３月２１日（火曜日）２０２３
春分の日。昼と夜の長さが同じになります。この日はお彼岸でもあり、ネット情報によると、先祖が住む世界とこの世が最も近づくという理由でお墓参りをする人が多いのだそうです。
気になっていたお墓掃除とお参りを昨日午前に済ませてほっとしています。山の上にある実家のお墓に私は何とか電動アシストの自転車で上がりました。水汲み場で見知らぬおじさんが一人花筒を洗っていらっしゃり、挨拶程度の話から、私が幼い頃、近所にいらした旧家の方であることが分かり、思いがけない昔話になりました。井伊大老も宿泊した門構えの家が記憶に残っています。別れ際に「ご先祖様にどうぞよろしく。」と言ったのがお墓参りならではのご挨拶だなと何だか愉快な気持ちになりました。
It's Vernal Equinox Day. It is also called "Ohigan" in Japanese and traditional sasonal event was held in Japan each spring and autumn. People visit their family's graves and pray for their ancestors.
I visited the grave yesterday, and it's been a while since the last time which made me feel relieved now. My family's grave is on the mountain and I went up there by my electric assist bicycle. When I got to the water supply area, a man was cleaning a metal tube for flowers. Starting from just greeting each other, we knew that we were neighbors a long time ago when I was very small. His house used to be prestigious, such as the landlord where a feudal lord stayed over in the Edo period and I remember the old gate in his house. When I said goodbye to him, I said "please say hello to your ancestor". I thought that it was a phrase that I could say only at graveyards. I somehow had a pleasant feeling.
