３月１８日（月曜日）２０１９
春分の日が近く、お墓の掃除とお参りを兼ねて山に上っていったら、結構な数の猿を見かけました。最近はお供え物などしていないはずなのに、これはどういうことなのでしょう。昨日、一円近くの乾田に猿が群れをなしている写真を友人に見せてもらいましたが、多賀の裏山もかなりの数がいると思うと何か不穏な思いです。 さて、床の間は内海吉堂の掛け軸を描けています。以前に友人のH.Nさんが調べてくれた資料によると、吉堂は明治から大正にかけて京都画壇で活躍した日本画家とのこと。生まれは福井県で、はじめは、森寛斎、塩川文麟の門下で丸山・四条派を学ぶも、のちに南画に転じ、中国にも度々渡り、日本南画協会の結成に参加したそうです。この吉堂は多賀の久徳在住だった医師で漢学者の小菅兎峰に漢学を師事したとのこと。（https://blog.goo.ne.jp/otsumitsu/e/e9b751d463e4d4c8eee86770392b6184）我が家に残る兎峰遺稿集（漢文）に吉堂と一緒に過ごしたことが書かれていました。（アメリカで教えていた時の中国人の学生が遺稿集の一部を解読してくれました。）小菅氏の家へは曾祖父も出入りしていたので、恐らく曾祖父は内海吉堂と会って彼の絵を購入したのでしょう。Vernal Equinox Day is approaching. I went to the graveyard on the mountain which is located behind my house to clean up my ancestors' grave and pray for them. When I went up almost to the top, I saw many monkeys hanging around the graveyard. I wondered why they were there because people don't make food offerings in the graveyard these days to prevent animals and birds from approaching. Yesterday my friend showed me photos of monkeys staying in dried rice fields a little far from my house but I supposed there must be another group of monkeys also living around my area which makes me little uncomfortable. By the way, I hung a picture scroll which is by Kichido Utsumi in the alcove of the guest room. According to data from my friend H.N, Kichido (1850-1925) was born in Fukui prefecture and he was a Japanese painter in a Kyoto painting circle from the Meiji to Taisho era. First he was a disciple of Sijhyo school and learned from Kansai Mori and Bunrin Shiokawa but later he changed to the Southern school of Chinese painting and made an effort to organize Japanese Nanga Association. Kichido interacted with Toho Kosuga who was a doctor and a scholar of the Chinese classics who lived at Kyutoku village in Taga. Kichido learned Chinese classics from Toho Kosuga. (https://blog.goo.ne.jp/otsumitsu/e/e9b751d463e4d4c8eee86770392b6184) I found a book of a collection of Toho's posthumous works in my house and there Toho wrote that he was with Kichido. ( My Chinese student to whom I taught Japanese in the US translated the part for me.) Since my great grandfather visited Toho's house, he probably met Kichido and bought his picture.
