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As I expected, a bright red ripe Karasu-uri (Crow gourd) was hanging. Shortly before the rainy season began, I remembered the Karasu-uri flowers that emerged in the darkness after the setting sun had set. The pale white, beautiful and bewitching figure has a mysterious atmosphere that makes it hard to believe that it is a flower. It is a climbing perennial plant of the family Cucurbitaceae that grows wild in the fields and mountains of Japan. Kenji Miyazawa also seemed to be very concerned about it, and he often says it in “Night on the Galactic Railroad” and “Mathasaburo Kazano.” I’m not sure if he refers to the white flower or the red fruit when he refers to the “light of the gourd”. However, depending on the region, it seems that cute lanterns were made by hollowing out the inside of the Karasu-uri and lighting a candle inside, so Kenji’s ‘Akari of Karasu-uri’ may also be referring to this lantern. Come to think of it, it’s almost Halloween (10/31). “Jack-o-lanterns” made from hollowed out pumpkins are good, but I also have a dream to make Karasu-uri lanterns.
思った通り真っ赤に熟した烏瓜の実がぶら下がっていました。梅雨に入る少し前、夕陽が落ちた宵闇の中に浮かび上がるカラスウリの花を思い出しました。青ざめたように白く美しく妖艶な姿には、花とは思えない不思議な雰囲気があります。カラスウリは日本の山野に自生するウリ科のつる性多年草で、山野でも街中でも毎年同じ場所で見かけます。宮沢賢治もとても気にしていた様で、『銀河鉄道の夜』や『風野又三郎』にもたびたび登場します。彼が言う「烏瓜のあかり」が、あの白い花を指すのか赤い実を指すのか定かではありません。しかし、地方によっては、烏瓜の中身をくり抜いて中に蝋燭を灯して可愛いランタンを作った様ですから、賢治の「烏瓜のあかり」もこのランタンを言っているのかも知れません。そう言えばもうすぐ(10/31)ハロウィンですね。カボチャをくり抜いた「ジャック・オー・ランタン」もいいですが、烏瓜のランタンも夢がありますね。