My grandson in Shanghai, China returned in February of last year.  It is the time of Chinese New Year, which corresponds to the New Year of Japan.  Around this time, the passengers of the cruise ship Diamond Princess was infected with the new coronavirus, causing a fuss in Japan.  However, many tourists came from China during the Chinese New Year.  It was still weak that Everyone’s perception of it was around then.  It was then that I met my grandson, and I haven’t seen him for a year and a half since then.  Normally, I should be able to return to Japan and meet during the Obon festival, but this time it seems impossible.  It seems that there are few infected people in Shanghai, but it seems difficult to enter Japan.  I just hope the pandemic will end as soon as possible.

中国上海にいる孫が帰って来たのは昨年の２月でした。日本の正月にあたる春節の時です。この頃にはクルーズ船ダイヤモンド・プリンセス号に新型コロナウイルスの集団感染が発生し、大騒ぎになっていました。しかし、中国からは春節を利用して沢山の観光客が訪れていました。まだまだ認識が甘かったわけですね。孫に会えたのもその時で、以来一年半会えていません。いつもならお盆の頃にも帰国し、会えるはずなのですが、今回も無理なようです。上海では感染者もほとんどないようですが、日本入国が大変らしいです。パンデミックが一日も早く終息することを願うのみです。

Pink trumpet vine is in bloom so as to cover the planting on the tree-lined avenue.  It’s really cool to see it swaying occasionally even though there is almost no wind.  The name of the flower is a closely related species of Chinese trumpet vine, which has orange flowers native to China, and is named after the pink flowers.  From early summer to autumn, dozens of buds are attached to the tips of new vines that grow in spring and have pinnate leaves, and pale pink trumpet-shaped neat flowers with red-purple streaks bloom one after another.  In South Africa, where it originates, it blooms from December to March, but in Japan it blooms from June to October.  Red-purple lines can be seen on the trumpet-shaped flowers, which serve as a marker for the insects that lead them.  There is a nectary behind the long tubular flower that makes it easier for insects to pollinate as they pass through the long tunnel.

並木道の植え込みを覆うようにピンクノウゼンカズラが咲いています。ほとんど風もないのに時折り揺れている姿がいかにも涼しげです。花の名は、中国原産のオレンジ色の花が咲くノウゼンカズラの近縁種で、ピンク色の花を咲かせることから名づけられました。初夏から秋まで、春に伸びて羽状の葉をつけた新しいつるの先につぼみを十数個つけ、赤紫色の筋の入った淡いピンクのトランペット形の清楚な花が次々と咲きます。原産地の南アフリカでは12〜3月頃まで花を咲かせますが、日本では6〜10月頃まで咲きます。ラッパ形の花には赤紫色の線が見え、媒介する虫たちに対する目印になっています。 長い筒状の花の奥に蜜腺があり、昆虫たちが長いトンネルを通過する間に受粉しやすくなっています。 ちなみに、英名は Pink trumpet vineです。

Since “Fuyo” is also an eulogistic name for Hass, it is also called “Mokufuyo” when distinguishing it.  It has become wild in China, Taiwan, and Okinawa, Kyushu, and Shikoku in Japan, but it is presumed to be originally from China.  Especially in the Nansei Islands, the islands of Kyushu, and the Izu Islands, strings and ropes woven from Fuyo have been confirmed, and it seems that Fuyo has been used for a long time.  Fuyo for ornamental use has a record in the Muromachi period, but it was widely cultivated in the Edo period.  Fuyo has a height of about 4 m and blooms large flowers with a diameter of 10 to 15 cm.  It is a one-day flower that opens from the time the sun begins to rise in the morning and withers at sunset.  Due to its soft flower appearance and fragility, it has long been used as an analogy for beautiful women, and has been given the flower words “delicate beauty” and “graceful lover.”  On the other hand, because it is resistant to exhaust gas, it can now be seen well even when planting on the road.  Horinji Temple in Nishinokyo, commonly known as “Daruma-dera”, is known also as a Fuyo spot, and now you can see the Fuyo blooming around the statue of Daruma in front of the Daruma-do.

