Sunday, August 26, 2018



8月26日(日曜日)2018


夕べは多賀町にあるダイニックアストロパーク天究館
( http://www.dynic.co.jp/astro/Sisetu/Sisetu_main.html )に夏の星座を観に行きました。ほぼ満月の月(14夜)を正面に見ながら夜道を娘と二人、約30分急ぎ足で歩くのはちょっとした運動で、ほっとして駐車場に着いてさらなる上り階段を見上げた時はすでに7時半を過ぎていました。後ろから駆け足で追い越していく若い方に思わず「スゴーイ!」と声をかけました。さて、天究館では、あまりの人の多さにびっくり。夏休みでちびっ子たちとその家族で熱気ムンムン。 説明を聞いて、屋上に上がると夜風が爽やかで、大勢の人もいくつもの望遠鏡に 散らばって待ち時間は気になりませんでした。14夜の月はまぶしいほど明るく「月の海」がくっきりと見えました。31cmF9反射望遠鏡で赤く光る火星を見せて下さった観測員の方は火星研究の専門家ということで、6月ごろから砂嵐が起きていること、てっぺんに白く光るものはCO2が凍ったものでH2Oではないことなど教えてくださいました。その他、円盤型の土星や木星、星流群もしっかり見えて大満足。帰りもまた歩きを覚悟していたところ、私達の話しが聞こえたのか車でそこまで送りましょうと声を掛けて下さった近江八幡の方のご親切に甘え、神社近くまで特急で帰り着くことができました。楽しい夏の夜の思い出になりました。I went to Dynic Astro Park in Taga (http://www.dynic.co.jp/astro/Sisetu/Sisetu_main.html ) with my daughter last night to observe the stars. Looking at the nearly full moon ahead of us, we walked together hurriedly toward the Astro Park. We had been walking roughly 30 minutes when we came upon a parking lot, at which point it was already past 7:30. Then we noticed we had to walk another long staircase. At the observatory, the room was full of small children and their parents on summer vacation. After a short presentation, we headed up to the rooftop and separated in groups to different telescopes, so the waiting time was not a problem despite the large number of people. The moon of the 14th day was so bright through the telescope and I could recognize craters clearly. The staff member who showed us red-colored Mars was a researcher specializing in Mars. He explained that there has been a sandstorm on the planet since June, and that the white part on the top is frozen CO2, not water. In addition, we clearly saw Jupiter and Saturn, and a constellation of stars. All stars were so beautiful. After the event, a person from Omihachiman kindly offered us a ride back. It was a pleasant summer's evening.

Wednesday, August 22, 2018



8月22日(水曜日)2018


日曜日に福井に行ったため、ついでに 芦原温泉に一泊し、翌日はもう少し足を伸ばして東尋坊へ観光に出かけました。 福井県は滋賀県のすぐ隣ですが、私は初めてで娘と一緒に 季節外れでしたが美味しいカニと東尋坊の見事な安山岩柱状節理(柱状の岩) を楽しむことができました。温泉宿の近くを歩いていたら、イギリスから帰っている娘がクスッと笑うのでどうしたのかと聞くと、道の向こうのスーパーの名前が「Big Belly」つまり「大きいおなか」で何とも愉快だったようです。 Since I went to Fukui prefecture last Sunday, I stayed over at Awara onsen with my daughter and went a little further to Tojinbo Cape for sightseeing. Fukui is the prefecture next to Shiga, but it was the first visit for me. We enjoyed Echizengani (Echizen crab) and the beautiful andesite columnar joint of Tojinbo. When we were walking near a hot-spring hotel, my daughter who has just come from England a couple days ago gave a little chuckle, so I asked what was the reason. She saw a supermarket sign written "Big Belly". She wanted to show it to her lab mates to make them laugh.




Wednesday, August 15, 2018



8月15日(水曜日)2018


渡辺糀店で仕入れている甘酒が値上がりしましたので、カフェの甘酒も新しい値段になります。
甘酒:350円→400円
お持ち帰り用冷凍甘酒:450円→500円
(渡辺糀店の小売り値段と同じ)
なお、甘酒スムージはこれまでと同じ500円です。 今度ともよろしくお願いいたします。
Since the cost of Amazake (sweet drink made from fermented rice) at Watanabe malted rice shop has risen, we set a new price of Amazake at the cafe.

