１０月２８日（日曜日）２０１８


滋賀県には「じゅんじゅん」という鍋料理があることを、私はごく最近まで 知りませんでした。「じゅんじゅん」は「すき焼き」と同じと考え てよいと思います。主役は牛肉、かしわ（鶏肉）、うなぎ、琵琶湖産のいさざ、鴨など。私の家では「じゅんじゅん」とは言わず「すき焼き」と言っていましたが、鍋奉行は父で、「わりした」と呼ばれる「だし」は使わず、肉を焼いて砂糖、酒、醤油だけで味付けをしていました。昨日は「かしわのじゅんじゅん」を仲間でいただきました。かしわの他に、ネギ、玉ネギ、丁字麩、焼き豆腐、キノコ（３種）、赤こんにゃくを入れました。思いのほかあっさりとした味で、新米の炊きたてご飯もとても美味しかったです。In Shiga there is a hot pot cooking called "Jyun-jyun" and I didn't know this name until recently. I think that "Jyun-jyun" is almost the same as "Sukiyaki". The main of the hot pot changes such as Omi beef, chicken, eel, Isaza (small fish hatched in Lake Biwa) or duck. My family was not saying "Jyun-jyun" but "Sukiyaki" instead. My father was the person in charge of the hot-pot and he didn't use Warishita (sukiyaki stock) but only used sugar, sake and soy sauce. Yesterday, I ate Chicken Jyun-jyun with my friends. In the pot, we put chicken, green onions, onion, Fu (bread-like pieces of wheat gluten), grilled tofu, three kinds of mushroom, and Konnyaku (jelly made from Konnyaku yam routs). It was so good and the taste was lighter than I expected and we also enjoyed new crop steamed rice.

１０月２３日（火曜日）２０１８


晴天の昨日、布団を外に干した後、家の中へ入ろうと裏口のガラスドアにふと目をやると大きなカマキリがそこに。長さ１０センチほどの細長い体にこれまた細長い脚が四方に出てガラスにくっついていました。三角の頭からは触覚が２本伸びていて、前で折り重なるようにギザギザのカマ（前肢）がありました。別名「オガミムシ」とも言うそうです。カマキリは肉食で、生きた獲物をこのギザギザのカマで素早く捕まえてその場で食べてしまうというかなり凶暴な昆虫です。どこから来たのか、買い物から帰ってきた時はもう姿はありませんでした。Yesterday which was a clear fine day, after having taken out a futon for drying I was about to come inside the house, when a big praying mantis caught my attention on the glass door of the back entrance. It was about 10 cm (3.9 in.) length with four slender legs and sickles (forefeet) which were folded and zigzag-shaped on one side. Because of these crossing forefeet, it was named "praying mantis". Contrary to the name, it is a carnivore and rather ferocious insect that can catch live pray quickly with the sickles and eat it there. I didn't know where it came from but when I came back home from the grocery store, it had already gone.

１０月２１日（日曜日）２０１８


秋晴れの一日。多賀の町は「ふるさと楽市」で賑わいました。 今年で１３回目だそうですが、私は去年から二度目の参加です。 主に多賀に住む人が物品、飲食、野菜などの販売や展示などをします。 多賀大社前駅から多賀大社までの絵馬通りに５０以上 のテントや出店が並びました。午前１０時開始でしたが、それよりも前に 多くの人が集まり人でごった返すほどの盛況ぶり。我が「多賀あさひや」 もカフェの営業のほかに餅粉ケーキを店頭で販売し、行き交う人に買って いただきました。年に一度のこのイベント。かなりの盛り上がりを見せました。It was a clear fine autumn day. There was a "Furusato rakuichi (lit. Hometown Market)" event in Taga and the main street was crowded with people. This is the 13th year it has been held but this was the second time for me to participate. Mainly people in Taga area were selling or exhibiting their goods, food or vegetables by themselves. There were more than 50 tents or stands along the street from the station to Taga taisha (shrine). Officially it should have started at 10 am, but many people gathered much earlier than that and everywhere was crowded with so many people. We were selling "Mochiko cake" at the door beside the cafe. It was so lively and successful in this annual local event.