「芙蓉」はハスの美称でもあることから、特に区別する際には「木芙蓉」とも呼ばれます。中国、台湾そして日本の沖縄、九州、四国では野生化していますが、もともとは中国原産てあると推測されています。特に南西諸島や九州の島嶼部や伊豆諸島などでは、フヨウの繊維で編んだ紐や綱が確認されていて、古くから芙蓉は利用されていたようです。観賞用としての芙蓉は、室町時代にその記録が残っていますが、広く栽培され出したのは江戸時代です。芙蓉は高さがおよそ4mにものぼり、直径が10から15cmにも達するほどの大きな花が咲かせます。朝太陽が上り始める頃から花を開き日没と共に枯れてしまう一日花です。その柔らかな花姿と儚さから、昔から美しい女性の例えとして使われ、「繊細な美」「しとやかな恋人」という花言葉がつけられました。反面、排気ガスに強いという特徴があるため、今では道路の植え込みでもよく見ることができます。「だるま寺」の通称で知られる西ノ京の法輪寺は芙蓉スポットとして知られ、今、達磨堂前の達磨像を取り囲むように咲く芙蓉が見られます。

Even Momijiaoi(Scarlet rosemallow), which can withstand the direct sunlight of midsummer, is truly tired out in this intense heat.  Momijiaoi is a perennial plant of the Malvaceae genus Hibiscus that grows naturally in wetlands and swamps in the states of Alabama, Georgia, and Florida in the United States.  It is also called Swanp hibiscus because it grows naturally in swamps.  It is a plant that came to Japan in 1863 (the end of the Edo period) and has been popular since ancient times.  The flowers are one-day flowers, and the flowers that open in the morning deflate in the evening, but many flowers bloom one after another in the hot summer months.  In addition to red, there are also white flowers.

真夏の直射日光にも負けないモミジアオイもさすがにこの猛暑にはげんなりです。モミジアオイは、アメリカのアラバマ、ジョージア州、フロリダ州などの湿地や沼地などに自生するアオイ科フヨウ属の多年草です。沼地に多く自生することから、沼ハイビスカス(swamp hibiscus)とも呼ばれています。日本へは1863年(幕末)に渡来し、古くから親しまれてきた植物です。花は一日花で、朝に開いた花は夕方にはしぼみますが、夏の暑い盛りにたくさんの花が次々と開花します。花の色は赤の他、白などもあります。

I got a big watermelon from an acquaintance.  It’s so big that I wondered how I should eat it for a day, but for the time being, I cut it in half and put it in the refrigerator.  However, the refrigerator is already full.  I ate one-eighth the next day over a day, but I’m wondering how many days it will take to finish eating at this rate.  When I was in trouble and searched the net, there was a lot of information on how to cut watermelon well and how to save it.  The idea was resolved by cutting the remaining watermelon, wrapping it in plastic wrap, and storing it in the freezer.  I came to know the greatness, convenience and gratitude of the Internet society once again.

知り合いから大きなスイカを頂きました。あまりの大きさにどうしたものかと一日思案しましたが、とりあえず半分に切って冷蔵庫に入れました。しかしもうこれで冷蔵庫はいっぱい。翌日8分の１を一日がかりで食べましたが、この調子では食べ切るには何日かかることやら。困り果ててネットを調べてみたら、あるわ有るわ、スイカの上手い切り方から保存の仕方まで、様々な情報が満載。残りのスイカを切り直し、ラップに包んで冷凍庫に保管ということで思案は解消。改めてネット社会の凄さと便利さと有り難さを知ることになりました。

On the 20th,  “extremely hot day” continues to occur in various places.  The number of “extremely hot day” was 118, the highest number this year.  Katsunuma in Yamanashi Prefecture observed the highest temperature of 37.9 degrees in Japan this year, and it is said that it reached 37 degrees in Kyoto and Fukushima.  There aren’t indeed many people in the nearby park during the day. There is almost no wind around it, but the weeping willow that hangs down from the height is shaking slightly for some reason.  The voice of the cicada is screaming as if it were pouring down from the willow.  It’s the height of summer.  When I rushed under the willow, it was surprisingly cool whether the willow attracted the wind or the wind was good.  There is also a small crowd.  I can hear the voices of school children who have finished the closing ceremony.  It will be summer vacation from tomorrow.  How nice.  Let’s start summer vacation from tomorrow.

