３月３１日（火曜日）２０２０
昭和１７年刊行の「のびる小国民の詩」（吉田瑞穂選、安泰画）という古本があります。全国各地の小学生の詩が１６編集めてあります。選者の吉田瑞穂氏については詳しくわかりませんが戦中から戦後にかけて子供達の詩集や、詩や作文の指導書が多く出されています。タイトルにある「小国民」ーという言葉は「次の時代を担う年少の国民、すなわ児童のこと」だそうですが戦争中に使われたことばで今は死語です。戦時下という特殊な背景で、しかも旧仮名遣いで書かれているため一見身近に感じられないかもしれませんが、集められた詩はどれも子供たちが暮らしの中で見たもの感じたことが子供自身の言葉で表現してあって感動します。私が小学生の時は教科書にいくつか詩が紹介されていましたが自分たちで詩を書くということはありませんでした。兄たちの絵日記には（これがまた特記に値するもので別の機会に紹介したいですが）「がっこうでうた（詩）をかきました」といくつか自作の詩が書いてあります。子供自身が生活の感動を紙に書き綴ることがどれほど教育に大切なことかと思います。１６編のうちの２編を紹介します。There is an old book titled "Poems of Japanese children who are growing up" chosen by Mizuho Yoshida, picture by Yasushi An(?) published in 1942. There are sixteen children's poems from all over Japan. I don't know very much about Mizuho Yoshida but it seems that he has published many children's poem books and guide books on how to teach them to write poems and composition. "小国民(lit. small Japanese people)" in the title is not used in modern Japan any longer because it has an implication of the Second World War. Since it had a special background then and was written in old Japanese orthography, it looks unfamiliar to us, but I am very much impressed by all of the poems because kids wrote about the things which they saw, and their feelings are expressed in their own words. When I was a school child, one or two poems by famous poets were introduced in our textbook and we "appreciate them" but we never wrote poems by ourselves. However when I read my older brother's diaries he wrote some poems saying that they were for school. I think that for children, expressing thoughts or impressions during their daily life on paper is educational and very important in the process of growing. I would like to introduce two poems from the book here.
Crossing bridge
when my dad goes for shopping
he lets me ride with him on his bike
We crossed the bridge.
Going over the wood blocks bridge, I felt so good.
Tires of the bike made nice sounds and I heard it.
I saw a train over there crossing a railway bridge.
Since I felt so good,
I asked my dad to keep going farther.
Dad laughed above my head.
by Itsuo Matsu-ura (Iwate prefecture)
Cattle
Cattle in my house
are taller than me.
When I come home from school and feed grass to one,
he eats them staring at me with his big eyes.
He looks very happy to eat.
I wonder if my dad who is in the battlefield now is thinking of him.
Whenever I see our cattle, I am thinking of him.
by Mitsuki Ikeda (Kagoshima prefecture)
３月２６日（木曜日）２０２０
東京では新型肺炎の感染者が増えているという事態で関東には緊迫感が漂っています。滋賀は感染者も少し出たようですがとりあえずは変わらない日常生活でありがたい限りです。さて今日は先日Nさんから教えていただいたMICAOさんの作品展「刺繍とアップリケ」を見に愛荘町の愛知川図書館に行ってきました。MICAOさんは神戸在住の刺繍作家でイラストレーターの平佐美香さんです。Nさんに教えていただくまではまったく知らなかったのですが、まあ何と創造力豊かで美しく楽しい作品を次々に発表なさっていることでしょう。素材も既成の布、手染めの布、ボタン、小枝、皮などなど、パッチワークやアップリケもミシン縫いあれば手縫いもあり、実に自由に作られています。色彩もデザインも素晴らしく近く寄って見ると細部にまで刺繍やアップリケが施されていて、「うかたま」という料理本の表紙やイソップ寓話集の話をモチーフに作られた作品は楽しすぎて笑ってしまいます。すべてに目を奪われましたが特に私は太陽の表現に惹かれました。２０１９年ボローニャ国際絵本原画展で入選なさったのはこのイソップ寓話集です。素晴らしい作品展でした。Because of the recent news about increasing numbers of people infected with coronavirus in Tokyo, a tense atmosphere must be spreading in Tokyo and surrounding areas. Although there are only a few infected people in Shiga, we are able to continue normal life, fortunately. Today, I went to Aisho-cho, near my town to visit an exhibition,”Embroidery and Applique" by MICAO who is an illustrator and embroidery artist living in Kobe. Actually I didn't know about her at all until Ms. N told me but I was very much impressed by her wonderful art works. she uses ready-made cloth, hand-dyed cloth, buttons, small branches, leather, etc. as materials. She also does both machine-sewing and hand-sewing for her patchwork or applique. Everything was done so freely and creatively. The colors and design were wonderful. When I looked closely, I found tiny applique and detailed embroidery which made me amazed. You will see her work on the cover of the monthly cook book named UKATAMA and many children's books such as Aesop stories. They are all beautiful and funny. I was especially fascinated by the suns which are so creative and beautiful. The Aesop book in which she created works which illustrate the story, was awarded the 2019 Bologna International Picture Book Original Painting Exhibition. It was a really amazing exhibition.