１０月２０日（土曜日）２０１８


今年、２月に皆さんと一緒に作った自家製味噌が食べられる時期と なりました。私には初挑戦の味噌作り（２月１０日ブログ参照）、裏の小屋に封をして寝かせて おいた壷を出して、胸が高鳴る中、お手伝いいただいて いるS.Kさんと一緒に中を開けてみました。白っぽかった酒粕の蓋の色も 飴色になり、その下にきれいに出来上がった味噌を見た時の嬉しさは 格別です。大豆と塩と糀だけで添加物が一切入っていない自家製の味噌の味は 最高です。We made homemade miso (fermented soybean paste) at the cafe in February this year (cf. Feb. 10 blog), and we believed it should be ready by now. This is the first time I challenged myself to make miso on my own. I put it in a storage shed in the back for about seven months to let it ferment and now is a good time to take it out. I asked Ms. S.K who is always helpful, to assist and together we opened the container of miso. The color of the cover of Sake Kasu (the left over bits from the sake making process) was a brown color which had been whitish at first in February and it was a wonderful moment when I was able to see a beautiful light brown miso underneath it. It is perfect homemade miso which contains no additives, only soybean, salt and malted rice. Needless to say, it has a great taste!

１０月１８日（木曜日）２０１８


先日、スケッチ画家の松居清恵さんがスケッチのお仲間大勢とカフェに 来てくださり、離れでコーヒーとおしゃべりでゆっくり過ごしてくださいました。お仲間の一人「名古屋かこう会」の副会長の井出のりこさんが、カフェにいらっしゃる前に外でお描きになったスケッチをご自身のFacebookにお載せになったそうで、それを松居さんが私に送ってくださいましたので、ご紹介します。 普段あまり気づかない電柱が存在感を発揮していて新鮮です。松居さんによると、来月は名古屋から数十名の方が彦根へスケッチにいらっしゃるそうです。 スケッチを通して他府県との交流、なかなか素敵だと思います。The other day, a sketch artist, Mr. Kiyoshige Matsui came to the cafe with his sketch group and had a relaxing time with coffee and chatting at the annex room. One of the group members, Ms. Noriko Ide who is the vice president of "Nagoya Sketch Club" drew a sketch of the front area of the cafe just as she arrived. She put it on her facebook, and Mr. Matsui sent it to me. It is a wonderful sketch, so I would like to share it here. On her sketch, I like the three telephone poles which I usually do not pay much attention to. They are existing lively here. According to Mr. Matsui, a big sketch group from Nagoya will come to Hikone next month for drawing. It is very nice to have cultural interactions with other cities through sketching.

１０月１４日（日曜日）２０１８


彦根市野田山町にお住まいの風景写真家、中村憲一（のりかず）さんが 多賀町を流れる芹川上流の秋の写真をお持ちくださり、期間限定で カフェの蔵に飾らせていただいています。見事な紅葉と山から流れ落ちる 川のしぶき。静かな山間（やまあい）のいっときの艶やかな秋の風景が楽しめます。普段は色の少ないひっそりした蔵ですが、中村さんの写真で蔵の家具や柱たちが嬉しそうに感じられます。どうぞ観にいらして下さい。A landscape photographer, Mr. Norikazu Nakamura, who is living in Nodayama in Hikone brought his beautiful work which depicts the fall scenery of the upper stream of Serigawa (Seri-river) which runs through Taga. It is a picture of gorgeous autumn foliage and the stream which is making a big splash in the mountain valley. We display it in the cafe during the fall season. It is on the wall in the warehouse portion of the cafe which is typically monochromatic and quiet but because of this gorgeous picture, the furniture and pillars come alive and it is almost as if they are having a pleasant time. Wishing you will come and appreciate this photo in the cafe.

