A delicate flower that blooms dignifiedly in the cold wind. With a faint sweet fragrance, it announces the early arrival of spring. The vivid colors of red, pink, and white in the silent winter scenery make you feel the breath of life. The oldest collection of Japanese poems, the Manyoshu, is filled with poems on the theme of plums, and plums have fascinated people since ancient times. Speaking of lucky things related to plums, there is "Daifuku tea," a tea made with pickled plums and kelp that is drunk on New Year's Day. Its origins date back to the mid-Heian period, when Emperor Murakami drank it when he was sick and recovered. It became custom to drink it while praying for good health and safety for the year.