３月２３日（木曜日）２０２３

    春分のこの時期はスズメが巣を作り始める（雀始巣）とも言われ、桜の開花とともに生き物も盛んに活動します。

    さて、私どもでは５月１４日（日）に恒例の能イベントを開催いたします。題して「門前町、昼下がりの能」。お迎えする能楽師の方々は鵜澤久（観世流シテ方）、鵜澤光（観世流シテ方）、貞光智宣（森田流笛方）、久田陽春子（大倉流小鼓方）、森田泰幸（観世流大鼓方）という豪華な顔ぶれです。初夏の風を受けて古民家「多賀あさひや」に謡・仕舞い・囃子がお能の引き締まった雰囲気を漂わせながらも和やかに晴れやかに繰り広げられます。能は初めてという方もどうぞ気楽にお越しください。きっと皆様の心に残ることでしょう。　

    切符ご希望の方は0749-48-0186またはEメールでお早目にご連絡ください。

    Around Vernal Equinox Day, it is said that sparrows start to build a nest, and all living creatures move actively at the same time as cherry blossoms start to open.

    Now, I am pleased to announce that we will have an annual Noh event at Taga Asahiya on Sunday, 14th May. We will have five noh actors and players; Hisa Uzawa (shite actor in Kanze School), Hikaru Uzawa (shite actor in Kanze School), Tomonobu Sadamitsu (flute in Morita School), Yasuko Hisada (small hand drum in Ohkura School), Yasuyuki Morita (large hand drum in Kanze School). In the early summer breeze, noh recitation, dance and musical accompaniment will be performed seriously but peacefully and brightly. If you haven't watched noh performance before, please feel free to come! I am sure you will enjoy it and it will be a memorable day.

    Tickets will be ready by phone (0749-48-0186) or email (taga.asahiya@gmail.com).

３月２１日（火曜日）２０２３　

    春分の日。昼と夜の長さが同じになります。この日はお彼岸でもあり、ネット情報によると、先祖が住む世界とこの世が最も近づくという理由でお墓参りをする人が多いのだそうです。

    気になっていたお墓掃除とお参りを昨日午前に済ませてほっとしています。山の上にある実家のお墓に私は何とか電動アシストの自転車で上がりました。水汲み場で見知らぬおじさんが一人花筒を洗っていらっしゃり、挨拶程度の話から、私が幼い頃、近所にいらした旧家の方であることが分かり、思いがけない昔話になりました。井伊大老も宿泊した門構えの家が記憶に残っています。別れ際に「ご先祖様にどうぞよろしく。」と言ったのがお墓参りならではのご挨拶だなと何だか愉快な気持ちになりました。

    It's Vernal Equinox Day. It is also called "Ohigan" in Japanese and traditional sasonal event was held in Japan each spring and autumn. People visit their family's graves and pray for their ancestors.

    I visited the grave yesterday, and it's been a while since the last time which made me feel relieved now. My family's grave is on the mountain and I went up there by my electric assist bicycle. When I got to the water supply area, a man was cleaning a metal tube for flowers. Starting from just greeting each other, we knew that we were neighbors a long time ago when I was very small. His house used to be prestigious, such as the landlord where a feudal lord stayed over in the Edo period and I remember the old gate in his house. When I said goodbye to him, I said "please say hello to your ancestor". I thought that it was a phrase that I could say only at graveyards. I somehow had a pleasant feeling.

３月１５日（水曜日）２０２３　

    今朝は小学校６年生の教室で読み聞かせをしました。３年生までは通常週一回の読み聞かせですが、４、５、６年生は１学期に一度の教室訪問となります。６年生の子供達に接するのは初めてだったので何を読むか考えて、私の好きな宮沢賢治の「よだかの星」を選びました。ただ、全文を読むと規定の１０分を超えてしまうので良さを損ねないように少しカットして用意しました。外見が醜いという理由で他の鳥たちから疎外されたよだかがとった最後の行動は衝撃的で、胸打たれる作品です。時間超過を恐れて特急で朗読しましたが、一心に聴いてくれているのが伝わり嬉しかったです。

    I went to 6 grader's class for story telling this morning. Up until 3rd graders, they have storytelling mostly every week, but it comes only once a semester from 4 to 6 graders. Thinking over what I will read for them, since it was the first time for me to visit 6 graders' class, I chose "Yodaka no hoshi"（The Nighthawk Star) (by Kenji Miyazawa) which I like very much. It will be over ten minutes if I read the full book so I made it shorter in order to be finished in ten minutes by cutting some parts which don't affect the main story. The final action of Yodaka (Japanese goatsucker), who had been alienated from other birds, was devastating and it deeply moved me. Since I was afraid of taking over time, I read rather rapidly, but children listened to my reading intently and it made me very happy.

