lobes come together in the center. https://www.flickr.com/photos/shejian/12881470455/in/pool-tscj/
