The first snowfall on Mt. Fuji is 25 days earlier than normal, and it is September 7, so it seems that the seasons will change much earlier this year.  I was curious and went to a nearby the colonies of Higanbana. Usually at this time, most Higanbana are just beginning to swell, but there are quite a few that are in bloom. There are still two weeks to go to the Ohigan, so if it keeps going like this, it will be in full bloom by the Ohigan. Depending on the year, the heat may come back again, so I don’t know if this autumn will deepen, but this year it looks like it will continue.

富士山の初冠雪が平年より25日も早く、9月７日という事ですから、今年は季節の巡りも随分早いようです。気になって、近くの彼岸花の群生地に行ってみました。いつもならこの時期、蕾みが膨らみ始めたのがほとんどなのに、花開いているのが結構あります。お彼岸までまだ二週間ありますから、この分ならお彼岸までには咲き切ってしまうのではないだろうかと思えるほどの勢いです。年によっては、また暑さがぶり返す事がありますから、このまますんなり秋を深めて行くかどうか分かりませんが、今年はこのまま行きそうです。

A friend sent me a picture of Mt. Fuji with the first snowfall.  According to an online survey, the temperature near the summit of Mt. Fuji fell below freezing on the afternoon of the 6th, and the snow that fell at that time remained unmelted, so it was the first snowfall on the morning of the 7th.  The first snowfall of this year is 25 days earlier than normal, and it is said that it will be observed by the beginning of September for the first time in 13 seasons since 2008.  Autumn is finally here.  It is repeated every year, but this year I feel a different feeling.  First and foremost, it is the first snowfall under the coronavirus infection as usual, and personally, it was the first snowfall under a mixed situation of sadness and happiness.

友人から初冠雪の富士山の写真を送ってきてくれました。ネットで調べると、富士山頂付近では６日午後氷点下となり、この時降った雪が溶けずに残ったため、７日朝初冠雪となったそうです。今年の初冠雪は平年より２５日早く、９月上旬までに観測されるのは２００８年以来１３シーズンぶりだとか。いよいよ秋の本格的到来です。毎年毎年繰り返される事ですが、今年は今年で今までとまた違った感懐を覚えます。何と言ってもまず一番は、相変わらずのコロナウイルス感染下での初冠雪である事、個人的にも悲喜こもごもの状況下にある初冠雪である事です。

In the nearby field, Keitoh(cockscombs) for equinoctial week are planted side by side with buds inflated.  Recently, the flowers for equinoctial week have diversified, and Keitoh is rarely seen on the net.  In the olden days, Keitoh bloomed in the gardens of every house in the fall, and they were cut and offered to the Buddha.  There are many types of Keito now, and it seems that small types are popular for home use.  The Keitoh in the photo is the old Kurume Keitoh, and speaking of Keitoh, it generally refers to this Keitoh. It is tall and has large flowers, so it is not suitable for the offering and is suitable for viewing exclusively in the garden.

近くの畑にはお彼岸用の鶏頭が蕾を膨らませながら並んで植えられています。最近はお彼岸用の花も多様化して、ネットでは鶏頭は余り見かけなくなりました。昔は秋になればどの家の庭にも鶏頭が咲いていて、それを切って仏さんに供えたものです。鶏頭も今では種類も沢山あり、家庭用には小振りの種類に人気がある様です。写真の鶏頭は昔からある久留米鶏頭で、鶏頭と言えば一般的にはこの鶏頭をさしたものです。背丈も高く花も大きいのでお供えには向かず、もっぱら庭で鑑賞するのに適しています。

At the western foot of Odaigahara, there is Kodokoro Onsen, one of the most secret hot springs in the Kansai region, which was once used only by mountaineers.  If you change buses, it’s a 2-hour walk from the last bus stop.  If you go by car, take a side road from National Highway 169 and follow the road along the Kotochi River for 10km.  It’s now such a place, so when I first went there, it was a hot spring where I had to be prepared to die. It was reopened in August 2001, and the building is made with plenty of wood, taking advantage of the taste of mountain villages.  There are “rock baths (valley hot springs)” that use natural stones of various sizes and “wooden baths (Taiki no Yu)” that have the scent of Maki, and each has an open-air bath facing the mountain stream, and the sound of a clear stream. You can enjoy the seasonal atmosphere (summer fireflies, autumn leaves, etc.) while listening to.

大台ヶ原の西麓に、かっては登山家達のみが利用する関西地方でも有数の秘湯、小処温泉があります。バスを乗り継いで来たら、最後のバス停で降りてから徒歩で２時間。車で行く場合は、国道169号線から脇道に入って小橡川(ことちがわ)沿いの道を行くこと10km、２台の車がすれ違うのもやっとと言うような道を行きます。今でもこんな所ですから、初めて行った時には正に決死の覚悟で行くような温泉でした。平成13年8月にリニューアルオープンし、建物も山村の味を活かし、木材をふんだんに使った造りとなっています。温泉は、自然の大小様々な石を使った「岩風呂（渓谷の湯）」槙の香り漂う「木風呂（大樹の湯）」があり、それぞれ渓流に面した露天風呂があり、清流の音を聞きながら、四季折々の風情（夏の蛍・秋の紅葉 etc.）を満喫できます。

The colorful cosmos flowers having been blooming all over the area fades as the setting sun goes down, and eventually only the black silhouette appears in the setting sun. All the more for because the daytime scene is so beautiful, the current scene is not only beautiful, but makes me think about various things. A day that begins at dawn and sets at sunset is a microcosm of a person’s life.  However, even if one day comes around again, a person’s life is only once.  Autumn reminds us of cosmos, and cosmos makes us be deep in thoughts.  Well, what will happen this autumn?

