Speaking of gerbera, it is a flower with a cheerful and bright atmosphere, and there are various flower colors and flower shapes such as single, double, spider, and semi-double, so the leaves are gathered at the ground and thick, and only the flower stalk grows long. I imagine the appearance of a refreshing flower in bloom. The gerbera in the photo is the original species of gerbera, and is a perennial plant native to South Africa and Swaziland, whose scientific name is Gerbera jamesonii, also known as “Hanaguruma” or “African Senbonyari”.  The petals are red, thin, and the number of petals is small, and it is known as the ancestor of almost all gerberas cultivated today.  You will be fascinated by the light and neat flowers like the original species.

ガーベラと言えば、陽気で明るい雰囲気をもつ花で、多彩な花色と、一重、八重、スパイダー咲きやセミダブルなど花形のバリエーションもあり、葉は地際に集まって茂り、花茎だけが長く伸びて咲くすっきりした花の姿を思い浮かべます。写真のガーベラはガーベラの原種で、学名Gerbera jamesonii(ガーベラヤ ヤメソニー)、別名「ハナグルマ」や「アフリカセンボンヤリ」とも呼ばれる南アフリカ及びスワジランドが原産の多年草です。花弁は赤色で細く、枚数も少ないのが特徴で、現在栽培される殆ど全てのガーベラの祖先として知られています。原種らしく淡麗で清楚な花の姿に魅せられます。

The Kishiwada Danjiri Festival, known for its heroic pulling, will be held for the first time in three years today on the 17th and tomorrow.  Due to the spread of the new corona infection, it was canceled in 2020 and was held without spectators in 2021.  The history of the Kishiwada Danjiri Festival dates back to the middle of the Edo period.  The Kishiwada feudal lord at the time held an Inari festival to pray for a bountiful harvest, and it is a historic festival boasting a tradition of over 300 years.  The highlight of the Kishiwada Danjiri Festival is the “Yarimawashi”.  The sight of the Danjiri, which weighs more than 4 tons, running vigorously and changing direction at right angles is a sight to behold.  Lacquer and gold leaf are not used on purpose, and the wood grain of the zelkova wood is used. Contrary to the rough image, it is highly evaluated for its artistry and is called a “moving work of art.”  Every small town has a danjiri, which is said to be valued at more than 100 million yen, and 2,300 townspeople form a group and haul it around for two days from morning till night.

勇壮な引き回しで知られる「岸和田だんじり祭り」が、今日17日と明日、3年ぶりに通常開催されます。新型コロナの感染拡大で、2020年は中止、21年は無観客での開催でした。岸和田だんじり祭の歴史は江戸時代中期にまで遡ります。当時の岸和田藩主が五穀豊穣祈願のため、稲荷祭を行なったことが始まりで、300年以上の伝統を誇る由緒あるお祭りです。そんな岸和田だんじり祭のハイライトは「やりまわし」。重さ4トンを超えるだんじりが勢い良く走りながら直角に方向転換する様は圧巻です。あえて漆塗りや金箔などを施さず、欅（けやき）の木目を活かした仕上がりは、荒々しいイメージとは裏腹に、「動く芸術品」といわれるほど芸術性を評価されています。時価一億円は下らないと言われる「だんじり」を小さな町毎に持ち、二三百人の町民が一団となって、朝から晩まで、二日に渡って引き回すのです。

There are signs of autumn everywhere, but it’s still a summer day.  The Japanese garden in one corner of the park has a waterway that flows coolly.  Beside it, Murasakishikibu (purple berries) are swaying as if to match the murmur of a small stream.  The origin of the name Murasakishikibu is from the Heian period female writer Murasakishikibu, but it was originally “Murasakikishimi”, which seems to have changed to “Murasakishikibu”.  As the scientific name “Callicarpa japonica” and the English name “Japanese beautyberry” indicate, the Murasakishikibu is native to Japan, and both praise the neat beauty of the purple fruit.

