１０月２６日（月曜日）２０２０
高宮駅に展示中の浮世絵３点を観てきました。これは小児科医の藤関義樹院長の収集の一部を月ごとに少しずつ見せてくださっているもので、防犯面を考えて写真での展示になっていますが十分楽しめます。今月は月がテーマとのことで芳月姿より芳年作「堅田浦乃月」と土屋光逸作「品川沖」、それに月ではありませんが、井出岳水作「雨中鷺図」です。それぞれとても味わい深くゆっくり観せていただきました。藤関さんの非常に分かりやすい丁寧な解説が浮世絵鑑賞に大変役立ち有難いです。講談、浪曲など古典芸能にも詳しい藤関さんならではの解説です。それぞれについては解説を直接読んでいただいた方がずっといいのでここでは省きますが、煌々と光る月の下で戦いに敗れて途中馬を調達して堅田に住む乳母を尋ねる内藤内蔵助の裏寂れた姿と馬の様子がこれから展開する悲しい場面を暗示しているようです。次の新版画の土屋光逸の「品川沖」は静かな水面に浮かぶ二曹の船の美しい情景に感動します。最後の「雨中鷺図」の描写を藤関さんの解説に添って鑑賞すると充実感いっぱいになります。どれも貴重な藤関さんのコレクションの一部。素晴らしいです。I went to Takamiya Station to appreciate UKIYOE (woodblock print) which are now being exhibited in the community room of the station. This is a collection of pediatrician, Dr. Y.Fujiseki and two or three UKIYOE are exhibiting every month. Although they are photo copies for security reasons, there is no problem to appreciate those paintings. The theme of this month is "moon". The first one is by Tsukioka Hounen (1839-1892), the second one is by Ide Gakusui (1891-1982) and the third one which is not related to the moon, is by Tsuchiya Kouitsu (1870-1949) . Dr. Fujiseki put an easy and detailed explanation about each woodblock print, so it is very helpful for us to appreciate those prints. The first one is a scene of tragedy which also appears in traditional storytelling and the second one is two boats on the surface of the sea under the moon which is so beautiful. The last one is heron in the rain. Dr. Fujiseki wrote about the technique of this print which let us enjoy it more. These Ukiyoe are just a part of his collection and they are wonderful!
１０月２４日（土曜日）２０２０
屋根裏に無断侵入し夜中に不気味な足音で真下にいる私を不安がらせていた小動物への対策として、役場の獣害対策専門の一円さんが動物の通りそうな所に罠を設置してくださり後は餌のリンゴに近づくのを待つばかりとなりました。とはいえ、その夜も寝ようと電気を消すと、またノシノシと歩く音。これは侵入口となっている壁の穴が問題、怪しげな動物との共存などとてもできないと穴を塞ぐ方法を考えていたところ、お隣に大工さんが塀の修繕に来ていたのでちょっと相談してみました。すると、工務店のご主人が穴を見せてと言って屋根裏を覗いてくださり、穴を塞ぐのは素人の私では無理だ、今左官屋さんが来ているから話しておくよ、と言ってくださいました。カフェが終わって隣に行くと若い大工さんが一人残っていて左官屋さんはもう外から屋根に上がって穴を塞いで帰られたと言うのです。屋根裏を覗いてみると確かに穴は塞がっています。お礼も支払いもまだですが、左官屋さんの素早い対応にびっくり！今年は蜂の巣の時も今回の動物闖入事態も一人では解決が難しかった問題を、色々な方たちが温かく助けてくださいました。皆さんのご親切がこれほど身に沁みたことはありません。The countermeasure for small animals which came into my attic at night without my permission and made me feel uneasy under the ceiling was a trap set by Mr. Ichien who is a specialist of animal damage countermeasures at Taga townhall. I then waited for the animal to come for the food in the trap. However I could still hear the noise of an animal walking in the attic after I turned off the light to sleep at night. I thought that unless the halls of the attic are not closed, the animal would keep coming in and I could not cooperate with that mysterious animal. When I was thinking about how I could close the holes, I remembered that house contractors were working next to my house repairing an old wooden wall, so I went to ask for some advice from them. The head of the contractors kindly came to take a look at my attic and said "it's too hard to repair for amateurs, but right now we have a nice plasterer working with us. I'll talk about it to him". After the cafe was closed, I went to the next house. There was one young contractor left and said to me that the plasterer finished his work early and went up to the roof of my house from outside to close the holes. He had already done it and went home. I went upstairs and looked into the attic. The holes were closed as he said. Wow！I was amazed by his quick work. This year, I received a lot of warm help from many people for the problems which I couldn't solve by myself, for instance when I had honeycombs under the eaves in the summer and now with this animal who got into my attic. I deeply appreciate their kindness and support.