一面色とりどりに咲いていたコスモスが、夕日が落ちて行くにつれて色褪せ、やがて黒いシルエットだけが夕日に浮かびます。昼間の光景が美しいばかりに、今の光景はただ美しいだけでなく、深く思いに沈みます。夜明けに始まり夕日が沈む一日は人の一生の縮図です。ただ一日はまた巡り来ることはあっても、人の一生は一回切りです。コスモスといえば秋、秋といえばもの思わする季節。さーて、この秋はどうなることやら。

Chestnuts have arrived from Shinshu.  The chestnuts around Osaka are still in a state of chestnuts in burs, so I’m a little surprised.  I immediately made chestnut rice and enjoyed a sense of taste in the early autumn.  The Japanese archipelago is long from north to south, so if we travel from Okinawa to Hokkaido, we can enjoy two or three seasons, if not four seasons.  Also, if there is a high mountain, the same is true from the foot of the mountain to the top.  Autumn is the season of autumn leaves, and it is said that the autumn leaves are the most beautiful in the world.  “Great Yamato, of all lands most supreme! Enclosed by ranks of verdant banks on surrounding hills, Great Yamato-unmatched for beauty!”  sung by Yamato Takeru thinking of his hometown. When I’m immersed in the taste of autumn in this way, it seems that not only Yamato but the whole of Japan is like that.

信州から栗が届きました。大阪近辺の栗はまだ毬栗状態ですからちょっと驚きです。早速栗ご飯にし、一足早い秋の美香に舌鼓を打ちました。日本列島は南北に長いですから、沖縄から北海道を旅すれば、四季折々とは言わないまでも、二つか三つの季節を楽しめます。また高い山があれば、山の麓から天辺まででも同じです。秋は紅葉(こうよう)の季節、その紅葉振りも世界で最も美しいと言われています。倭建命が故郷を思って歌った「倭（やまと）は　国の真秀（まほ）ろば　たたなづく　青垣（あをかき）　山籠（やまごも）れる　倭し麗（うるは）し」は、こうして秋の味覚に浸っていると、大和だけでなく日本全体がその様に思われます。

It’s so cool today that the heat until recently seems like a lie. I don’t think it’s going to be a full-fledged fall as it is, but given the recent unseasonable climate, it may be surprising.  However, the seasons of the Shinshu plateau are changing as usual.  Colorful flowers dye the plateau in autumn colors.  The breeze is definitely the autumn breeze.  However, what is different from the usual year is that there are few people.  Obviously the effect of the coronavirus.  It seems unlikely that the number of people will increase as autumn deepens this year.

ついこの間の暑さが嘘の様に思える涼しさです。とてもこのまま本格的な秋に突入するとは思えませんが、最近の不順な気候を思えば、意外にそうなるかも知れません。しかし、信州の高原はどこも例年通りに季節は巡っています。色とりどりの花が高原を秋の色に染めています。そよ吹く風は確実に秋の風です。ただ例年と違うのは人影の少ないことです。明らかにコロナウイルスの影響です。秋の深まりに合わせて増える人出も今年は望めそうではありません。

A big water wheel is turning around when I follow the village road.  The amount of water is large due to the rain that fallen a few days ago, and I can clearly hear the sound of pounding with pestle from inside the watermill.  Shortly after entering the road beside the water wheel, the cobblestones becomes narrow, and splendid Yaburan(bush orchid) is in bloom.  It is tall and the purple color stands out.  The temperature will still be over 30 degrees Celsius, but the path of the forest where Yaburan bloom is cool.  Even if I do this, my spirits can’t be refreshed.  This is probably due to the influence of the depressed world. The fact that I can’t meet more people I want to meet may have more influence.

里道を辿ると大きな水車が回っています。二、三日前に降った雨で水量も多く、水車小屋の中から臼をつく杵の音がはっきり聞こえてきます。水車脇の道に入り、辿ると間もなく石畳の細い小径になり、見事な藪蘭が並び咲いています。背丈も高く紫色が際立っています。気温はやはり30度を超えているでしょうが、藪蘭が咲く森林の径は涼しいです。こうしていても、なかなか気が晴れません。鬱屈した世情が多分影響しているのです。それ以上に会いたい人にも会えない事がもっと影響しているのでしょう。

Today is September 1st.  The heat of summer has continued for the past week or two, but today the temperature has dropped a little and the weather is downhill.  It will be raining for a week from tomorrow, and the temperature is forecast not to exceed 30 degrees Celsius.  When I go for a walk around in the light cloudy weather, I can see a mixture of late summer and early autumn everywhere.  Yoshida Kenko said that there is something interesting at the turn of the season, but the taste is different between the transition between summer and autumn and the transition between autumn and winter. The taste is naturally different between this time of year when the hot summer is finally over and the fruitful autumn is reached, and the time of late autumn when the flowers are scattered and there are no leaves and the cold winter is just around the corner.  In any case, I feel lonely at this time.

今日は９月１日。この一二週間はまた夏がぶり返した様な猛暑が続きましたが、今日はやや気温も下がり、お天気も下り坂。明日から一週間は雨模様で、気温も30度を超えない予報です。薄曇りの中、辺りの散策に出かけると、晩夏と初秋を織り交ぜた光景が至る所で見受けます。折節のうつりかはるこそ、ものごとにあはれなれ、と兼好法師は言いましたが、夏と秋の変わり目、秋と冬の変わり目ではやはり趣が異なります。暑い夏をやっと乗り切り、実り多い秋を迎えるこの時期と、花は散り木の葉も無く、ただ寒い冬を迎ええる晩秋では、自ずから趣は違います。いずれにしろ、この時期、やたら寂しさを覚えます。