Amazake :350 yen → 400 yen
Frozen Amazake (500g) for taking home : 450 yen → 500 yen
(the same retail price at Watanabe shop)
Amazake-smoothie is, however, the same price (500 yen) as before. Thank you for your understanding and we look forward to your visit.

Monday, August 13, 2018



8月13日(月曜日)2018


今日は旧の盆入りで、この地域では早朝に皆がお墓にお参りに行きます。 私はお昼前に関東から帰ってくる兄を待って墓参をしました。お盆を前に近くの週一回の野菜市にりっぱなほおずきが出て いたので買い求めました。ほおずき(鬼灯)はナス科ほおずき属の多年草で カガチ、ヌカヅキとも呼ばれるそうです。お盆にほおずきを飾る家が多いのは 赤いほおずきが提灯に見立てられ、故人があの世から帰ってくる道しるべに なるため、または、故人の魂がほおずきの空洞に身を宿して過ごすからと ネットにその理由が書いてありました。なるほどと思います。私はお墓の花には使わずカフェに飾ってみました。おしまいにする時はゴミに出さずに土に埋めて自然に返そうと思います。Today is the first day of Bon. Bon is a ritual to welcome ancestral souls. In my area people visit their ancestor's graves very early morning but I went later than others, before noon with my brother who arrived from Matsudo (near Tokyo). A couple of days ago when a local vegetable stand opened nearby, I saw a beautiful Hoozuki (ground cherry /Chinese lantern plant) there and bought two stalks of them. It is also called Kagachi or Nukazuki in Japan. Many families offer this for their ancestors as a signpost to guide them back to their home from the land of the dead. It is also said that ancestral souls stay within the space inside this fruit during Bon by 16th. These info are from internet and I am convinced by the explanation. I did however decorate Hoozuki in the cafe to appreciate the color and the shape. When it is over, I will bury them in the soil to return them to nature because I feel it is different and special from other flowers.




Thursday, August 9, 2018



8月9日(木曜日)2018


お盆が近いので、正信偈(しょうしんげ)の軸を掛けました。床の間の花とむくげは友人のH.Nさんからです。掛け軸は 佐久間蒼穹(そうきゅう)書とあります。表装もきれいなので恐らく父が購入したものだと思います。正しくは「正信念仏偈」と言うそうで、親鸞聖人の主著「教行信証」の中に含まれている、七字で一行の句120行からなる詩文で、浄土真宗の教えと七高僧の思想とが述べられているとのこと。仏壇の前に家長、その後ろに家族が座り、家長の先導で皆が読誦(どくしょう)するのがかつての家庭の風景でしたが、時代とともにこんな習慣は消えてしまったようです。風に揺れてチリーンと鳴る風鈴をぼんやり眺めながら、抗えない時代の流れを感じます。 Since Obon is coming soon, I picked a hanging scroll with a Buddhism poem. The flowers are from my friend, Ms.H.N. Obon is a time when Buddhists remember people in their family who have died. This calligraphy is written by Sakuma Sookyuu. The mounting is clean so it was probably bought by my father. This poem is called "Shosinge which is very popular in Jodo Shinshu (one of the sect of Buddhism) which Shinran (founder of Jodo Shinshu) wrote to teach Buddhism. It consists of 120 lines (7 letters in each line). The head of the family used to sit in front of a Buddhist altar and other family members would sit behind him and read this poem aloud together, following the head. This custom, however, seems to have disappeared over time. Looking at a wind chime which is making a soft sound with the wind, I think about how we are unable to resist the passage of time.




