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.