７月１０日（木曜日）２０２５

　半年振りにボストン行きの飛行機に乗りました。オンラインで事前に搭乗手続きや座席指定ができるので助かります。運良く希望の最後列の通路側の席が取れました。飛行機に乗り込むと隣が空席で更にありがたいことでした。

　珍しく雷のために機内で３０分待機があったものの順調な飛行に入りました。いつもなら飛行中は座席前のスクリーンで好きな映画や音楽を楽しむのですが、今回はただただ休みたかったので注文したオレンジユースにウオッカを入れて喉を潤し、後は落語を２つ聞いて食事もちょっと箸をつけただけで眠る体制へ。といっても機内で眠ることができない私は目を閉じているという感じです。

　５時間ほどして洗面所に立った際に後ろのドア付近のスペースでストレッチをしていると、客室乗務員の方が「『竹踏み』がありますよ」と話しかけて下さったのでびっくり！昔は『竹踏み』の搭載などありませんでした。これは乗務員の発案か又は乗客の希望が採用されたのか、いずれにしても驚きの事実を知りました。もちろん、せっかくなので取り出して下さった『竹踏み』をしばらく使って元気回復をしました。


I got on a plane from Narita to Boston for the first time in six months. It became very helpful for me to check in and to choose the seat online beforehand. Fortunately I was able to get my favorite seat which was an aisle and the last row seat. On top of that, when I took the seat, no one came to the seat next to me, so I was very comfortable during the flight.

Although we had to wait for about thirty minutes in the cabin before the plane took off because of the thunder, it was a smooth flight. Usually I enjoy inflight music and movies but this time I ate very little for dinner and listened to the audio for very little time, and rested because I was so tired and wanted to rest early. Although I could not sleep during the flight, I just kept closing my eyes.

When it had been about five hours since the plane took off, I was stretching myself in the space near the back door, and one of the cabin attendants told me that there was a bamboo foot-massaging board. I was very surprised because I never expected they had such a thing on the plane. There was a time when I was working at the airline company as a cabin crew, at that time there was no such a thing on the plane. I don't know if it was because of the cabin attendant's idea or passengers' wish, but now I know that they carry bamboo foot-massaging board. Of course I appreciated the board and used it to relax my feet.

７月６日（日曜日）２０２５
　酷暑の中を尼崎からバイクで久しぶりにおいでくださったNさん。城跡を訪ねるのが趣味で既に４００以上行かれたそうです。最初にカフェに来られたのも多賀の山奥の城跡を訪ねた帰りだったと記憶しています。今日も久徳城跡と敏満寺の城跡を見てきたとのこと。久徳城跡は私も知っていますが、敏満寺は初耳。伺うとサービスエリア内に土が高く盛り上がっているところが城跡だと写真を見せてくださいました。

　大きな体のNさんは、本業の車の修理のほかに電気も塗装も何でもできるかなりの腕利き。楽しいお話をいっぱい伺いました。

　Nさんから尼崎の美味しい和菓子と素敵なキャンドルを２つお土産に頂きました。このキャンドルはお友達の山口いずみさんがお作りになったものだそうで、izumi candle handmadeと書いてありました。このところ忙しいこともあってたいていシャワーで済ませていましたが、今夜は久しぶりにろうそく風呂に決めました。いずみキャンドルのラベンダー・レモングラスの爽やかな香りが浴室に漂い心ゆくまでリラックスできました。

In the terrible heat, Mr. N came to my cafe by his motorbike from Amagasaki near Osaka. His hobby is visiting Japanese castle ruins and he has already visited more than 400 places. I remember that his first visit to my cafe was when he went to a Japanese castle which is on the mountain side in Taga.

According to him, Mr. N is a great man because he is a car mechanic but he can do electrical work and painter's work as well. I heard many interesting things from him.

Mr. N brought delicious Japanese sweets from Amagasaki and two candles for me which were made by Izumi Yamaguchi who is an actress and his friend. I found a little card named Izumi candle homemade on it. I decided to place one of them in my bathroom and light it. I often enjoy this by naming it "Candle Bath". It carried the scent of lemongrass and lavender and I enjoyed the bath and relaxed very much.