20日も各地で猛暑日が続出しています。猛暑日地点は118となり、今年最多となりました。山梨県の勝沼では今年、全国最高となる37.9度を観測、また京都や福島などでも37度台となったそうです。近くの公園も日中はさすがに人影もまばらです。周りはほとんど無風状態ですが、長く垂れ下がった枝垂れ柳がなぜか微かに揺れています。セミの声が柳から降り注ぐようにけたたましく鳴いています。まさに夏真っ盛り。柳の下に駆け込むと、柳が風を誘い込むのか、風向きが良いのか意外に涼しい。人だまりもできています。終業式を終えた学童達の声が聞こえてきます。明日から夏休みなんでしょうね。いいなあ。ぼくも明日から夏休みにしよう。

Koyasan, located in Koya-cho, Ito-gun, Wakayama Prefecture, in the northern part of Wakayama Prefecture, is said to be the “Issan Keidaichi”(The entire Koyasan is the precincts of Kongobuji Temple), and the entire mountain basin surrounded by 1,000m-class mountains is the precincts of the temple at an altitude of about 800m. The lower world has been experiencing intense heat of over 35 degrees Celsius every day since the end of the rainy season, but Koyasan rarely exceeds 30 degrees Celsius.  From Osaka, it’s a good distance to go by train or car in 2 hours, and it’s a different place in summer.  There are about fifty “shukubo” in Koyasan where ordinary worshipers can stay.  In the morning, when the night is not open yet, Higurashi(a clear-tone cicada) begins to cry.  This is irresistible.  When I hear the clear cry, I feel like I am in a paradise that transcends paradise. The morning religious service starts when the sun starts to rise.  What an impious person, I always think, I am.

和歌山県北部、和歌山県伊都郡高野町にある高野山は、「一山境内地」といわれ、周囲を1,000m級の山々に囲まれた山上盆地全域が寺の境内とされる標高約800mのところにあります。下界は梅雨明け早々から連日35度を超える猛暑日が続いていますが、高野山は30度を超えることは滅多にありません。大阪からなら電車でも車でも２時間もあれば十分行ける距離にあり、夏は別天地です。そんな高野山に一般の参拝者も宿泊できる「宿坊」が五十ヶ所くらいあります。朝、まだ開けやらね時分からヒグラシが鳴き始めます。これがたまりません。その清澄な鳴き声を聞くと、別天地のさらに上の別天地にいる境地です。日が上り始める頃から始まる朝勤行もうわの空。何と不信心者といつも思うのです。

A gray heron is standing up against the azure sea, which is rippling. A fishing boat is moving far offshore from right to left with the noise of the engine.  When the heron occasionally shakes its head, the long, black wings on its head blow in the wind.  It’s a moment when I feel infinity.  Infinity simply means “endless”, but for humans who can only recognize finiteness, “infinity” has been a fascinating concept since ancient times.  In modern times, the concept of infinity is often taken up as a subject of consideration in the fields of philosophy, mathematics, ethics and the natural sciences, but originally it has been taken up to explore the continuity of life and death related to human existence. The concept of “infinity” was born from such a background. All living things are born and die, but only human beings recognize life and death in the same living thing.  Therefore, human suffering is deep, and culture and civilization were created to get rid of that suffering.  The azure sea, the shining sun, the standing heron, the faint engine noise, the sea breeze stroking the cheeks, everything is a finite world surrounded by infinity.