Tuesday, August 7, 2018



8月7日(火曜日)2018


7月下旬に東京で絵の展示会を見てきたので、遅くなりましたが その報告をします。私の親しくしている友人のご主人、佐藤清勝さんと 佐藤さんの古くからの絵の仲間であり、ご夫婦の友人でもある女優の左時枝 さん、お二人の絵画展が青山の画廊で1週間ほどありました。どちらも過去に 創展で文部科学大臣賞など数々の素晴らしい賞を受けていらっしゃるる素晴ら しい画家です。今回、「花」がテーマでしたが、それぞれの画風はまったく異なり、お二人の内面が開花しているようでした。私には遠い世界ですが絵筆で表現する喜びを持つ人は素晴らしいと思います。At the end of last month I went to Tokyo and visited a painting exhibition. It is a bit late but I would like to report about it. It was held by two painters and one of them is Mr. Kiyokatsu Sato who is my friend's husband and the other one is Ms. Tokie Hidari who is an actress and an old friend of Mr and Mrs. Sato. The exhibition was for a week at Aoyama in Tokyo. Both painters had received many prestigious awards in the past at So-ten (name of art organization) such as the Ministry of Education Award for Fine Arts. This year the theme was "Flowers" and they express their inner world in their different ways. It is very far from my ability but I admire those people who experience joy through expressing themselves with their paintbrush.






Saturday, August 4, 2018



8月4日(土曜日)2018


昨日から多賀大社の三日間の万灯祭が始まりました。昨日はまた、多賀あさひやでは猛暑の中14時から朗読サークル「ひだまりの会」(主宰 北村妙子)多賀教室の発表会が行なわれました。30名のお客様をお迎えして、まさに熱気ムンムンの朗読会でした。中でも途中で観客も参加の 言葉あそびが入り、みなさん一人一人大きく声をだして一生懸命に谷川俊太郎さんのひらがなの詩を一行ずつ読み、開場が大いに盛り上がりました。黙読と違って、文章を理解して声に出して読むのは難しいことですが同時に楽しいものです。朗読会が終って、餅粉ケーキと飲み物とおしゃべりで皆さんゆっくり過ごしてくださいました。From yesterday (8/3), summer festival at Taga Taisha has started for three days. A poetry (or story) reading event was also held at my cafe yesterday. It was an event by Reading Circle "Hidamari no Kai" Taga class and I took part too. We had about thirty guests. There was a heated atmosphere aside from the hot whether. Included in the program was "Kotoba Asobi (word play)" in which the audience participated, where each person read aloud a line of the poem by Shuntaro Tanikawa written in Hiragana and it was so enjoyable. Reading aloud poetry (or a story) is difficult because you need to understand every line of the reading and requires courage which is different from reading silently, but at the same time it is very fun. After the event, both readers and guests enjoyed cake, drink and talking at the cafe.



Wednesday, August 1, 2018



8月1日(水曜日)2018


昨日の夜、彦根の滋賀大学(経済学部)で一圓屋敷の プロジェクト会議があり、終了後9時半ごろ駐車場に向かっていると 夜空に強く光る物体発見。飛行機が飛んでいるのかと 同行の人に聞くと「金星ですよ」と教えてくださいました。(但し専門家ではありません。私は信じましたが真実かどうか確認はとれていません。) 「宵の明星」でしょうか。金星は太陽、月の次に明るく見える星ですが、この夏は特に金星が地球に接近して明るく見えるそうです。また、昨日(7/31)は火星も地球に大接近するとネットに書いてありました。強く光る金星から少し 離れたところにやはり強く輝く星がありましたから、あれが火星だったのでしょう。Kさんの車で多賀に帰る途中、ほぼ正面に低く電燈かと 思うほど大きい月が建物や木々の間から見え隠れしていました。 夏の夜空。暑さを忘れる嬉しい発見でした。Last night we had a project meeting of Ichien yashiki (old Japanese village headman's house) at Shiga University in Hikone. After the meeting at around 9:30 pm when we were walking to the parking lot, I found a thing in the sky which was shining brightly. I thought it was a light of an airplane, so I asked one of the other members if it was true. He told me it was Venus. (He is not an astronomer, though. I haven't comfirmed whether it was truth or not.) Venus, evening star Hesper. Venus is the third brightest planet, due to its proximity to the sun and the moon. According to net info, it comes closer than usual to the earth this year. Apparently Mars also comes very close this summer. I saw another shining star a little distance away from Venus. I think that one must be Mars. When we were heading to Taga by Mr. K's car, the moon often came into our sight between buildings and trees which I thought first was a street light or something similar because it looked very big and reddish. In the night sky it was amazing to view Venus, Mars and moon, which helped me forget this terrible summer heat.