１２月３０日（金曜日）２０２２

    多賀大社参道の絵馬通りでは毎年１２月３０日に町内総出で通り沿いのしめ縄張りが行われます。去年は大雪のため中止となりましたが今年は雪もない穏やかな年の瀬で恒例のしめ縄張りが実施されました。

    作業開始は朝８時からですが、大抵それより早く皆さん表に出て準備をなさいます。作業は、まず町内に配布される竹を家の両側に立てて固定し、縄を括り付けます。独り住まいの高齢の方の家は男性の方たちが脚立などを使って手際よく作業をして手伝ってくださいます。私もこれまではモタモタして皆さんのお力をお借りしていたのですが、今年は要領もわかってきたので初めから一人で作業にかかりました。町内の総代さんが各家に藁（わら）と御弊（ごへい）とよばれる白い紙を配って下さり、それをもらって間隔をおいて交互に縄に差し込み最後に縄を張って完了です。最初は縄に藁や語弊を差し込むのが難儀でしたが、縄を緩めて穴を作ってそこに差し込むことも今は一人でできるようになり、ささやかな達成感を感じました。

    絵馬通りにしめ縄が張られると一気にお正月の雰囲気が漂いはじめます。

     Every year, Dec. 30th is the day of Shimenawa decoration for the new year along the Ema street (main street in Taga and approach to Taga shrine). Shimenawa is sacred rice straw ropes. Because of the heavy snow, the activity was cancelled last year, but this year, it was scheduled again as usual.

    Eight a.m. was the starting time, but people came out earlier and started working, and it was also as usual. We first set two or three bamboos at the side of the house, and tied rope with them. If you were aged and living alone, a couple of people came and helped. Since I was taking time working on this because I didn't get the way very well, and needed some help from them, but this year I could manage everything by myself. I put the straw and Gohei (strips of white paper which is used in Shinto rituals) into the straw rope every space, and stretched the rope in the end. 

    Preparation for the new year on the street has been done. It looks pretty good and I like it.

１２月２８日（水曜日）２０２２

    夕べいつも仕事の行き帰りにカフェに寄ってくれるOさんから電話があって、実家からのホタテの到来ものをお裾分けに私のところに持っていくとのこと。

    夜の１０時を過ぎてOさん現れお土産を受け取ったとき、私のイメージは店でよく見る白い貝柱だったのでズシリと重い袋に「えっ？」と思い、中を見ると生のホタテ貝がいくつも入っていました。北海道の親戚から送られたものだそうで私は初対面。さて、どうしたものかとネットで調べると、さばき方や調理の仕方はそれほど大変でもないようなので、深夜にやってみることに。とりあえずはきれいに貝柱や貝ひもなどに分け、ウロと呼ばれる黒いものなどは処分しました。新鮮な貝柱をスライスして試食してみると甘くて美味しい！あとは本日火を通して調理しました。ブロッコリも友人からのもので、海や里の宝物を堪能し贅沢な食事となりました。

    I had a phone call from Mr. O who often stops by my cafe on the way to work or coming back from work. He told me that he was going to bring some scallops to share with me which his family received from someone.

    It was after 10 pm. He came and handed the plastic bag to me. As a matter of fact I was expecting to receive white scallops in a box, but the bag was heavy and I found some scallop shells were in it. They were from Hokkaido by his relatives. It was the first time to receive these row shells and I didn't know the way to shuck the shellfish. YouTube kindly provided the way how to shuck and introduced several kinds of cooking of scallops. Then I just followed it and made it. I tasted a slice of the fresh scallop, it was sweet and good! Next day, I cooked those scallops using fresh broccoli which was also from the vegetable field of my friend. It was a happy dinner to enjoy fresh seafood and vegetables.