至る所に秋の気配は漂ってきましたが、相変わらずの夏日です。公園の一角にある日本庭園には水路があり、涼しげにせせらいでいます。その傍にムラサキシキブが紫色の実を付けてせせらぎに合わせるかの様に揺れています。ムラサキシキブの名前の由来は平安時代の女性作家「紫式部」ですが、元は「ムラサキシキミ」で、それがいつしか「ムラサキシキブ」に変わったようです。学名の「Callicarpa japonica」とか、英名の「Japanese beautyberry」にある様にムラサキシキブは日本原産で、いずれも紫色の実の清楚な美しさを讃える内容です。

Come to think of it, it was saury season, so I went to Shokudou-gai, a large shopping mall nearby, as I remembered.  Among the several Japanese restaurants, there was only one with a stand signboard of early saury.  The saury that was served was still small, and it was not the seasonal saury that had survived the fat, but I could only taste the autumn season.  At Hanasaki Port in Nemuro City, Hokkaido, which boasts the largest catch of saury in Japan, 201 tons of the season’s highest catch was caught on the morning of September 14th.  This is the highest catch of the season, and according to the fishermen, “fishing is getting better.”  Still, the catch of Pacific saury is said to have decreased to about one-tenth in the last ten years, so saury will surely become a high-class fish someday.

そう言えば秋刀魚の季節だと、思い出したように近くの大型ショッピングモールの食道街に出かけました。何軒かある和食店の内、一軒だけ初秋刀魚のスタンド看板を出している店がありました。出された秋刀魚はまだ小振りで、脂の乗り切った旬の秋刀魚ではありませんでしたが、秋の季節感だけは味わえました。秋刀魚の水揚げ日本一誇る北海道根室市の花咲港では、9月14日朝、今季最高の201トンが水揚げされたそうです。 この水揚げ量は今季最高で、漁師によると「漁は、まあまあ良くなってきた」 ということです。それでもサンマの漁獲量はこの10年でおよそ10分の1に減少していると言いますから、秋刀魚もいづれは高級魚になるに違いありません。

The state funeral of Queen Elizabeth of England, who died on the 8th, will be held on the 19th, and former Prime Minister Abe on the 27th.  While Queen Elizabeth’s state funeral is held in grief for most of the people, former Prime Minister Abe’s state funeral has been criticized more and more with each passing day.  Although one is the king and the other is the head of the government, and although the circumstances of their deaths are different, there are many points that make us think about the differences in the state funerals that are strangely held at the same time.  Former Prime Minister Abe’s state funeral is held extremely emotionally based on the Cabinet Office Establishment Law and cabinet decision within the scope of administrative power, while Queen Elizabeth’s state funeral is legally held through a resolution of the Diet and is done through proper procedures.  It includes issues related to the foundation of democracy, and also expresses the difference in maturity.  Prior to that, it is hard to believe that former Prime Minister Abe was a prime minister who was worthy of being held at a state funeral that successive prime ministers had not been held.

8日に死去した英国のエリザベス女王の国葬が19日に、27日には安倍元首相の国葬が執り行われます。エリザベス女王の国葬が国民の大半が悲しみの中で執り行われるのに対して、安倍元首相の国葬は日を追う毎に批判の声が広がっています。片方が国王であり、一方は行政府の長であることや、死亡の経緯が異なるとはいえ、奇しくも同時期に執り行われる国葬の違いは、考えさせられる点が多くあります。安倍元首相の国葬が、行政権の範囲内で内閣府設置法と閣議決定を根拠に、極めて情緒的に行われるのに対して、エリザベス女王の国葬は国会の議決を経て、法的にもきちんとした手続きを経て行われます。民主主義の根幹にも関わる問題を含んでいるとともに、その成熟度の違いをも表しています。それ以前に、安倍元首相が歴代の首相でも行われなかった国葬で執り行なわれるにふさわしい首相であったとはとても思えません。