３月１３日（月曜日）２０２３

    日ごと春めいて、心も軽やかに弾むこの頃です。そんな季節にぴったりのお知らせです。久保円（まどか）さんと久保文音（あやね）さん母子による「染織 きものｘ絵画 日本画」のふたり展を多賀あさひやにて開催します。期間は４月４日（火）～２３日（日）。

    円さんは染織家で多賀町敏満寺在住。文音さんは絵描きで千葉県在住。円さんは１９９５年京都染織新人展入選、文音さんも日本画家として数々の賞を受賞なさっていて２０１６年と２０１７年は続けて改組日展に入選した経歴があり今後の活動が楽しみです。

    期間中、４月８日（土）と１５日（土）の午後１時～３時半まで、自然の草や木から染めた糸と織り機を使ってコースターを作るワークショップが久保円さんによって開催されます。８日はすでに定員に達しましたが、１５日はまだ少し余裕があるそうなので080-4027-2055(久保円）まで連絡してください。

    円さんも文音さんも、作品の色使いと構成にそれぞれの想いと深い思考が感じられて感銘を受けます。皆さまのお越しをお待ちしています。

    Spring is comming in the air day by day and we have more light feeling these days. I would like to make an announcement in such a nice mood. It is a Kimono and Japanese paintings exhibition by two artists, Madoka Kubo and Ayane Kubo who are mother and daughter. The exhibition starts April 4th till 23rd.

    Madoka is a dyer & weaver living in Taga and Ayane is a Japanese-style painter living in Chiba. Madoka was awarded in the Dyeing Weaving New Artists Exhibition in 1995. Madoka also got many awards, and in particular she was awarded in the Japan Fine Arts Exhibition in 2016 and 2017.

    During the exhibition term, a Weaving Workshop will be held 13:00~15:30 on 8th and 15th by Madoka using thread dyed with plants.

    I am impressed by the colors and composition in both Madoka and Ayanes' works. I hope you will come and enjoy their works. 

３月３日（金曜日）２０２３

    我が家の地域には小学校が４つ、中学校と高校が１つずつありますが、最近中学と高校が一体になって立派な校舎がこれまでの高校の敷地に建てられました。校舎が大きくなった分、様々な変化が生じています。その一つが駐車スペース。我が家はこの高校の近くで、今回アメリカに帰って家のそばの広いバス通りの両側が高校生の車の駐車スペースになっているのに驚きました。

    マサチューセッツ州では法律で車の免許証は１６歳半から認められています。高校生を持つ親御さんの報告によると、課外授業で運転免許の講習を３０時間受け、筆記試験にパスすると４０時間の路上での実技練習に入るそうです。アメリカでは運転を教えるのは免許を持つ親で、試験日には規格に合った車に試験管（警察官）が同乗します。興味深いのは筆記試験の後で親も２時間の講習を受けて証明書をもらわないと子供の実技試験が受けられないとか。免許証を受け取るまでの費用も日本に比べると驚くほど少なく、２００ドル（２万円）もかからないようです。

    こんなふうに簡単に免許をとって通学してくる高校生の車を見ると結構立派です。先週は小中高と１週間の春休みでバス通りは駐車の車がなく、以前のように広々としていましたが、今週からはまた道の両側にズラリと車が縦列駐車で並んでいます。

    There are four elementary schools, one middle and one high school in my district. Recently the middle school and the high school became one and a big building at the high school site was named Belmont Middle High school. Since it happened, various changes occured and one of them is parking space for student's cars. My house is near the high school and there is a wide street where a bus is running between the school and my house. When I came to Boston this time, I was surprised that both sides of the street became a parking space for the high school student's car. 