１２月１９日（月曜日）２０２２

　上天気に誘われて朝の散歩に出ました。しばらく続いていた足腰の痛みは歩行に問題ないほど軽くなっていて心配してくれた友人たちには感謝の気持ちしかありません。

　多賀大社は新年の準備が着々と進められているようです。大きな柏の葉（？）が枯れたままどの葉も強い冬の風の中で枝にしがみついている姿は境内ということもあってか特別な驚きを感じました。
　
　森を出ると、思った通りこの寒さで遠く霊山の頂は雪をかぶり、その景色は清々しく美しく、いつまでも眺めていたい気分でした。帰り道、左前方に胡宮神社ご神体山の青龍山、右手はるか遠方は琵琶湖向こう側の比良山系が白く光っていました。
　
　この多賀町の風景を破壊する巨大な国道８号バイパスの話が持ち上がっています。あまりに無謀な計画に唖然とするばかりです。

    Since it was a beautiful day, I took a morning walk today. I had been suffering from an ache around my waist and left upper leg but it was not a big problem this morning. My friends who I met last weekend in Tokyo worried about my problem and took very warm care of me. Thanks to them all.

At Taga Taisha, it seems they are preparing for the special day which are New Years Eve and New Years celebration days. Dried big oak tree leaves were still stuck to the branches in the winter strong wind and it surprised me a lot.

After getting out from the shrine woods, I saw Ryoozen mountain which was covered with snow as I expected because of the cold weather. It was so fresh and beautiful and kept my eyes on it. On the way back home, Seiryu-zan, which is a sacred mountain of Konomiya Shrine, stood in front on my left, and Hira mountains which were beyond Biwa Lake, also shining in white on my right far away.

Right now, a big project of building a bypass of route 8 which completely destroys this beautiful country view of Taga town is rising up. I am stunned by this reckless plan.

１２月９日（金曜日）２０２２

　上天気ながら物音、人声が聞こえない静かな昼前のひと時、台所で注文のお弁当作りをしていたら「こんにちは」とカフェにお客様。出てみると虫や動物については百科事典のように詳しいOさんでした。いつも仕事の行き帰りに寄ってくれるOさんが「今日は休みなんです」と非番なのに訪ねてくれました。そして、カウンターの上にかわいいフィギュアが一つ置かれました。「わぁ、ペンギン！」と喜ぶ私。ちょうど一人分のお弁当は余裕で作れたので、それと鮭粕汁を提供し、Oさんが食べ私が質問するといった感じでペンギンについての勉強会が始まりました。

　これはキングペンギンというそうで、ヒナから大人へ移行中の姿だとか。その証拠に背中や胸のところにヒナの毛が残っています。フィギュアは一足先にうちに来ているアナグマと同じ作者だそうで、Oさんはそれを忠実に色付けするのが趣味とのこと。

　ペンギンといえば南極に生息するものとばかり思っていたら１８種類のペンギンのうち南極大陸にすむのはアデリーペンギンと皇帝ペンギンの二種類だけだそうでキングペンギンは南極周辺の島にいるそう。

　ペンギンの話で一番感動的だったのは母親が子供のためにえさを探しにいっている間（水辺は敵が多く危険なので子育て中は海から離れたところにいるそうです）キングペンギンの子供たちは父親と一緒に何か月も何も食べないで待っているとのこと。母親は採った魚を消化せずに貯めておくところが体内にあるらしく、それを持ち帰って子供たちに食べさせるそうです。

　ペンギン講座はもっと続きましたが長くなるのでこの辺で。

    It was a beautiful quiet day. When I was preparing box lunches in the kitchen which I had already placed an order, someone said "Hello" at the cafe. It was Mr. O who has great knowledge about insects and animals. I wondered because usually he stops by on the way to work or to go home after work but it was an unusual time for him to come. "Today is my day off," said Mr.O. He came to show a little penguin figure to me, and he put it on the counter. "Wow, what a cute penguin it is!" I said. Since I could make an extra lunch for him, I served it to him with soup. I asked several questions about the little figure while he was eating his lunch. Thus my study session about penguins started.

    It is King Penguin and the figure shows the transition from chick to adult. You can see the chick down on the shoulder and some part in front. The person who created the figure is the same person who created the badger which I already got in my cafe. Mr. O painted both in natural color and he likes to do it very much.

    I thought that all penguins live in Antarctica but Mr. O corrected my understanding. Only two penguins which are Emperor Penguin and Adelie Penguin live in Antarctica among 18 kinds of penguins and others such as King Penguin are living islands near Antarctica. 

    The most impressive story from Mr. O was about raising the children of King Penguin. In child rearing, they move inland rather than near the sea to protect their children from various enemies, and while the mother goes to get food for her babies, they are waiting for their mother with their father without eating anything for months. The mother stores the fish that she catches in her body without digesting them, and feeds them to her babies upon her return. 