１０月２１日（水曜日）２０２０
開催中の横田順（すなお）さんの墨画展に３度目の来場をいただいた彦根のA先生ご夫妻。いつも奥様にはお手作りの美味しい食べ物を頂くのですが、本日は素敵な和菓子をいただきました。深まりゆく秋にふさわしい栗のお菓子です。お菓子が入っていた入れ物にも栗が描かれています。行き届いた奥様の御心遣いに感激です。戴いたお菓子が繊細で手間がかかっていることは外見を見ただけでわかります。大きな栗はまるでマロングラッセのように深みのある贅沢な味わいでした。栗を潰して練り上げ形良く包んだ方は、栗の風味が上品で口にいれると優しく溶けます。どちらも玄人はだしの腕前です。カフェが終わり、テイクアウトのお弁当を渡して、夕食を済ませた後、ゆっくりと素敵なデザートをいただきました。横田さんの墨画展は２８日まで。月木の定休日を除くと残り数日です。どの作品も墨の濃淡に作家の全てが投入されている横田さん独自の世界。カフェは落ち着いた時間が流れています。Mr. & Mrs .A from Hikone came for a third visit to the Bokuga (Sum-ink painting) Exhibition by Sunao Yokota. Everytime they come, I receive delicious food homemade by Mrs. A and today she gave me beautiful Japanese sweets. They were chestnut sweets which suit the deep Autumn season. There were chestnut drawings on the container. I thank her for her consideration. I could easily guess that she took a lot of time to make such beautiful sweets. The big chestnut was like the French sweet, Marron Glace and it had a deep and rich taste. The other one which seemed to be a mushed chestnut had a sophisticated chestnut taste and melted away in the mouth. Both are well made sweets which would put a professional to shame. After closing the cafe and giving take-out Bentohs to a customer, and eating my supper, I enjoyed these sweets. Yokota's Exhibition will be until 28th. There are only a few days left. Ms. Sunao Yokota put all her energy into shading of Sumi ink and it is her original world. During this beautiful exhibition, a deep and calm time is passing by at the cafe, Taga Asahiya.
１０月１９日（月曜日）２０２０
２、３日前から夜中にベッドの真上の天井裏で物音が。耳を立てて様子を伺っていると静かだけれども確実に何かが歩いている。ネズミのようなチョコチョコしたものでなくもっと重い物体。猫ではないな、ハクビシンかタヌキか。試しに「ワッ!」と声をあげて脅かしてみるも特に慌てた様子もない。天井板の向こうに得体の知れない動物がいる…何とも不気味であれこれ想像していると眠気は失せ、果てさてどうしたものかと考えながら役場に相談に行こうと決心。そこで本日は役場の産業環境課の窓口に。駆除する業者は紹介できるが費用がかかるのでオススメは罠を貸すから自分で設置して、獲物がかかったら知らせてくれれば引き取りに行くとのこと。ええっ〜！罠をしかけて生け捕りにする？！そ、そんなこと…！と困った顔をしていると係の方が「では、ちょっと待っててください」と言って奥へ。しばらくすると別の男性が一緒に現れ、「この人は役場の専門家ですから罠を設置してくれますよ」と。家で待っていると間もなくさっきのおじさんが来て、天井板を少し外したところから懐中電灯を照らして中を見てくださいました。確かに何ものかが侵入した気配があるとのこと。見ると壁に隙間が。結局、天井裏に罠を設置すると却って動物をおびき寄せることになるので、罠は外におきましょうとのことで、裏の軒下に大きな罠（オリ）を設置し、その中にりんごを餌として入れました。さて、夜中に無断闖入の動物は捕まるか否や。Since a couple of days ago, I have been hearing some animal walking on the ceiling above my bed at night. I listen to the sound carefully. It's not noisy but definitely something is walking there and it is not a small animal like a mouse. I guess it is not a cat, and it might be a masked palm civet or raccoon dog. I raised my big voice to scare him, but it didn't work at all. It was the fact that there was a mysterious animal in the attic (on the other side of the ceiling) which scared me a lot and got rid of any drowsiness. I wondered what I should do and I decided to go to the town hall to consult about it. Today, I went to the Industrial Environment Division in the town hall. The person I talked to said that he knew a professional vender but it would cost a large amount and what he suggested was that I set a trap by myself and let him know when the animal is caught, he would come to take it away. It would be a big challenge for me to set a trap and catch the animal alive! Since I showed my hesitation, he said to me to wait there and came back with another person. He was a specialist of animal capture. He kindly came to my house and took a look at the attic with a flashlight. He said there was evidence that some animal came into my attic from a small hole in the wall. He also said it is not a good idea to set a trap in the attic because the animal is willing to come to the food in the trap, so he found the place to set a trap back in the house. I put two pieces of apple as bait. Well, I wonder whether the animal which came into my attic without my permission will be caught?