７月４日（金曜日）２０２５　
　ワンちゃんのトリミングを待つ間、一息入れに来てくださったN様。お土産に涼しげなお花をいただきました。水の吸い上げが難しいらしく濡れた新聞紙に包み更に氷水に入れて頂いたので、私も花瓶に氷をたくさんいれてガラスの花瓶に挿しました。名前を伺いその後のお客様にも紹介していたのに、ブログを書こうと思ったら、果て名前が思い出せません。確かお化粧の音が入っていたとネットで「薄化粧？」「墨化粧？」などと打ち込んでも出てきません。挙句に植物に詳しい友人に写真をとって教えてもらおうと送信した直後に思い出しました！これは「半夏生（はんげしょう）」です。

　半夏生とは節分や土用などの暦日だそうで、夏至（6/21)から数えて１１日目を言うとのこと。その頃に花をつけるからこの名前がついたそうです。ネットではこの頃に関西ではタコを食べる風習があると解説にありました。上の方の葉が白くなって見るからに涼感が漂います。短い梅雨があっという間に明けた途端、猛暑がやってきました。こんな涼しげな植物がそばにあるだけで、ほっとした気持ちになれます。

Ms.N came to the cafe to have a cup of coffee while she was waiting for her dog's trimming to be finished. She brought a bunch of white flowers with leaves, the tops of which were white. They were wrapped with soaked newspaper and put in iced water in order to absorb the water well, so I put a lot of ice in the vase and put the flowers in it. Ms. N taught me the name of the flower and I told it to other customers but when I was about to write it on SNS, I couldn't remember the name. I decided to take a photo of it and send it to my friend to ask the name. I was just about to send it, and I remembered the name. It was Hangeshoh (Saururus chinensis)!

The name of Hangeshoh came from the classic Japanese calendar Hangeshoh and it is the 11th day after the summer solstice. This flower opens just around the day and that is the reason it is called Hangeshoh. Some people in the Kansai area eat octopus in this season as a local custom.

Only the top leaves turn to white and it looks cool during the hot summer season. I heard that it is used for tea ceremonies. In Japan, the hot and humid summer has just begun. It is very nice to put these flowers which look cool.

７月２日（水曜日）２０２５
　小学校高学年の読み聞かせで今日の私の担当は５年生。男の子は元気いっぱいで女の子はおとなし目（落ち着いているといった方がいいのか）。図書館から借りた１３冊ほどの中から迷った末にえらんだのは日本昔話の「さんまいのおふだ」もう少し思想性のある本がいいかとも思いましたが、ほかにこれという本がなかったのと「さんまい〜」はテンポがあって面白いので選びました。

　さんまいのおふだといっても本によって話の展開が微妙に違っています。金井田英津子さんの版画絵が気に入りましたが、怖い鬼婆を機転をきかせた和尚さんが豆粒みたいに小さくして餅にはさんで食べてしまうというもう一冊の結末が愉快なので、こちらを選びました。はじめ端の方にもたれ掛かっていた男子生徒達も話が始まると中によってきて集中して聞いてくれました。

　終わって時間がまだあったので、子供達に「もし願いが叶うおふだがあったら何を願う？」と聞いてみました。「----がほしい！」「ペットの犬が飼いたい」など子供らしい答えが聞かれたかと思うと、考えてなかなか言えない子も。先生にも聞いてみました。横の机で子供達のノートをチェックしていた男の先生は「休みがほしいです」と。お疲れ気味の先生。同情に余りある切実な願いでした。

I went to local elementary school to give storytelling. On that day, I was in charge of fifth graders where boys were very active and girls were a little bit quiet. The book I chose among 13 books from a local library was " The Three Charms" which was from a Japanese folk tale.

There are several versions of the story. I liked the book in which pictures were the woodblock print but the ending was scary so I chose the other one for which the ending was much milder and funny. Some boys who were leaning against the wall when I started reading came much closer and concentrated on listening.

Since there were a few minutes left after my reading, I asked children what they would like to wish for if they had such charm. Some kid said what he wants to have, and a female kid said she wants to have a dog for her pet while some children kept thinking and couldn't say anything. I also asked their male teacher who was checking children's notebooks. He said that he wanted to have a rest. He looked tired. Oh, poor teacher! Indeed it was his sincere wish from his hard working life.