    My penguin lesson continued from there but since my post will be long I will stop here. 

１２月８日（木曜日）２０２２

　今朝の天気は微妙。洗濯したものを外に干そうか家の中か迷って、ネットで天気予報を見ると午前は雲マークで午後は晴れマーク。それではと外に干してみるも正午近くになっても曇り空なので一旦干し物は場所を移動。

　午後は食品の買い出しのため、床掃除をルンバ君にお願いして自転車を出そうと玄関を開けたら、何と外は結構な雨脚。一瞬怯んだものの食材の買い出しは必須であるため、雨がっぱとレインパンツ、帽子にマフラー、サングラス、バックパックの恰好で出発。「何で？午後はお天気のはずではなかったの？」と心中天気予報を恨みつつ、とにかくも目的地へ。空は明るくなって雨は小降りになったものの予報とは大はずれ。前を行く女性は右手に広げた傘を持ち左手だけで上手に自転車に乗っていました。バランス感覚に自信のない私には絶対にできない芸当だと、両手でハンドル握りしめて帰ってきました。

    The weather was unstable today. I wondered whether I should dry clothing outside or inside after washing, then I checked the net weather forecast. According to that, it was cloudy in the morning but cleared up in the afternoon, so I decided to dry them outside. It was still cloudy around noon, however, I put them inside the house.

    Since I was expecting to go to the grocery store in the afternoon, I set the cleaning robot Roomba ON so it would be working while I was out and about to leave my house by bicycle. Then I saw it was raining rather hard. I just hesitated but I needed to get something for the cafe, so I decided to go out with a rain jacket, rain pants, hat, scarf, sunglasses and backpack on my shoulder. Having a bitter feeling about the weather forecast because it should have cleared up, I headed for the store anyhow. I saw the bright sky and the rain became weak but it didn't stop yet. There was a woman who was riding her bicycle with an umbrella opened in her right hand and holding the handle in her left hand. It was amazing but I knew that I am not the person to be able to ride in such a tricky way. I held the handle with both hands and came back home safely.

１２月６日（火曜日）２０２２

　
　中学校の読み聞かせ、今日は谷川俊太郎の「GO」をやってみました。私がまだ学生の時に渋谷の山手教会下に『ジャンジャン』という小さなライブスタジオがあってそこで谷川俊太郎さんや私の大好きな故はせみつこさんら４人ぐらいが黒のタートルネック姿で自由に詩の朗読をしていらっしゃいました。その時、みんなで掛け合いで読んでいた一つが「GO」です。読むというより皆本を持たずに自由に動きながら詩の朗読をなさっていたのがいかにも新鮮で若い私には印象的でした。
　
　今回、中学生の読み聞かせで何を読もうかと考えていたところふと思いついたのが「さあ、いこう　どこへいこう」ではじまるこの詩。静かに聞いてくれる中一の生徒たちですが、生徒たちにも詩に参加してもらうことを狙ってこの「GO」を選びました。原文は使われている人物名がフルシチョフとか古く、また「煙草吸いながら」など今どきではないので、谷川さんには失礼ながら、少し言葉を替えさせてもらいました。

　果たして生徒がどれだけリズムに乗って参加してくれるか正直心配で、本番に入る前に「皆の協力がないとこの詩は終わりません」といってちょっと練習。生徒たちに身近なゲームやスポーツなど言葉に出しやすいものを入れ込んで、次々に言ってもらうところが６か所ほどあります。
　
　結果はまだまだ不消化なところもありましたが、受け身なばかりの生徒たちの参加を試みたことはよかったのでは。終わりの頃には身を乗り出して言おうとする生徒たちもいて一番喜んだのはやはり私です。詩って口に出したほうが絶対楽しいってこと、少し伝わっていればいいんですが。（写真は多賀中HPから）

    I went to Junior High School for story telling. The book I chose was a poem named "GO" by Shuntaro Tanikawa instead of a story book.

    When I was a college student, I sometimes went to Live studio in Shibuya. There, poets Tanikawa and my favorite poem reader, Mitsuko Hase and other members read poems and all wore black turtlenecks. "GO '' was one of the poems they were reading chasing after each other without holding a book. I remember them because the reading style was quite new and impressive to me.