There is nothing more uncouth than checking the price of the grapes you received. However, it is human nature to want to find out.  For those who usually eat grapes that cost a few hundred yen at most, the gorgeous contents of the box are intriguing.  Even if I see “Shine Muscat” or “Momotaro Grape” on the menu, I don’t know the value.  When I looked into it, I found that even an average item would cost around 5,000 yen per bunch, and an expensive one would cost more than 10,000 yen.  I just roll my eyes.  Matsuo Basho’s haiku says, “In Katsunuma, even packhorse driver eats grapes”, but the grapes I usually eat are about the same as him, and I can fully enjoy the deliciousness of grapes.  No no, if I say this, I’ll be punished by the giver.

頂いた葡萄の値段を調べるなんて無粋もいいところです。しかしつい調べたくなるのも人情です。普段はせいぜい数百円くらいの葡萄を食べている者にとって、箱からしていかにも豪華な中身は興味津々です。お品書きに「シャインマスカット」とか「桃太郎葡萄」と書いていたってその値打ちが分かりません。調べてみたら、並の品でも一房5000円前後、高いのになると一万円を超えます。ただ目を丸くするばかりです。松尾芭蕉の句に「勝沼や馬子も葡萄を食ひながら」というのがありますが、普段食べる葡萄はその程度で、葡萄の美味しさを十分味わっています。いやいや、こんなことを言ったら、贈り主にバチが当たりますね。

The new coronavirus pandemic is about to end its third year in four months.  The Spanish flu pandemic 100 years ago began in 1918 and ended in 1920.  It was widespread for 3 years.  The situation is quite different from now, so I can’t generalize, but I feel that three years is one prospect.  The actual number of infected people is several times the number announced, so it may be possible that natural immunity will spread and converge in three years.  At that time, parallel to the pandemic, the Russian Revolution occurred and shook the world.  Today, the war in Ukraine, with Russia at its epicenter, is having an impact on the world in various ways.  The situation is very similar.  I want the pandemic and the war in Ukraine to end as soon as possible and return to a peaceful world.

新型コロナウイルスによるパンデミックもあと４か月で３年目を終えようとしています。100年前のスペイン風邪によるパンデミックも、1918年に始まり1920年に収束しました。３年間流行しました。今とは事情も随分違いますから、一概には言えませんが、３年間というのは一つの目処の様な気がします。実際の感染者は公表されている数の数倍でしょうから、３年間で自然免疫も行き渡り、収束するのかもしれません。当時はパンデミックと平行して、ロシア革命が起こり、世界を震撼させました。今はやはり、ロシアを震源とするウクライナ戦争が世界に様々な形で影響を及ぼしています。状況はよく似ています。一日も早く、パンデミックもウクライナ戦争も終わり、平和な世界に戻って欲しいものです。

Even on the day of the Harvest moon, the daytime heat is over 30°C.  Invited by the ice banner, I went to a shop and had cold warabi mochi.  Glass wind chimes ring every time the bamboo blinds shake.  Summer is not over yet.  The coolness of the mornings and evenings, the sounds of insects at that time, autumn is definitely approaching.  The change of season shakes people’s hearts.  However, this transition from summer to autumn makes people most sentimental.  It makes you feel the sense of impermanence ingrained in the hearts of the Japanese people.  This feeling lingers until the afterglow of summer has completely faded away and turned completely into autumn.