７月１日（火曜日）２０２５
　先日の福岡行きに続いて今回は宮崎への一泊弾丸ツアーを決行しました。宮崎を訪れるのは初めてで上手く辿り着けるかと不安もありましたが、空港で昔の仲間のTちゃんに出迎えてもらって先ずは一安心。ご主人の運転で最初に向かったのはごぼう天が評判といううどん屋さん。大きなごぼう天が2枚もうどんに突き刺さって満点のお味！

　日南海岸を少し進むと「鬼の洗濯板」と言われる珍しいそして風光明媚な海岸が広い水平線を背景に続いていました。白いはまゆうも初めて見る花でした。車が到着したところは鵜戸神宮。朱塗りの門をくぐって断崖を下りていくと洞窟の中に神社がありました。神武天皇のお祖母様の豊玉姫がこの洞窟で出産されたことから、ここは安産の神様となっているそうです。北陸の東尋坊などとは岩肌がまったく違うけれども日向灘の白い波飛沫で削られた大きな岩と青々とした海原の眺めは絶景でした。

　夜は宮崎地鶏の焼き鳥屋でご馳走になり、地酒で舌鼓を打ちました。あとは、Tちゃんとお喋りばかり。途中に出していただいた「あくまき」という南九州の伝統的な餅菓子は、親戚の方の手作りで、餅米を灰汁（あく）に浸し竹の皮に包んで煮るという見ただけでその大変な工程が想像でき、Tちゃんのご親戚の方への感謝の気持ちが素朴な味に加味されて美味しくいただきました。

　Tちゃんの近況にうなずき拍手を送っている間にあっという間に帰る時間が来てしまい、お名残惜しい宮崎訪問になりましたが、前回の福岡も今回の宮崎もどちらも私の図々しい突撃を温かく受け入れて下さった二人の友人とそれぞれのご主人にお返しできないほどの感謝の気持ちでいっぱいです。

Continuing the trip to Fukuoka, I flew to Miyazaki this time. It was the first time for me to visit Miyazaki, so I was a little bit worried about whether I could reach there. When I saw my old friend, T, at Miyazaki airport who came to see me, I was relieved indeed. Then she and her husband took me to a noodle shop which has a special menu of Gobo-ten (deep-fried Burdock Root) with noodles. It was really good.

When we were driving a little more along the Nichinan coastline, we saw a very interesting formation of undulating rocks which is known as the Devil's Washboard. It had a beautiful coastline and the sea. The white crinum flowers were opening. We visited Udo shrine. Upon going through the red gate and stepping down the way carefully, there was a shrine which was built in the rock cavern. We enjoyed the scenic view of the cliff facing the Sea of Hyuga.

T and her husband took me to the grilled chicken restaurant downtown. I enjoyed talking with T. Next day, she served homemade local mochi-cake which her relatives made. It was so good.

The time passed so quickly and both of us felt sad to part. T sent me off at the airport and I left Miyazaki.
I visited Fukuoka and Miyazaki within a month. I thank both K and T who warmly welcomed and gave me nice hospitality. I am also grateful to their husbands who were very nice to me. I can't thank them enough.

６月２４日（火曜日）２０２５

　かつてウェルズリー大学で日本語を教えたXさんから結婚式の招待状が届いたのは数ヶ月前。今はNYで金融関係の仕事をしているようですが、お相手の男性もまたNY在住。ところが結婚式は京都嵐山にある宝厳院という臨済宗のお寺で挙げるとのこと。送られてくる案内からも彼女が長い間かかって綿密に計画した結婚式であることが伺われました。
　結婚式に参加する服装は参加者の国の文化的な装い或いは和装でとのことでしたが、当日は雨の予報で私は悪いと思いつつ洋装で参加しました。宝厳院の門から本堂までは雨ながらも緑が美しく鶯が鳴いて心が洗われるようでした。式に参列したのは日本人より外国の方が多かったこと、そして男女とも和装が多かったのに驚かされました。仏前での結婚式に参列するのは初めてでとても興味深かったです。式が終わった頃には雨が止んで外で記念撮影ができたのは幸いでした。かつて教えた懐かしい学生や大学の卒業生に会えたこと、新婦の仕事関係や友人たちと話せたのも楽しかったです。

　その後、天龍寺内の料理店でいただいたのは立派な精進料理。驚くほどの品数、蓮根・豆腐・胡麻・芋・百合根等々、味覚・視覚全てに工夫を凝らした純然たる日本料理ながら周りで話されているのはほぼ英語というなかなか珍しい光景でした。夜は場所を変えての披露宴。さぞかし華やかな雰囲気になるだろうと思いながら私は失礼して帰ってきました。

　英語、中国語、日本語を流暢に話す才媛のXさん。相手に合わせて彼女が造った記念品の焼き物。いくつかの言語で表記された式次第。裏には二人に関係する言葉を当てはめるクロスワードクイズまで用意するという力の入れよう。Xさんは小柄ながら世界のマラソンに参加し、学者の道を歩いてきたご主人との出会いもあったとか。仏前で二人を結びつけた御住職の言葉通り「雨降って地固まる」。海を越えて京都の禅寺で式を挙げた二人に幸あれと願います。

I received an invitation of the wedding ceremony a few months ago from X whom I taught Japanese language to when I was teaching at W. College. She is now working in finance in New York and her partner is also in NY but they were planning to get married at a buddhist temple in Kyoto. I attended the other day.