    When I was thinking about a book for Junior High School students, "Go" came to mind. They usually listen to my reading very well but this time I wanted them to participate in reading. In the original poem many names were very old such as Khrushchev in Soviet, or some phrases were not updated such as "while smoking", so I needed to change them so the younger generation could understand easily the situation.

    Well, I was still worried about whether students would follow my reading and participate well. I said to the students that without their cooperation, I can not finish this poem and I made time to rehearse some parts with them. I replaced the old words and phrases with the new ones such as names of the games or sports which seems more familiar to students.

    As a result, some parts were still difficult to unite with all but I think it was a nice challenge for them to participate in the poem with the rhythm. The most excited person was of course me. Reading poems aloud is much more fun than reading silently. I hope they enjoyed it.

11月２９日（火曜日）２０２２

　愛しの干し柿くんがカラスに狙われました！
３週間ほど前にいただいた渋柿を泊り客の仲間が親切にも皮をむいて紐で括り付けてくれたので、それを軒下につるしておいたところ、一組は早々に何者かの動物に取られたことが落ちていた紐の切れ端で判明。しばらくは毎日数を数えていましたが無事であったため放っておきました。日にちを置いては柿を揉むという作業までしてくれていた我が心温まる友人のお蔭で干し柿は日ごと干し柿らしく水分を失い赤黒く軒下に垂れ下がっており、もうそろそろ食べ頃かなと思っていたところでした。

　事件は今朝、いつものようにカフェの支度や予約のお弁当の準備をしていると、裏口をどんどん叩く人がいます。下で作業をしている瓦やさんのおじさんでした。「カラスが干し柿を食べとるで！」と教えてくれたので慌てて裏に行ってみるとすでに数個は紐が引きちぎられて下に落ちていたり、ペアの半分だけ残っているものもあったり。一方、カラスは屋根の上で平然と一時避難で止まっているのでした。「カラスは見つけよったら早いでなあ」とおじさん。14組の４組が無傷、４個は片方だけ食べてあって軒に引っかかっているのもあれば下に紐ごと落ちているものもあり、取り合えずカラスとの勝負は全敗ではありませんでしたが、サルにごっそり持っていかれた話も聞いていたので、いやはや生存競争の厳しさを思い知った今朝の出来事でした。

    My precious dried persimmons were attacked by crow! About three weeks ago, I received a lot of Shibu-gaki (rough persimmons, not sweet at all), which are all for making dried ones. My friends who were staying at my house kindly peeled off all the skin and tied them with strings which people prepare for making dried ones. All I did was hang them outside under the roof so they needed air to make sweet dried persimmons in three or four weeks.

    The incident happened this morning. When I was preparing cake and Inarizushi for the cafe, someone knocked on the back door abruptly. It was an old worker who was one of the roof fixing people. He said that a crow was taking my persimmons away!! I rushed to the site and saw that some were already gone, some were dropped down, some were half gone but another half were still hanging. Only four pairs of persimmons were safe. The old man said, "Once the crow finds the food, he eats quickly." 　It was a battle game between a human and a crow and the crow stole my precious persimmons in a sneaky way but he couldn't get them all. I didn't lose completely. I have heard from a local woman that wild monkeys took all persimmons. Indeed it is a severe fight to get food between humans and wild animals.

１１月２７日（日曜日）２０２２

    突然、酒屋さんから到来ものが届きました。日本酒一升瓶２本とワイン１本。「お見舞い」と書いてあります。ええ～っ？！私が風邪ひいてるから？それだけで？でも送り主は知らないはず。それにしても酒豪でもない私にこれだけのお酒を下さるなんて....。

　カフェが終わって、出ない声を絞り出すように頑張って電話してお宅に行ってみると、高齢のおばさまが「屋根修理の陣中見舞い」とおっしゃいます。それでも呑み込めないでいると、「ココラヘンでは職人さんに振る舞い酒をするのが昔からの常識なんや」とおばさま。「でも１０時や１２時になると、さぁーとどこかへ消えて休んでいらっしゃるようですが」と私。「それなら、親方さんに『普段何もできませんが、これ頂き物ですがどうぞ』と言って渡せばええ」「職人さんは２，３人のようですから１本だけでいいですね」というと、「１本は非常識、２本渡さんとあかん」と言われました。ワインは私が寝る前にチビリチビリやればいいとのこと。

