Monday, April 29, 2024

4月23日(火曜日)2024 
 昨日は心配されたお天気も雨にならず庭は新緑の中に赤いツツジが咲き始め清々しい中、多賀大社春の古例大祭が古式ゆかしく執り行われました。 
 指揮太鼓の音が遠くに聞こえてくると「おわたり」の始まりです。装束をつけた関係者の方々が騎馬あるいは徒歩で絵馬通りを過ぎて行きます。パカパカと馬の蹄の音が何とも心地良く多賀まつりならではの引き締まった、しかし華やかな行列です。
 40頭近い馬がこの日のために集められると聞いていたので、目の前で行列が少し止まった時に馬引きの方に「この馬はどこから来たのですか」と聞くと何と「栃木から」との返事。馬によっては京都の太秦からも来ているとのこと。お馬さんも長旅ご苦労なことです。 
 お祭りとは知らずに旅行で多賀に来てカフェに来店の北海道の70代のご夫婦。歴史ある多賀大社のお祭りを見ていただけたことは多賀に暮らす者として嬉しく思いました。


We worried about the bad weather at the Taga Taisha Spring Festival, but the weather wasn't bad and it was held beautifully.

When we heard the drum, it meant the procession was approaching. Members of the procession wearing traditional costumes were passing by riding a horse or walking. The sound of horse hooves was nice to hear and the procession was solemn but gorgeous.

Since I heard that about 40 horses were gathered for this festival, I asked the person who was pulling the horse where the horses came from when they stopped in front of me. He said they came from Tochigi which is about 370miles away from Shiga. I thought that they must be tired from this long trip.

I had a couple in my cafe who were in their 70s from Hokkaido without knowing it was the festival day. I was glad to have them to show our historical Taga shrine festival.










Friday, April 26, 2024

4月14日(日曜日)2024 
 2週間ほど前にオデコにブツブツ、初めは何か変なものを食べたかなと大して気にもせず様子を見ていたところ、次第に頬の横や顎の下あたりにも広がってきました。何だろうと今度は真面目に原因を探ろうと化粧品、髪染め、シャンプーを疑い、寝具を干し、カバーの洗濯。花粉症は過去数年なし。謎のまま、やがて就寝中も痒みに悩まされ、赤い湿疹は広がるばかりで、いよいよこれは医者に診てもらうしかないと判断。カフェの営業を遅らせる張り紙をして一番近い皮膚科に行ってみました。

 医院では大勢の順番待ちに先ず驚き、医師が私の症状をマイクに話し、それがパソコンの画像にタイプして書き込まれていく診断スタイルも驚き。処方箋をもらって近くの薬局へ。ここでは症状を書く際「湿疹」という漢字が書けず情けない思い。カタカナで「シッシン」と書きながら、何ともよく似た文字が並んでいるなぁと妙に感心。

 さて、指示通りに薬を飲み、ステロイド系の塗り薬を塗って一日経った現在、かなり良くなっています。去年は股関節の問題で病院に行き、今年は顔の湿疹。何か忘れたけどその前も「お医者さん」のお世話になっています。それが決まって今頃。私にとっての年中行事のようなものです。


    I have been suffering from the hives in my face. At first I thought that was because I ate something wrong and I didn't pay much attention to it. However it spread out although it was only in my face. I started to find the cause. I checked my basic cosmetics and shampoo, dried my bedding, and washed the sheets. I have no allergy to pollen these years.While I couldn't find any cause, the hives didn't disappear at all, so I decided to go to a dermatology clinic.

    There were several things that surprised me at the clinic. One of them was the number of patients in the waiting room. In the examination room, the doctor asked me about my symptoms so I talked about it to him. Then he repeated my words to his microphone to type on the display of his computer. I was surprised at the way he acted which I didn't like very much. After getting his prescription, I went to a pharmacy nearby. There I needed to write my symptoms to get the medicine, then I wrote the word in Katakana "シッシン” instead of in Kanji (Chinese character). Looking at these letters which look very similar, I felt funny about it.

    Well, I took that medicine at home and I am much better now. I visited the hospital last year because I had a problem with my hip joint, and I went to see a dermatology doctor this year. It might be a coincidence but both happened in the same season. Visiting a doctor in this season might be one of my annual events.