１０月１１日（木曜日）２０１８


アメリカから日本に来ている友人夫妻が日帰りで多賀に来てくれたので 曇り空の午後、一緒に甲良町の西明寺（さいみょうじ）を訪れました。 天台宗の西明寺http://www.saimyouji.com/は湖東三山の一つに数えられ、本堂と三重塔は国宝の指定を受ける堂々とした立派なお寺です。名神高速道路と国道３０７号線が入口付近を通り、その騒音に正直驚きましたが、参道中腹からはうっそうと茂る緑の木立とその下に広がる一面の苔の美しさにいつの間にか騒音は耳に入らなくなっていました。紅葉は少し始まっていましたが、本格的なのは１１月半ばとのこと。さぞかし見事な絵模様であろうと思いつつ、訪れる観光客は私達以外にいない静かなお庭を散策できたのは至福の時間でした。A couple from the US who are my friends and currently in Japan, took a day trip to Taga yesterday, so we visited Saimyouji in Koora in the afternoon although it was not perfect weather. Saimyouji http://www.saimyouji.com/ (temple which belongs to the Japan Tendai sect of Buddhism) is one of the "Kotoo Sanzan (three temples in the east of Lake Biwa) ". The Main Hall and Three-story Pagoda of the temple, built in Kamakura period (1185-1333) are designated National Treasures and they are standing in a massive structure. At first I was bothered by the noise of the highway and Rt 307, but while I was walking along the path towards the temple where thick and dense trees are on both sides and covered with deep green moss under the trees, I was amazed by the beautiful greenish scene and forgot about the noise. Some maple leaves have started to change color, but we have to wait until the middle of November to appreciate the autumn foliage. It must be gorgeous when you visit then. We, however, were able to enjoy walking through the beautiful Japanese garden where there were no tourists around except us.

１０月１０日（水曜日）２０１８


一昨日、彦根ゴーストツアーのグループ１９名様がうちでお昼ご飯を 召し上がってくださいました。去年に続き二度目の来店です。」 このツアーは一般の観光とは趣向が違います。 「空（くう）の旅人舎」が企画したもので「目に見えないモノを見ることが できるかもしれない旅をしませんか？現世（うつしよ）と幽世（かくりょ）の狭間、湖東、湖北の伝承をおいかけ文化遺産を巡るTourに出かけませんか？」と 紹介がある通り、湖東の９カ所を訪ねて、それぞれの地で同行の学者や専門家の話また講談師による講談を聞いたりと、地域に住む者さえ知らないその歴史や いわれが分かる密度の濃い旅行です。今回多賀への立ち寄りは多賀大社が江戸時代以前は「多賀社」と呼ばれ、森の名は「神明の森」別名を「遊行の森」と呼ばれたそうで、その所以を知るためです。ちらしに天狗の絵が描かれているところからも、今回のツアーは各地の天狗にまつわる話しを知るもので大いに興味をそそられます。同じ多賀来訪でも去年と今年ではテーマが異なるため遠くから毎年常連の方が参加なさっていて、私も一年ぶりにお顔をお見かけする方が何人もいらっしゃいました。腕を振ったランチの写真を 撮るつもりが、慌ただしくグループをお迎えした為、その時間がなく残念ですが、お客様はほぼ全員がお代わりそして完食でとても喜んでくださったのが何とも嬉しく励みになりました。The day before yesterday, a group called "The Ghost Tour" consisting of 19 people came and had lunch at my cafe. This was the second time following last year's tour. This tour is a little bit different from typical sightseeing tours. It was planned by "Kuu no tabibito-sha" and the idea behind it is to see things which usually are not visible. They invite participants by saying "Won't you come with us to see the border between the present world and the afterlife, and visit the cultural heritage of the northern and eastern parts of Shiga Prefecture?" Indeed they visited nine places and listened to accompanying scholars or experts and enjoyed a talk by a professional storyteller. This time the theme was "Tengu (a long-nosed goblin)" as you see on the flier, and participants came to Taga to learn about Tengu which was believed to be in the shrine's woods. The theme changes every year, so there are many regular participants who enjoy the tour. I wanted to take a photo of the dishes which I prepared for their lunch, but unfortunately I couldn't because I didn't have time to do it before their arrival. I was so happy to have them. They enjoyed second helpings of rice and finished up all dishes. Yeah!!