    In Japan people are able to get a driver's license when you become 18 years old, but in Massachusetts you can get it at the age of 16 and half years old (it is different depending on the state, though). So Japanese high school students go to their school by walking or by train and bus but many high school students in the US go to school by car. In my area, students park their cars at the space at the parking lot in school or designated on the side of the road. 

    Since elementary, middle and high schools were in the Spring Break last week, nobody parked the car on the road, so it was very spacious, but the break is over and many students have been parking their cars on the side of the street again.

２月２６日（日曜日）２０２３

    ボストンには科学博物館（Science Museum)があって、そこにオムニ・シアターという３６０度に近いスクリーンで映像が見られる劇場があり行ってきました。

    このオムニ・シアター、私は以前行って面白いというよりも怖かった記憶があるので、今回は３つの選択肢（エベレスト/ 世界の自然界の動物/古代の洞窟)の中からなるべく刺激の少ないものをと思って「古代の洞窟」を選びました。…が、実はコレがかなり恐怖でした。中米の海岸や川の下には世界的な大洞窟があり、水深１５０メートル近く潜って研究用のサンプルをとってくるという映像です。ただの海中ではなく地下に洞窟があり通れそうなところを酸素ボンベをつけたダイバー二人が３時間近くかけて潜っていくのですが、植物も動物もない真っ暗な洞窟の中をヘルメットや手に持った懐中電灯の灯を頼りに這うようにして奥深く探検していく様子を丸い大きなスクリーンの下で見るのはかなりの迫力でやはり私は怖かったです。子供が大勢見ていましたが、怖くないのか皆静かに見ていました。色鮮やかで音響効果も良いのが一層臨場感を盛り上げていました。

    見終わってお昼ご飯はHarvard Sq.のHarvest というレストランでハンバーガーを食べました。ハンバーガーといっても、焼き方と付け合わせ（サラダがフレンチフライ）の選択を聞かれ、私はミディアムとフライドポテトを選びました。写真は撮り忘れたのでレストランのHPからのものですが、肉汁の滴るハンバーガーと大盛りのフライドポテトに久しぶりのアメリカを満喫しました。混んでいただけあって、内装も味もとてもよかったです。もちろん値段も。

    There is a Science Museum in Boston and it has Omni Theatre which shows movies with almost a 360 degree screen. I went there yesterday.

    I have been before and I remember feeling scared. Therefore I chose the film, Ancient Caves, which seemed the most mild one among the three (Everest / Serengeti / Ancient Caves). However, it was still scary to me. It was a film about world famous caves which exist under the river and sea coast in South America. Two divers were exploring under 300 feet depth to get some samples. It was not only in the sea but also in the complicated cave and two divers were diving and crawling for about three hours with a flashlight carrying two oxygen cylinders in the dark cave with no living creatures and plants. We felt as if we were with them and it was overwhelming to watch the film under such a big round screen. The clear and beautiful color and sound effects contributed to the feeling of being actually there. Surprisingly many children in the audience were quietly watching.

    After Omni theater, we went to "Harvest" at Harvard Sq.to eat lunch. I ate a hamburger which was medium and came with a full amount of french fries. Since I forgot to take photos, I took pictures of them from the homepage of the restaurant. The hamburger was juicy and french fries were crispy. Both were very good and I enjoyed this American meal in the nice interior restaurant. It was a good price, too!

２月２２日（水曜日）２０２３

    「多賀あさひや」の大好きなクラウン・ロネ＆ジージ、そしてマギーが京都の幼稚園でショーをやって爆発してきたようです。先日の東京・青山のライブを観た方は彼らの変身ぶりにびっくりすることでしょう。さて今年１１月の多賀でのライブはどんな変身を見せてくれるでしょうか。

    Clown Rone & Gigi, and Maggie who are Taga Asahiya's best friends reported that they did Big Ear's Show at the kindergarden in Kyoto and were a blast among kids. Those people who went to their liveshow at Aoyama in Tokyo early February must be surprised at their transformation. Well, we can not wait to see their new transformation at the performance at Taga Asahiya this November.