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

4月12日(金曜日)2024

 先日、豊郷のNさんから椿の枝を頂いたので座敷の床の間に飾りました。華道の心得があったなら、枝ぶりを直したり、密集した葉を取ったりしてもっと体裁よくなるだろうなと思いながら適当に籠に入れました。
 掛け軸は福井の日本画家、内海吉堂(1849~1925)の作品。吉堂は多賀には縁が深く、久徳の医師・小菅兎峯に漢詩を学び、後に中国へ遊学して南画を学んだとのこと。私の曽祖父、澤田久蔵も明治の頃に小菅氏に漢詩を学んでいたと何かに書いてあったので、吉堂とも縁があって、この掛け軸が家にあるのかもしれません。
 午後になって、尼子のKさんが小鮎の甘露煮を持って6月の能の会の申し込みに来てくださいました。近江の特産品の小鮎は昨今は収穫が難しくなっているそうです。Kさん自ら調理してくださった貴重な小鮎甘露煮、大変美味しく有り難くいただきました。

    Ms. N from Toyosato-cho brought me branches of camellia, so I put them in a basket and put them in the alcove of the guest room. There must be some rules in a traditional flower arrangement,and it looked much better if I followed that, but I haven't taken any lessons about it. So I just arranged the branches randomly.

    The hanging scroll is drawn by a Japanese painter, Kichidoh Utsumi (1849~1925) in Fukui prefecture. He had a strong connection to Taga. He studied Chinese classics from a medical doctor and Chinese scholar, Touhou Kosuga, who lived in Kyutoku Taga at an early age and went to China to learn Nanga (a school of Chinese painting which became popular in Japan during the Edo period). My great grandfather was studying Chinese classics from Mr. Kosuga in the Meiji period, so they might have had some connection with each other and that is why this hanging scroll exists in my house.

    In the afternoon, Ms. K who is a resident in Taga, came to me to buy tickets for the Noh Event in June and she brought sweetened small-sweetfish which is one of the Shiga's specialties. I heard that getting sweetfish from Lake Biwa is harder year by year. Ms.K cooked this by herself. I appreciated her special gift and excellent taste!






Monday, April 15, 2024

4月10日(水曜日)2024 

 ここ数年毎年「多賀あさひや」で公演や講座をしてもらっているクラウンデュオのロネ&ジージ。そのロネが書いた原稿が評論冊子に掲載されました。クラウン・ロネのキャラクターはぼんやりして失敗ばかり。いつも相方のジージに押されがちですが、講座に参加した方は既にお分かりと思いますが、実はロネはクラウンのみならず和洋問わず演劇についての知識が半端ないほど詳しく、本人はさらりと紹介してくれますが日頃の勉強ぶりはどれほどかと驚きます。

 去年は時期こそズレましたが大怪我で一時はどうなることかと心配したロネジジでしたが、多くの方の支援を受けて再び活動している二人です。そうした時にこのようなロネの知的な一面が出た原稿が学術評論で紹介されたことは実に嬉しいです。


    RONE & Gigi are a Clown duo who have given us performances for these past couple of years. Recently Rone published her manuscript in a review booklet by Univ. Kanagawa. As you may know, as a clown, RONE is absent-minded and always makes mistakes. Therefore Rone is pushed away by Gigi. However, real RONE has remarkable knowledge about not only clown but also about both Japanese and western plays.

    Although both Rone & Gigi had big injuries last year individually and we worried about their coming back, they started acting with big support from a large number of people. In the midst of that situation, we learned about RONE's manuscript in an academic booklet. It is great!




