And inside of my hat...What a wonderful hobby you have, growing flowers under your hat!Well, I didn't exactly grow them...Can you make doves fly out of your hat?It's a present for the Crown Princess!...what a surprise!Thank you, Futo.Doves?The other day in town, a traveling minstrel...A Flying Bird Means Asuka
The title of this story is a reference to a makurakotoba written inside the Manyoushuu. The Manyoushuu is Japan's oldest anthology of poems and makurakotoba is a figure of speech that is used to associate certain words together. The story's title “Tobu Tori de Asuka,” is a tribute to a poem called, “Tobu tori no Asuka,” (Asuka where the birds fly), poking fun at the makurakotoba of why Asuka is written with the kanji 飛鳥 (birds flying).
Asuka was one of Japan's ancient capitals, and was a capital during the Asuka Period. Although the place is now mainly a rural area, a few remnants of the period still exists, such as the tomb for Soga no Umako.
How Asuka was named using the kanji飛鳥 (flying birds) still remains unclear. Some scholars believe that 飛鳥(flying birds/Asuka) became synonymous with 明日香 (smell of tomorrow/Asuka) as 飛鳥 was used as a makurakotoba for 明日香.