There was a dress code in the invitation in which people were supposed to wear national costume or kimono.
However the weather forecast said it was a rainy day. Since wearing a formal kimono in the rain was too hard for me, I decided to attend in a dress. I arrived at the nearest station and took a taxi to the temple at around 9:30 a.m.. Although it was raining heavily , the path from the gate to the main hall of the temple was so beautiful surrounding deep fresh green and I could hear Japanese nightingale singing. I felt soothed by that. I was surprised at the number of the guests because more than half were foreigners and many people who were both male and female were wearing Kimono. It was the first time for me to attend a Buddhist wedding at the temple and it was very interesting. When the ceremony was over, the rain was up and it was nice for the couple, family and friends to take commemorative photos in the beautiful outside. I also enjoyed talking with my students and other graduates.

Then we moved to another place on foot where we ate wonderful Buddhist vegetarian cuisine. Lotus, soybean, sesame, several kinds of potatoes, lily bulb and other vegetables were used in various dishes. They were so good! I felt funny because the dishes were all traditional Japanese but most of the guests were talking in English. The celebration continued to the evening party in a different place, but I was exhausted and left early.

X is a brilliant woman who is fluent in English, Chinese and Japanese. She made pottery gifts by herself for the guests. She prepared a program for the ceremony in three languages. The couple also prepared a crossword quiz related to them which was very thoughtful. X runs marathon races in many countries and her husband also loves running. After the rain comes fair weather (in Japanese "After rain, the ground hardens."）　
Best wishes for X and A's marriage!

６月２１日（土曜日）２０２５
　木曜から金曜にかけて福岡に行ってきました。西の方角に旅することが殆どない私は、大阪と福岡の土地柄と人柄の違いをそれぞれの空港で感じて物珍しさもあって楽しみました。
　突然の無謀な訪問にも関わらず温かく迎えてくれた大学時代の友人。前回会ったのがいつか記憶が曖昧ですが、２０年ちかく前のような気がしています。卒業後まもなく結婚したKちゃん。開業医である御主人を支え、六人を出産、子育ても見事に終わり皆立派に社会人になり悠々自適の今日、４つもの楽器を習い、毎週末のご主人とのゴルフ、教会の仕事、近くに住む孫の世話と、１週間が隙間なく埋まってしまう日常。想像しただけでも忙しそうなKちゃんの毎日ですが、その誠実で一生懸命な人柄と気遣いの姿は学生時代と少しも変わっていませんでした。互いの近況を話し、笑い転げ、美味しい中華をご馳走になり帰途につきました。前日に出たのに何日も旅に出ていたような錯覚をするぐらいいつもとは違う楽しい経験でした。

I went to Fukuoka from Thursday to Friday of last week. I often travel to the east of Japan but not to the west, so it was interesting for me to see the difference in the local color and people's character between Ohsaka and Fukuoka although it was only in the airport.

It was a spontaneous decision for me to visit my college friend, K in Fukuoka, but she warmly welcomed me. I haven't seen her for nearly twenty years. K got married to a practicing doctor soon after we graduated from college. She has been supporting him and had six children and raised them. Now they have all grown up and left their home. She is having a peaceful life with her husband who has reduced his work as a doctor now. She is now taking four music lessons which are piano, guitar, recorder and ocarina and every Sunday, she is playing golf with her husband and two others. She also takes care of her grandchildren every Wednesday who are living near her house with her daughter. I can easily imagine how busy she is. Her lifestyle has changed very much from the day when we were college students but she hasn't changed her personality, which is a sincere, hard working person and very warm. We talked and laughed a lot. She took me to a very nice Chinese restaurant for dinner. It was a really good time.
Early afternoon, she sent me off at the nearest station and I made my way home. I appreciated what she did for me. I left my home only a day, but I felt as if I was away for several days. I enjoyed this short trip very much.