１０月８日（木曜日）２０２０
雨の今朝は友人から譲り受けたばかりの厚手のパーカーを着て中学の読み聞かせに出かけました。滋賀県野洲郡の民話「めおとヅル」。生徒たちは熱心に聞いてくれ、まずはホッとしました。帰り道、多賀大社東口に近づくにつれそこはかとなくいい香り。入り口の両側の狛犬が見事なので見ていると左右同じでないことに初めて気が付きました。右は口を開けて角なし、左は口は閉じて角あり。後で調べると右は獅子で左は狛犬。中国から来たらしく本来は「獅子・狛犬」というそうです。当初は天皇を守る守護獣で宮中にあったものがやがて神社にも置かれるようになったとのこと。境内に入って数本の金木犀を発見。いい香りの源でした。参拝を済ませて社務所で懐かしい延寿おこしを買いました。２００円とは今時にない安さです。雨に濡れて光る玉砂利は歩くたびにジャリジャリ。その音を楽しみながらゆっくりうちへ帰りました。On this rainy chilly morning, I went to the local Junior High School for storytelling wearing a thick parker which I received just yesterday from my friend in Tokyo. This time, I chose the folktale "A couple crane" from Yasu, Shiga prefecture. I am glad that students concentrated on listening to me . On the way back home, when I was approaching the east entrance of Taga shrine, there was a nice smell in the air which made me wonder from where it came. There were two guardian dogs in the rain at the entrance and I was amazed by them, then I noticed for the first time that two of them were different. The right one has his mouth open and no horns, the left one has his mouth closed but has horns. According to web info which I checked later, the right one is a lion and the left one is a guardian dog and they are originally from China. They were initially placed in imperial court for protecting the Emperor, but after that they were also placed in the shrine. After I entered the shrine, I found a couple of fragrant olive trees which were the source of the good scent. I worshipped at the shrine and bought "Enjyu Okoshi (long life brittle)" at the shrine office which I have known since I was a child. It cost only 200 yen and I think it was an incredibly low price! When I walked on the gravel which was wet with rain and shining, it sounded nice. Enjoying the sound, I walked and went home.
１０月６日（火曜日）２０２０
横田順（すなお）さんの墨画展が２日（金曜日）から始まっています。油彩でも水彩でもなく、また水墨画でもない独自の画法で描かれた墨画が「多賀あさひや」の蔵、座敷、離れ、廊下、はたまた普段はプライベートな場所の食堂などにも飾られて、それぞれ魅力的な世界を創り出しています。いつもは掛け軸や写真、版画、エッチングなどを掛けている壁面に、あるいは何もなかった場所に横田さんの様々な作品が置かれ、家中がギャラリーになるという何とも贅沢な心持ちを味わっています。そして、それぞれの作品が民家に溶け込み静かに息をしていることに不思議な感動を覚えます。絵からの語りかけが家屋の壁や柱や家具などと上手く呼応していて実に嬉しいです。Bokuga (Sumi-ink painting) exhibition by Sunao Yokota started last Friday. It is neither oil painting nor watercolor painting, but also not traditional ink painting. It was originally created by Yokota and about 20 of her works were displayed in a storage room (Kura), two guest rooms, hall way and even a dining room which is opened only for this occasion and each of them created their own artmosphere. Yokota's paintings are displayed in the alcove and walls where I usually hang scrolls, photos, woodprints and etching. I feel so rich to be in a gallery with those wonderful paintings. I am also impressed with Yokota's paintings which fit into my old Japanese house. The expressions from each of Yokota's paintings and the old walls, pillars and furniture in the house resonate with each other and it makes me so happy.
１０月１日（木曜日）２０２０
今夜は完璧なお月見の夜となりました。朝はいつもとは違うルートでススキ探し。けれど見つけるのはなかなか大変。あっても手が届かなかったり取りにいけない山肌にあったり往来の激しい道路の反対側に見えたり、危険を伴いながら何とかススキを確保。明日からの墨画展の準備を画家の横田順さんとお手伝いの福山敬之さん（画家）が午後いっぱい掛かってしてくださり、お帰りになった時は日も暮れていました。それから私はお団子作って縁側にお月見の用意。空は澄み、星の輝きをあちこちに散りばめながら十五夜の月が凛と姿を見せていました。昔、香港でこの日を迎えた時は見たこともないぐらい人が出て賑やかに中秋節を祝っていました。月餅というお菓子はこの日のためにあることも知りました。日本では雰囲気が違って静かに月を愛でます。お月様にそっと手を合わせるという感じでしょうか。Tonight was a perfect night for moon viewing. In order to find Japanese pampas grasses to display for moon viewing I took a different route for my morning walk. However it was very hard to find. Even though I found them, I couldn't reach them or I had to climb up the mountain slope or I needed to cross the road which was very busy with traffic. Anyhow I got some of them. Since we are going to open an exhibition of Bokuga (Sumi ink painting) by Sunao Yokota from tomorrow, Ms. Yokota along with Mr. Fukuyama who is also a painter there to help her, came to display the paintings. They took many hours to prepare and it was dark outside when they left. Then I started to make plain dumplings to offer the moon and presented them with Sake. The sky was clear, stars were shining, and the dignified-looking full moon appeared in the sky. I remember when I was in Hongkong on this day, so many people came out to celebrate the moon festival. It was so lively and I knew that Geppei (moon cake) was very special just for this day. On the other hand, the Japanese way to celebrate is very different and we just view the full moon quietly. Some people pray to the moon by putting their hands together.