Thursday, April 11, 2024



4月8日(月曜日)2024

 祇園さんで親しまれている八坂神社にお参りする機会がありました。祇園・舞妓・八坂神社で思い描くイメージとそこが八岐大蛇(やまたのおろち)を退治した素戔嗚尊(すさのおのみこと)がお祀りしてある神社とはちょっとギャップがあったので、説明を読んで正直驚きました。丸山公園の桜も満開。人出は思ったほどでなくゆっくり花見をしながら、奥にある料理やまで楽しく歩きました。

    桜の花びらが時折散るのが見える和室で、京都らしい細やかな設えとサービスを受けながら、目にも舌にも流石と納得できるお料理で贅沢な時間を過ごしました。
 
 料亭の玄関には椿の花で飾られた水盤に小さなお釈迦様。4月8日は花祭りだと友人に教えてもらい甘茶をかけてお釈迦様のお誕生日をお祝いしました。

    I had a chance to visit Yasaka Shrine which is very popular in Kyoto. The image I had about Gion (a district of Kyoto which is one of the most exclusive and well-known geisha districts in all of Japan), Maiko (a woman who keeps the traditional culture of Kyoto) and Yasaka Shrine was something gorgeous. The other one, Susanoo-no-Mikoto who is a deity appears in Japanese mythology and he killed a great snake called Yamata-no-Orochi which was a rough and violent image. I was surprised to learn that Yasaka shrine enshrined this Susanoo-no Mikoto. Cherry trees were in full blossom in Maruyama Park. We enjoyed walking to the Japanese restaurant where we expected to have lunch.

    We had a pleasant lunch time in the beautiful Japanese room with a nice view of a garden where sometimes cherry blossoms were falling by spring winds. We enjoyed the lunch which looked and tasted so good.

    There was a little Buddha on the dish which was full of camellia flowers on the water in the entrance area. One of my friends told me that April 8th is the birthday of Buddha and people celebrate the day by pouring water on his head. We followed the old custom. It was an enjoyable day.




























Friday, April 5, 2024

4月5日(金曜日)2024

    野も山も桜の淡い色合いが美しく、穏やかな日本独特の景色に見惚れます。さて、今年も6月2日に多賀あさひやにてお能の会を開催します。迎える能楽師の方々は、鵜澤久(観世流シテ方)・鵜澤光(観世流シテ方)・齋藤敦(森田流笛方)・久田陽春子(大倉流小鼓方)・森山泰幸(観世流大鼓方)の皆さんです。

 今回は、平家物語の武将が主人公の能を、能楽師の方が分かりやすい解説を入れて披露してくださいます。謡、仕舞、囃子を間近で鑑賞するのはなかなかの迫力です。能に親しんでいる方も、初めてという方も、どうぞ気楽にご参加ください。

 切符ご希望の方は0749−48−0186またはtaga.asahiya@gmail.comでお早めにお申し込みください。



Thursday, April 4, 2024

4月1日(月曜日)2024

    快晴の4月1日。久々に多賀大社にお朔日の参拝に行き、その後、神社裏の御神田の淡墨桜(うすずみざくら)を見に行きました。先日カフェにお見えになった名誉宮司のN様に今が見頃と教えていただいたからです。

    御神田脇に3本の淡墨桜。どこから苗を移して植えられたか教えて下さったのですが、情けなくもいわれを忘れてしまいました。ピンクの桜が開花して次第に墨を薄くしたような淡い色に変わっていくのがこの淡墨桜。まるで水墨画のようです。私がいたボストンにも墓地の桜を見に地元の人が訪れますが、八重の濃い色の桜。この淡墨桜とはかなり趣が違います。

    たんぽぽやつくしも少し前から顔を見せてワタゲになっているのも見られました。先日は庭にモンシロチョウが2羽ひらひら飛んでいるのをお客様が教えてくださり、ようやく明るい春がやってきた感じです。

    April 1st was a clear fine day. After visiting Taga Taisha after a long time, I went to see Usuzumi-zakura at the back of shrine and side of shrine's rice field. It is a kind of cherry blossom but colored a little lighter than regular one. Mr. N, honorary shinto chief priest, let me know that it is a good time to view Usuzumi-zakura.

    There are three cherry trees beside the shrine's rice field. Mr. N told me the story about why they planted it but I regret that I forgot it unfortunately. Mr. N said that it changes the color from pink to off pink when it fully opens. It looked like an ink painting and was so beautiful. When I was in Boston, people loved to go to the cemetery to see cherry blossoms. However the type of the cherry tree was different from Usuzumi-zakra. The cherry tree in Boston had double blossoms and a much darker color.

    I saw dandelions and the field horsetails on the side of the road. One of the cafe's customers let me know that two cabbage butterflies were flying in my garden. I feel that the bright spring has come finally.