　屋根の修理代だけでも頭が痛いのに今時振る舞い酒などしているところがあるのかなあ....と正直思っていますが、とりあえず明日は言われた通り２本に渡そうと思います。

    Owner of a liquor shop in town delivered some gifts to me. Two 1.8 liter Japanese Sake bottles and one wine bottle. It says "Omimai (Present for encouragement)" on the wrapping. I wondered if it came because I am having a cold? But the sender doesn't know about it. These are too many liquors for me, as I am not a heavy drinker.

    After closing the cafe, I called the sender, putting so much effort into making my voice. She is living near my house and I visited her. An old lady living alone said to me that it was for the workers who are now fixing my roof. People in this area have been sending liquor if someone is fixing the house. She continued that I can just give the bottles to the head of workers to show my thanks. She also gave me a bottle of wine. I guess all these gifts were in return for my small meal for her made up of leftovers when I made boxed dinner upon the request from customers. I am not putting any effort into doing this, but she just appreciates it.

    Getting back to the topic of the gift for the workers, I think it must be too much because I need to pay a lot for repairing the roof, but anyhow, I will just follow as this old lady suggested.

１１月２６日（土曜日）２０２２

    数日前から咳が出て喉が荒れている感じ。熱もなく体調が悪いということもないので手洗いうがいを頻繁にするほかは気にも留めていなかったのですが、今朝屋根の修理をお願いしているおじさんたちの一人に声をかけようとするも声が出ません。それほど離れていない所で仕事をしているのに３度ほど挨拶を試みましたが気付いてくれません。絞り出すように低い声をやっとの思いで出して挨拶をして、「声が出ないんです」と告げると、おじさん「コロナか？」と。カフェをしていてコロナ感染では話にならないと思い、遅ればせながらアメリカから持ち帰っていた自分でできる感染テストをやってみました。結果はNegative（問題なし）。単なる風邪であることは間違いないのですが、声が出ない自分というのもまたおかしな感じでこれも健康であるという証拠かなと思っています。

    I have been having a cough and mild sore throat since a few days ago, but didn't feel any problem about my body condition, so I didn't pay any special attention except for washing my hands and gargling my throat frequently. This morning, when I tried to say "good morning" to one of the men who are now fixing the roof, I realized that I had no voice. It was only a few meters away between me and the men, and I tried several times to make a voice but he didn't notice me. After trying a couple of times to say good morning, finally my low weak voice reached him. I explained that I am having a problem to speak．Then he asked me "Did you get Covid-19?" I was quite fine other than I had no voice, but I decided to do Covid-19 self-test which was the package I bought from Boston last time. The result was "Negative". I think I just caught a cold and it might be necessary to lead a balanced lifestyle to be a healthy person.

１１月２３日（水曜日）２０２２
　

    パソコンが突然機能不全になり解決能力ゼロの私は途方に暮れるばかり。幸運にも出された救いの手にすがりつき何とかSNSへの復帰ができました。１０日以上経ちましたが、まずはクラウン講座・公演、そしてワークショップが無事終了したことを報告いたします。

    豊かで深くて限りなく愉快で、そして和やかなそれぞれのクラウンの日々でした。知れば知るほど、見れば見るほど「聖なる愚か者、クラウン」が光を受けて私たちを和ませてくれ人間らしくさせてくれます。笑うこと、素直に笑えるということが私達の生きる証といっても良いのではないでしょうか。笑いのない毎日、まじめだけれど表情が硬くなってしまっていることは自分では意外に気づかないもの。クラウン・ロネ＆ジージの創り出す粋でおしゃれでノリノリの世界は最高でした！

    My computer went suddenly down and has not worked at all. The person in the service center told me that it would cost more than I expected to repair it. I was in a panic in this situation. Luckily there was a computer techie person just in time and offered to help. Even though I needed to buy another computer, I could use SNS anyhow with her help. It has been more than ten days since this incident. I would like to report first that all the clown events (clown talk, two performances and workshop for two days) have successfully ended.

