A cerise-flowered azalea by the front door of Shisendo, the seventeenth century cottage of former samurai and scholar, Jozan Ishikawa. In a leafy, secluded area on the north-eastern edge of Kyoto, the cottage looks out over a simple raked gravel garden bordered by clipped azalea bushes. At the time of my visit, towards the end of April 2010, only a couple of bushes were in flower, thanks to the cooler than usual weather. Only this bush was in its full glory.