中秋の名月を迎えた日も、昼間は30℃を超える暑さです。氷の幟に誘われて入ったお店で冷えたわらび餅を頂きました。簾が揺れる毎にガラスの風鈴が鳴ります。まだ夏は終わっていません。朝晩の涼しさ、その時聞こえる虫の声、確実に秋は近づいています。季節の変わり目は人の心を揺すります。しかし、この夏から秋の変わり目は人をいちばん感傷的にさせます。日本人の心に染み付いた無常感をひしと感じさせるのです。夏の余韻が完全に消え、すっかり秋に変わるまでこの感覚は残ります。

Today is the Mid-Autumn Moon.  According to the lunar calendar, July, August, and September are autumn, and August 15 is the day in the middle of the autumn.  This day is full moon and the fifteenth day of the month.  Therefore, this day is called Mid-Autumn Moon.  There is also the another Mid-Autumn Moon, but the months of July, August, and September are also called early autumn, mid-autumn, and late autumn,  and the day of the mid-autumn. that is, the full moon on August 15th, is also called the another Mid-Autumn Moon.  If you shift the lunar calendar back by about one month, it will be a month of the solar calendar, and August 15th of the lunar calendar will be September 15th of the new calendar, and the full moon around here will be the Mid-Autumn Moon.  In November 1872 (Meiji 5), the lunar calendar (specifically, the lunisolar calendar) that had been used in Japan until then was changed to the solar calendar, which was the mainstream in the world.  Many of the traditional events in Japan have been inherited from the lunar calendar era, and even now, 150 years after the change to the solar calendar, there is still some confusion.

今日は中秋の名月です。旧暦(太陰暦)では７月、８月、9月が秋で、その真ん中の日が８月15日です。この日は満月で十五夜の日です。ですから、この日を中秋の名月と呼びます。仲秋の名月という言い方もありますが、７月、８月、9月をそれぞれ、初秋、仲秋、晩秋とも言い、仲秋の真ん中の日、つまり８月15日の十五夜を仲秋の名月とも呼ぶわけです。旧暦をおよそ1か月、後にずらせば太陽暦の月になり、旧暦の８月15日は新暦の9月15日になり、この辺りの十五夜が中秋の名月ということになります。明治5（1872）年11月、日本でそれまで使用されていた太陰暦(詳しくは太陰太陽暦)を、世界で主流となっていた太陽暦に変更しました。日本の伝統行事は大体旧暦の時代から引き継いだものが多いで、太陽暦に変わってから150年も経った今も混乱しているところがあります。

Crape myrtle is written as “百日紅 (A red flower that continues to bloom for a hundred days)” and the reading is “サルスベリ (sarusuberi).  “百日紅” is an expression that focuses on the flowering season, and crape myrtle begins to bloom around mid-June and continues to bloom until around October.  “サルスベリ”, as the name suggests, is so slippery that even monkeys who are good at climbing can slip on it.  It is a word that clearly expresses the characteristics of Japanese word.  One word expresses two meanings, with the characters representing the characteristics of the flowers and the pronunciation representing the characteristics of the wood.  It’s truly unique.  In English, it is called “Crape myrtle”, and it is named because it resembles a flower called myrtle, and the petals are curled like a crepe.  In French, it’s called “Lilas d’été”, which means summer lilac.  Both are names that focus on the flowers, and the meaning of focusing on the smooth trunk cannot be read.  This is another characteristic of the Japanese language, along with the characteristic of the Japanese language that can be taken as flexible.

「百日紅」と書いてサルスベリ。「百日紅」は花期に注目した表現で、サルスベリは６月半ば頃から咲き始め、10月頃まで咲き続けます。サルスベリは言葉通り、木登り上手の猿でさえ滑るほど木肌がツルツルだと言うことから付いた名前です。日本語の特徴を端的に表した言葉です。文字は花の特徴を、読みは木肌の特徴をと、一つの言葉で二通りの意味を表します。実にユニークです。英語では、「Crape myrtle」 といい、ギンバイカ（myrtle）という花に似ていて、花弁がちりめん（crape）のように縮れていることから付いた名前です。フランス語では「Lilas d’été 」といい、夏のリラ（ライラック）の意味です。どちらも、花に注目した名称で、ツルツルの幹に着目した意味は読み取れません。融通無碍とも取れる日本語の特徴とともに、もう一つの日本語の特徴です。