３月１９日（木曜日）２０２０
先週は３ヶ月に一度ほど回ってくる町内のお地蔵様のお世話と夜回りの当番でした。多賀大社南側を流れる車戸川沿にある地蔵堂に御仏飯をお供えに行ってみるとちょうど前の石塀の修理中でした。塀の石が崩れ落ちたり傾いたりしていたのを多賀大社がきれいにしているようです。長く続く石塀ですから修理が全部終わるまでは日にちがかかりそうです。石塀がきれいになるのはもちろんいいのですが、一つ残念なのは毎年5月頃この石塀沿いに見られていた山吹が今年は（今後も？）見られないことです。初夏の石塀と山吹と車戸川、あの美しい景色がどうかまた復活することを心から願っています。Last week, I was in charge of taking care of Jizo (the guardian deity of children) and night watch in the neighborhood which comes around roughly every 3 months. When I went to the tiny temple where Jizo is placed for offering rice, I saw a repair site for a stone fence along Kurumado river which runs along the southern side of Taga Taisha (shrine). Tiny Jizo temple is just across the river. I think that it must take many days to finish repairing. Of course it is great for the broken stone fence to be repaired, however I regret that I cannot look at the beautiful Japanese globeflower along the river this year (hope not continuously) because of the repair. I appreciate being able to watch the beautiful yellow Japanese globeflower every early summer. The combination of stone fence, yellow flowers and quiet calm river is so beautiful. I really wish that beautiful scene will come back.
２０１７年多賀大社ホームページより
３月１５日（日曜日）２０２０
多賀町長と町議会議員選挙の投票日でした。5日間選挙戦を戦われた立候補の方々と関係者の皆様のお疲れと結果を待つ緊張感は如何ばかりかと思います。ところで彦根のKさんから琵琶湖で漁れた稚魚のハスと小エビの佃煮をいただきました。Kさんは釣りが何よりもお好きで毎年初夏には小鮎の飴煮をお持ちくださいます。鮎はご自身で釣り上げたものですが、今回のハスと小エビは漁師さんに分けてもらわれたとのこと。どちらも煮付けはKさんです。料理屋さん顔負けの腕前で頂戴できるこちらとしてはただただ有難いです。さて、ハスを調べたところ漢字は魚偏に「時」と書くことが分かりました。ハスはコイ科に属する淡水魚の一種でほかのコイと違うところは魚食性の魚であること。顔が特徴的で口がヘの字形に曲がっています。確かに鮎と比べるとムッと不機嫌そうに頑張ってる顔が何だかユーモラスです。たくさん頂いたので鮭粕汁の脇に付けてお出ししたり、お客様にお裾分けでお持ち帰りいただいたりしました。ご自身では試食程度であまり召し上がらないとおっしゃっていたKさん。お心遣いを皆さんにお分けできたのは何よりでした。季節の湖魚を美味しくいただけるなんて贅沢ですね。It was election day of the mayor and town council in Taga town. I guess the candidates for these positions and their supporters must be so tired after the five-day election campaign and very nervous about the result at this moment. By the way, I received preserved fish (opsariichthys uncirostris) and small shrimp boiled down in soy sauce from Mr. K in Hikone. Fishes and shrimps were caught in Lake Biwa. Mr. K likes fishing and he has brought me boiled sweetfish every year in the early summer but this time he said that he got fish and shrimps from a fisherman. He, however, cooked them himself with the ability of a professional cook. Opsariichthys uncirostris is belongs to the carp family but is a fish-eating fish which is different from other carps and the shape of the mouth turns down at the ends which makes me laugh because it looks as if he is angry with a grumpy face. Since Mr. K gave me a lot, I served them with miso-soup as a side dish or put them in small containers for guests to take home. Because of Mr. K, we are able to appreciate these seasonal lake fish. Thank you so much, Mr. K.
