Wednesday, May 31, 2017

5月31日(水曜日) 2017
最近、庭をよくみています。T.Kさんが時々カフェに来て庭木のことを教えて下さいます。ツツジは根元をきれいにすること、花が終ったら混んでいる枝を整理して風を通した方がいい等々。一昨日、紅葉の葉が茂り過ぎて庭石が見えなくなっているので剪定に来てくださいました。ほかに梅の木やちぢみ樫も余分な枝を取って下さり、お蔭で見違える程庭が美しくなりました。These days, I am more interested in looking at my garden. Mr. T.K comes to the cafe and often gives me some advice about the greens in my garden. He has a lot of knowledge about them. He told me that I should clean near the root of the azalea and cut crowded branches after the flowers bloomed to let them get more air inside etc. The day before yesterday, he came to trim maple branches (red leaves tree) which had grown too much and covered the garden stones which is not a good view. He trimmed other trees such as plum tree and oak tree as well. You can compare the garden before and after and will be amazed at how wonderful it looks.



Friday, May 26, 2017

5月26日(金曜日) 2017

見事な芍薬(しゃくやく)をいただきました。丁度、シャクヤクの絵の壷が家にあったのでそれに入れました。壷には「峰山」と書いてあります。紅色の艶やかな大きな花。一重と八重の二種類です。シャクヤクは美人の象徴と言われます。本当にハッとするような美しさです。Ms. S.K brought beautiful peony flowers from her garden for me. I found a perfect vase for them which had peony drawings on it. There is a name of the painter, Houzan on the vase. They are glamorous, pinkish flowers. One is single-petaled and the other one is a multi-layered flower. Peony is a symbol of beauty. Indeed they are gorgeous enough to grasp one's heart.


Thursday, May 25, 2017

5月25日(木曜日)2017
夕べは激しい雨脚で目が覚めました。朝は少しゆるやかになり、午後は晴れのお天気。雨の日は洗濯物が外に干せないし、外出は億劫になるしと憂鬱なことも多いけど、私は雨の楽しみ方を知っています。座敷から庭を眺めると雨に当たる石が美しくていつまでも見入ってしまいます。 石は雨を受けて光り、適度に水を吸収し、それぞれの表情を持ち、見ていて飽きません。ちょっと気取って言うと雨に濡れる石は哲学的です。 石の言葉に静かに耳を傾けていると、ストレスが少し和らぎ落ち着きを取り戻します。I was woken up by the sound of heavy rain last night. It came down in the morning and cleared up in the afternoon. There are many depressing things on a rainy day such as not being able to dry clothes outside, It's troublesome to go out, etc. However I know the way to enjoy the rainy day. When I look at the garden, there are many stones in the rain and I gaze at them intently because they are very different from the ones on a sunny day. Stones shine upon receiving the rain drops, they absorb the water properly, and each one differently in its own way, expressing individuality. I am never tired of looking at them. Stones in the rain are just philosophical. When I listen to the voice from the stones silently, I feel at ease and am able to regain peace of mind.




Monday, May 22, 2017

5月22日(月曜日)2017 
私をよく知る人はそそっかしい人間であることをご存知ですが、昨日はそれが多発で恥ずかしい思いをすると同時に自身の行動に充分気をつけなければと思いました。まず、のれんを反対に掛けていたこと。(これは既に2度経験。)次はお客様から能イベントの切符2枚分5000円を頂いているのに1万円札と勘違いして五千円のおつりを出しそうになったこと。3番目はスムージーの注文を聞いて甘酒を冷蔵庫から出そうと探したけど庫内になく困ってふと調理台を見ると既にそこに甘酒が出してあったこと。この3つはほぼ連続して起こりました。頭をすっきりさせなければと夕べは早目にベッドに入りました。Some people who know me well have already noticed that I can be careless sometimes. Yesterday that was revealed many times. I was so embarrassed and felt that I have to pay much more attention to my actions. First, I was hanging Asahiya's shop curtain the opposite way. (Actually, I did this two times in the past.) Next, I received 5,000 yen for the payment of two tickets of Noh event, but I misunderstood that I received 10,000 yen and I was about to turn 5,000 yen back to the customer. Third, when I received an order for the Amazake smoothie, I looked for Amazake (sweet sake made from fermented rice) in my refrigerator. I went into a panic because I couldn't find it. I thought "oh no, I can not make Amazake smoothie without Amazake!". Then I looked at the kitchen table. Amazake was right there. These three misunderstandings happened almost in a row. Last night I went to bed early to rest my brain.