    Every Clown event was rich, deep, funny and very friendly. The more we know about clown, and the more we watch clown’s performances, ”the holy fool, clown" makes us relax and live like a human. In a way, ”Laughing honestly” is a barometer of our lives. You might not notice that you are so serious and don't laugh or your facial muscles are getting stiff. The world in which Clown Rone & Gigi created on the stage was shining, lovely and happily. It was so amazing!

１１月６日（日曜日）２０２２ 　

    多賀あさひやでのクラウン講座と公演がほぼ１週間後に迫りました。１３日（日曜日）のチケットは夜（18:00）の方がゆっくりご覧になれます。皆様のお申し込みをお待ちしています。

    劇場型クラウンって何？クラウンショーって何するの？子供が見るもんじゃないの？パントマイムするヒト？ジャグリングするの？分からない.....ことばかり。「百聞は一見にしかず」どうぞ一度足を運んでご覧ください。修行を積んだ二人が創り出すクラウンの世界にあなたが何を感じるか、あなた自身が意外な自分を発見するかもしれません。 　

    数十年前にヨーロッパで知り合いにもらった小さな人形がクラウンであり、今もそばにあることに不思議な繋がりを覚えます。赤い鼻、大きな靴。クラウンが奏でるバイオリンの音色に水鳥が聞き入っています。クラウンの優しさと温かさがそこにあるのです。 

    The Clown Talk and Performances at Taga Asahiya will be in a week. We have more space in the performance at 18:00 and you will get better seats. Please reserve the tickets. 

     You might wonder what Theatre Clown is ? What do we see on the stage of the Clown Show ? Is it for kids? Is it the group who do pantomime? Do they show us juggling? Oh, there are so many things we don't know ! " Seeing is believing". Please come to see their performances. I wonder what you will think of the clown's world created by Rone & Gigi who trained as professional clowns for many years. You might discover for yourself something which you haven't expected before.

    I have a little clown doll which I received from my acquaintance several decades ago in Europe. It's a strange feeling because I had no expectation of crossing paths with clowns at my cafe. Red nose, big shoes are the trademark of Clown. Here, a waterbird is listening to the music of a little clown playing music by violin. The Clown exudes an air of warmth and gentleness.

１１月２日（水曜日）２０２２　

　もはや初冬かと思えるほどの冷え込みに我が家もストーブを出して使い始めていますが、本日は朝から温かく穏やかな晴天となり、まさしく小春日和の１日でした。

　２、３日前から台所の流しの水捌（は）けが悪く憂鬱極まりなく私一人の力では解決できそうもないと判断し業者に依頼の電話をしました。本日、既に日は暮れていましたがこれから向かうとの電話でほっとしたのは言うまでもありません。排水管の詰まりが原因で恥しながら何年も掃除をしてこなかったツケがついにきたという訳です。おじさん（Kさんとおっしゃいます）の手元を懐中電灯で照らしたり、一緒に詰まったものを外に出したり、水道の蛇口を開けたり閉めたり、大した手伝いもできないままでしたが、作業をしてくれるKさんとおしゃべりも楽しみました。７４歳だそうですが、若い時にフランスで６年間車のメンテナンスを、またアメリカではニューヨークから西海岸まで横断の旅をしたとのこと。スムーズに排水管が流れるようになった時は、やったぁ、よかったなぁ、と喜んでくれました。事故で欠員が出た従業員の分まで走り回って１日も終わろうという時に我が家に来てくださったKさんに心から感謝します。　

　さて、１１月６日（日曜日）はイザナミランチをご提供いたします。写真は先月のランチです。ご希望の方はご予約お願いいたします。0749-48-0186

イザナミランチ（+お汁）1373円　　　
イザナミランチ（+お汁）＋コーヒー 1700円　　　
イザナミランチ（+お汁）＋コーヒ＋もち粉ケーキ 1800円　　　　　　　
お持帰り（汁なし） 1000円　　　
白玉クリームあんみつ 750円
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　多賀あさひや

    I started using a kerosene stove a couple of days ago, because it seems like winter due to the temperature dropping. Today, however, it was nice and mild weather and a really beautiful day.