３月１１日（水曜日）２０２０
今年になっていくつか新しい試みをしています。図書館に置いてあったチラシでアコーディオン奏者のcobaさんの公演が6月に愛荘町であるのを知り行きたいと思ったので電話をしたら前売り券はコンビニで購入するのが一番便利であることが分かりました。コンビニでチケット購入？…初めて（やり方が分からない）…だけど、取りあえずコンビニへ。隅っこに見知らぬ赤い券売機らしいものがありました。使い方がわからずレジの女性に事情を話すと親切に機械のところで手順を教えてくれました。チラシにあったLコードを入力すると行きたい公演の案内版になり最後に下から長い紙が出てきました。それをレジに持って行って名前を書き込んでお金を支払ったところで前売り券を受け取ることができました。こんな仕組みになっているのですね。コンビニ（convenience store：便利な店）とはよく言ったものだと使い慣れている人からは数年遅れている私ですが、今更ながら感心している次第です。I am trying to experience several new things since the beginning of this year. I found that there will be a concert in Shiga in June by Coba who is an internationally known accordionist through a flyer at the library and I instantly wanted to go to his concert. When I called the contact number, the person in charge told me that the best way that I could make a ticket reservation was at a convenient store nearby. Do I get a ticket at a convenience store...? I have never done it before, but I headed for the Konbini (convenience store) anyhow. There was a red machine at the corner of the shop and it seemed I can get a ticket there. I asked for help to the person of the shop, and she taught me what to do. After putting an L-cord on the concert flyer and going through some process, a long sheet came out from the machine. After I wrote my name on the sheet and paid the ticket fee to the shop person at the counter, I was able to get the reservation ticket finally. I understand the whole process. Maybe I am an outdated person from the point of view of someone who is up to date in the latest technology, but I am impressed by this way of getting a ticket at Konbini. It really is a "convenience store"!
３月８日（日曜日）２０２０
２、３日前にN.Nさんから大きなキャベツを２個もいただいたので、今日はロールキャベツを作ってみました。いつもは外側の数枚を使ってせいぜい４つぐらいのロールキャベツしか作りませんが、今回は思い切って丸々１個使ってみました。大きな鍋にお湯を沸かして中をくり抜いたキャベツを茹でたのは初めてです。綺麗にキャベツが剥がれて、玉ねぎとニンジンのみじん切りのバター炒めとひき肉とよく混ぜ合わせて味付けしたものを二枚重ねのキャベツにきゅっと巻いて１時間２０分ほど鶏ガラスープで煮て出来上がり。結構な数のロールキャベツになりました。すぐに食べる分以外は少しずつ分けて冷凍室へ。お皿は以前ご近所のK.Oさんから頂いたもの、ブロッコリーはお昼過ぎにはっさくと一緒に彦根のN.Kさんが持ってきてくださったもの。皆さんのご厚意に感謝しながらおいしく晩御飯をいただきました！Ms. N.N kindly gave me two big cabbages a couple days ago, so today I made cabbage roll (ground meat rolled in cabbage leaves). When I make it, I usually use several sheets of cabbage leaves from outside and make about four rolls of cabbage rolls, but this time I decided to use whole cabbage which I hollowed out the core and boiled in a big pot. It was the first time for me to boil a whole cabbage and I found out that it was good for taking out each leaf easily. I sauteed an onion and carrot with butter and mixed with ground beef and pork. After seasoning, i placed some ot the meat mix on the double cabbage leaves, then rolled it tightly. I put all rolls in a pan and boiled them with chicken soup for about one and a half hours. Since I made too many rolls, I divided them into several containers and put them in the freezer. The plate is from Ms. K.O and the broccores are from Ms. N.K. I appreciate their friendship and ate the cabbage roll which was well done！
３月６日（金曜日）２０２０
お天気になりましたが風が強くて寒く感じる1日でした。毎週金曜日の朝は近所に野菜直売所ができて地元の新鮮な野菜が手に入り助かっています。先週がお休みだったので今日は待ちのぞんで楽しみに覗いてみました。二股人参がありました。普通は店頭に出ることはないこうした変形人参も味に違いがあるわけもなく、まして葉っぱがついて安目の値段でありがたい限りです。二股人参が２本も！見ていて想像することは皆同じだと思います。あんまり楽しいのでちょっと遊んでみました。ダイコン足ならずニンジン足のカップルです。It cleared up but it was very windy and made us feel cold today. We have a vegetable stand every Friday morning in my neighborhood from which I am always looking forward to getting fresh local vegetables at a reasonable price. Since last week was not open, I was really excited for the stand. There were interesting carrots with forked roots. Usually you don't see these kinds of roots at the regular supermarket because they are rejected as defective products even though they have no problem with the taste compared to others. I appreciate those carrots because of not only the price but also their leaves. Today, I got TWO forked root carrots! Probably everybody imagines them in the same way. Since they looked so funny, I just played with them by attaching extra things. Here, you see a very nice carrots legs couple!