鵜澤 久 (Hisa Uzawa) & 鵜澤 光 (Hikaru Uzawa):
久田 舜一郎 (Shunichiro Hisada) :



Monday, May 15, 2017

5月15日(月曜日)2017

6月18日(日曜日)に「多賀あさひや」で「門前町初夏の謡(うたい)、仕舞そして小鼓」のイベントを行ないます。お能?知らないなあ…難しそう…と思う方も多いかもしれません。でも大丈夫。私もその一人ですが、最初に謡や仕舞や小鼓のことを分かり易く教えていただき、それから鑑賞へと移行します。正式な能は能舞台で鑑賞しますが、今回は古民家で庭から初夏の風を受け、演者との距離がグッと短いところで日本の古典芸能を楽しんでいただけます。是非おいで下さい!On Sunday Jun 18th at Taga Asahiya, we will organize the event "Noh chanting, dance and a small hand drum in early summer at the shrine town". Many people might think, "Noh? I don't know much about it. It sounds difficult." Don't worry. I used to think that way, therefore I asked some Noh masters to teach us about Noh chanting, Noh dance and a small hand drum before the performance. You also will have a chance to try them out! We appreciate formal Noh performances on the Noh stage, but this time, it is a very nice chance to enjoy Japanese classical music in front of the players while taking in the early summer wind from the garden in a traditional Japanese old house. Hope you can come!



能楽師の方々のご紹介は以下のリンクで詳しくご覧いただけます。You could see Noh players' profiles and activities at the following links. 

Thursday, May 11, 2017

5月11日(木曜日) 2017
久しぶりの多賀大社。古木の紅葉のあざやかな緑に圧倒されて思わずシャッターを下ろしました。この間は山吹の鉢植えだった太閤橋前は、今度は菖蒲で半分ほど花を咲かせていました。午前7時すぎでしたが、境内はすでにきれいに掃き掃除が終っていました。It's been a while since I last visited Taga-taisha (shrine). I was amazed by the fresh green of the old maple tree and took a photo of it. The other day I could see many Japanese rosea pots in front of Taikoo-bashi (arched bridge), but now there are irises instead and half of them are opening. It was just after 7 in the morning when I visited, but by that time the shrine had already been cleaned.





Friday, May 5, 2017

5月5日(金曜日)2017
からりと晴れ上がった今日は端午の節句。ご近所のお菓子屋さんから我が家の武者人形のお供えにと柏餅をいただきました。「端午の節句に柏餅」その由来をネットで調べてみました。古代より柏の葉は神様へのお供え物をもる為の器として使われていたことから柏の木は神聖なものとされていました。また柏は冬を越えて新芽が出るまで古い葉が落ちない特性から子孫繁栄の意味が込められるようになったそうです。つまり柏餅は縁起の良い食べ物で武家だけでなく庶民の間でも端午の節句の食べ物として定着したとのことです。Today was Children's Day, and it was clear and sunny. The origin of Children's day is Boy's festival. Early in the morning, my neighbour who runs a sweets shop came to bring Kashiwa-mochi for offering to the warrior dolls in the guest room. What a lovely gift ! I humbly received those traditional Japanese sweets from them. Kashiwa-mochi is a rice cake wrapped in a Japanese Emperor Oak leaf (different kind oak from the US) and it is traditionally eaten on Children's day. People in the old days thought that the oak tree is a sacred tree, and its leaves can be used for making offerings. The oak does not lose its old leaf until a sprout appears over the winter, so it was symbol of prosperity of descendants. Therefore Kashiwa-mochi is a food for good luck and it became popular as a sweet for Boy's festival not only among the samurai class but also among the common people.






Monday, May 1, 2017

5月1日(月曜日)2017 


家にあった5月人形が半世紀以上経ってお目見えです。座敷の床の間が一段と立派になりました美しいお顔の凛々しい人形。白馬も立派です。人形の鎧や兜も傷むことなく保存できていたのは驚きです。たくさんの方に見ていただきたいです。Dolls for the Boy's Festival from the storage room appeared after more than a half century. The alcove in the guest room looks bright and virtuous with these dolls. They are so beautiful and gallant young warriors. The white horse is also gorgeous. It is remarkable that those armor and helmets have been preserved in excellent condition even now. I would like many people to come to look at these wonderful dolls.