    Since a few days ago, I have been having a problem with the sink in my kitchen which doesn't drain well and I decided to call a specialist because I cannot solve the problem by myself. Today when it was already dark, I received a call from the specialist that he was going to come to my house to check it. The cause of the problem was drain pipe clogging because I have been ignoring cleaning there. While the specialist, named Mr. K was working, I tried to help him by doing things such as lighting a flashlight on his hands, taking out the dirt together, opening and closing the faucet, but at the same time I enjoyed talking with him. According to him, Mr. K is 74 years old and when he was young, he was in Paris for 6 years doing maintenance on a car, he also had an experience of crossing the US. After his efforts, water ran smoothly and Mr. K was also very happy, saying "yay, we made it!". I thank him very much for coming to help me at such a late time.

    By the way, I will serve Izanami Lunch on Nov. 6th (a special lunch for the first Sunday of the month).
Please make a reservation. 0749-48-0186

１０月２７日（木曜日）２０２２

　久しぶりにロングコースの散歩。紅葉にはちょっと早い山々の景色を遠くに見ながら、秋の光と風を体全体でたっぷり受ける気持ち良さといったらありません。目指す「きまぐれ市」の自動販売機に何が入ってるかなぁと思いながら歩いていると、綺麗に整えられた田んぼの反対側に枯れた植物群。何だろうと近づくとそれは大豆畑でした。何か訳があるのでしょうが、せっかく枝豆ができているのにどうして？と不思議に思わずにはいられませんでした。

　きまぐれ市で”GET” したのはトマトとブロッコリー。トマト３００円ブロッコリー１５０円。新鮮な野菜に元気をもらいます。

　帰りは色とりどりのコスモスが咲く農道をコスモスが好きだったすぐ上の兄を思いながら歩いていると何だか柔らかな気持ちで胸が溢れました。勝手に「コスモスの小径」と名前をつけました。

    I had a long morning walk after a long time. It was a little bit early to see autumn colors in the mountains, but I felt so good to receive the autumn sunlight and wind. When I was walking, I thought about what kind of vegetable would be in the vending machine in Kimagure Market. I saw fields which were neatly prepared for the next planting but also fields where all plants were completely dried on the other side.

    I was very shocked and thought that it must be some reason but I didn't know why the owner of the field didn't harvest before they dried up.
At the Kimagure vegetable market, I got fresh tomatoes and broccoli at a reasonable price.

    On the way back home, I walked along a farm path where various colored cosmos blossomed on the side. I was thinking of my brother who died young and loved the cosmos. My heart was filled with a quiet and calm feeling. I named it "Cosmos Path" then.

１０月２６日（水曜日）２０２２

　１１月１２日、１３日に多賀あさひやでクラウン講座と公演をしてくれるロネとジージが長野県木曽で２０日からクラウンキャンプをしていますが、その授業の一部を昨日と今日YouTubeでライブ配信していました。

　昨日（火）はクラウンの三種のメイク、今日（水）はクラウンニング（クラウンの動き）の基礎で相手を叩く動きを生徒さんに指導していました。ほう、なるほど…と感心しながら、熱心に習得しようとする生徒さんと丁寧に指導するジージの様子をスクリーン越しに見学して１時間があっという間に過ぎました。

　木曜日も金曜日も午後７時からライブ配信をしてくれるようですので、時間がある人は覗いてみると面白いですよ。

    I already announced that Clown duo Rone & Gigi will give us clown talk and performance on Nov. 12th and 13th. They are now in the middle of the Clown Camp at Kiso in Nagano since the 20th and they showed their class to us providing live streaming yesterday and today.

    A Clown Make-up class was held yesterday, and today's class was about basic clowning (clown basic movements) which was the trick to hit another clown. It was very interesting to watch both students who wanted to learn the way to be a clown and Gigi who mainly taught them. I enjoyed observing these classes.

    They will also provide live streaming Thursday (10/27) and Friday (10/28) from 7pm. If you have time, I recommend watching the classes.