さざ波が漂う紺碧の海を背にしてアオサギがすっくと立っています。遥か沖合いを漁船がエンジン音を轟かせながら右から左に進んでいます。アオサギが時折り頭を振ると頭の長く黒い羽が風に靡きます。無限を感じる瞬間です。無限とは単純には「限り無し」という意味ですが、有限しか認知し得ない人間にとっては古来から「無限」は魅惑的な概念です。近代に於いてはしばしば哲学、数学、倫理学や自然科学の分野において考察の対象として無限という概念は取り上げられますが、元はと言えば、人間存在に関わる生と死の連続性を探究する中から生まれたのが「無限」という概念です。あらゆる生物は生まれそして死にますが、同じ生物の中でも生と死を認識するのは人間だけです。それ故に人間の苦悩は深く、その苦悩を取り払う為に生み出されたのが文化、文明です。紺碧の海、ギラギラ照り付ける太陽、たたずむアオサギ、微かなエンジン音、頬を撫でる潮風、すべてが無限の中に囲まれた有限の世界です。

Yesterday, 17th, the Osaka District Meteorological Observatory announced at 11:00 am that “the Kinki region seems to have finished the rainy season.”  The end of the rainy season in the Kinki region is 15 days earlier than last year and 2 days earlier than normal.  According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, this year’s rainy season in the Kinki and Tokai regions lasted 62 days, the longest since 1951, when records remain.  It is a record break again.  Record breaking of meteorological data has become normal in recent years, and I am no longer surprised by the record breaking.  Extreme weather events occur everywhere in the world, and their effects are manifested in various ways.  In addition to them, we are in the midst of a century pandemic with the coronavirus. Looking at the slowness and poverty of humankind to deal with these, optimism is not always allowed in the future.  At the same time as the joy of the rainy season, the morning of the end of the rainy season was greeted with a mixed mood, mixed with the melancholy that the length was record-breaking again.

昨日１７日大阪管区気象台は、午前１１時に「近畿地方が梅雨明けしたとみられる」と発表しました。近畿地方の梅雨明けは、去年より１５日早く、平年より２日早いそうです。気象庁によると、近畿及び東海地方の今年の梅雨は62日間にわたり、記録が残る1951年以降で最も長いとか。またまた記録破りです。ここ数年気象データの記録破りは常態化し、記録破りにも驚かなくなりました。世界を見ても至る所で異常気象が発生し、その影響が様々なかたちで現れています。かてて加えてコロナウイルスによる世紀のパンデミック。これらに対処する人類の対応の遅さや稚拙さを見ていると、将来は必ずしも楽観は許されません。梅雨晴れの嬉しさとそれがまた記録破りだという杞憂が混ざり合う複雑な気分で梅雨明けの朝を迎えました。

A bluish-purple morning glory is blooming on the hedge of the promenade paved with pebbles.  I remembered the picture diary.  During the summer vacation, “Summer vacation friends”, study homework, and  “picture diary” were always on the desk. It was a routine to write a “picture diary” in the morning and make study a “friend of summer vacation” in the evening.  In “Picture Diary”, I wrote pictures in the upper half and sentences in the lower half, but I was looking forward to drawing pictures every day, and I think I drew them with pastel or colored pencils.  I was particularly particular about morning glory and eggplant, and I tried to use various colors to get the color, but I couldn’t get the color as I expected.  It was especially difficult to change the color of the eggplant calyx from white to purple.  As summer vacation approaches, this had become an assignment every year.  It was the morning glory of this morning that revived distant and distant memories.

小石を敷き詰めた遊歩道の生垣に紫紺の朝顔が咲いています。思わず思い出したのが絵日記。夏休みになると「夏休みの友」と「絵日記」が必ず机の上に乗っていました。朝は「絵日記」、晩は「夏休みの友」というのがお決まりでした。「絵日記」は上半分は絵、下半分は文章を書きますが、毎日絵を描くのが楽しみで、クレパスか色鉛筆で描いたように思います。特にこだわったのは朝顔と茄子で、その色合いを出そうといろんな色を使い工夫するのですが、なかなか思うように色合いが出せません。茄子のへたの白から茄子色に変わる部分が特に難しい。夏休みが近づくと、今年こそはと、毎年の課題になりました。遠い遠い思い出が蘇る今朝の朝顔でした。