 

１０月２０日（木曜日）２０２２

    京都国立博物館に特別展「茶の湯」を見に行きました。茶道は今や象徴的な日本文化となっていますが、奈良時代に中国から伝わった喫茶文化が時代を経て徐々に和様化し「茶の湯」という独特の文化を生み出したと、博物館発行のパンフレットに書いてありました。１階から３階までの広い展示場に奈良時代から近代まで喫茶や茶に関係する古文書や絵画、茶道具、また利休や秀吉の茶室の再現まで２００点もの名品が時代毎に分かりやすい解説とともに並べてあり、茶道を心得ない私には勉強になりました。

    多賀大社から桃山時代の「調馬・廐馬（ちょうま・きゅうま）図屏風」（重文）も展示されており、庭で武士が調教しているのを座敷で主人が眺め、隣室では宗匠が茶を立て小姓が茶を運ぶ姿などが描かれていました。

    建仁寺・栄西禅師が喫茶の風習を日本に伝えたそうですが、その栄西像が殆ど真っ黒でかすかに目玉のようなものが伺われますが、角のようなものもあるようで、一体どうなっているのか一緒に眺めている人に聞いてみたかったのですが、皆しばらくして去っていかれ結局皆分からないままだったんだと思うと何かおかしくて楽しい気分になりました。

    I went to Kyoto National Museum to see the exhibition of "Tea in the Cultural life of Kyoto". People recognize that the Tea Ceremony is a symbol of Japanese culture, but originally tea was brought from China in the Nara period and Japanese people had gradually created a Japanese style of Tea Ceremony. There are about 200 exhibits from the Nara period to modern times which included ancient documents, paintings, various tools related to tea ceremony, and reproduced small tea rooms by Sen no rikyu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. I learned a lot by reading the explanations beside the exhibition.

    There is a big folding screen from Taga Taisha in which a scene was drawn of a Samurai training a horse, the headmaster watching it and the teamaster making tea in the next room, and the pageboy carrying tea to the headmaster.

    It was said that priest Eisai at Ken-nin temple imported the custom of drinking tea from China in the Nara period and there was an old portrait of him in the exhibition. Unfortunately, it was so old and dark so I could only guess that it looked like his eyes. I wanted to ask how I should look at it to the people who were also looking at the portrait but all of them went to the next exhibition. It made me feel a little amused because I knew that they also wondered about it and in the end didn't know what it was.

１０月１５日（土曜日）２０２２

　１１月１３日（日）１３：００〜　多賀あさひやにも来てくれるビッグイヤーズ・ショーのロネとジージそれにマギーです。クラウンショーは初めてという方、どうぞ一度試しに観てください。本場の欧米のクラウンコンテストで日本人として唯一何度も優勝しているロネとジージの見事なステージに皆さんきっと驚くはずです。子供さんは最初から大興奮。必死に応援したり笑い転げたり。

同日１８：００〜のクラウン・ライブはちょっとおしゃれな大人向きのショー。ロネジジの技の数々はプロ歴の長さを見せつけてくれます。普段むずかしい顔して暮らしているオトナの皆さん、ロネジジはあなたを夢の世界へ連れてってくれますよ。

　お申し込みは、多賀あさひや（0749-48-0186)へ！
 

    Here are RONE & Gigi and assistant Maggie performing "Big Ears Show" and they will come to Taga Asahiya on November 13th at 13:00. If you haven't seen the show yet, please come to the show. You will be surprised by their amazing performance which won several awards in international clown contests. Kids are always very excited, sending big cheers and collapsing with laughter in this show.

    The "Clown Live" from 18:00 on the same day will be a witty show which most adults enjoy. You will enjoy many of their high skills by these two clowns, RONE & Gigi who have been doing professional clowns for long years. If you are spending everyday with a serious face, RONE & Gigi will take you to a magical world.

１０月８日（土曜日）２０２２

　このところ急速に気温が下がり日差しにも秋の深まりを感じます。
カフェにも秋がいっぱいです。彦根のYさんからザクロや秋の可愛らしい花をたくさんいただきました。

   「柘榴」ザクロと読むそうです。英語名はpomegranateでpom＋granate（種のあるりんご）。漢字や名前の由来は知りませんでしたが、「女性の果実」とも言われて女性ホルモンのバランスを整えるスーパーフードだということは知っていました。ちょっと食べるのが面倒そうですが、しばらく飾った後でいただこうと思います。

    The temperature has been falling these days and we are experiencing a peaceful fall season with sunshine. There are plenty of autumn flowers in the cafe. Ms. Y from Hikone kindly gave pomegranates and several kinds of flowers. 

    I don't know very much about pomegranates but I knew that it is a healthy fruit especially for females to balance hormones. It seems not easy to eat but I will eat it after displaying it in the cafe.