On the 27th, the Japan Weather Association announced the “2022 Cherry Blossom Forecast (1st)”.  Last year (2021), we set new records at many points, including Hiroshima, which bloomed the earliest in Japan, Fukuoka, Nagasaki, and Osaka.  Therefore, compared to last year, there are many points that will be delayed by about 10 days this year. This cherry blossom flowering forecast uses Somei Yoshino as a sample tree, calculates the low temperature from autumn to winter of the previous year, considers the growth state of the cherry blossoms and the integrated temperature, and based on the past data of each predicted point, the expected data of  flowering and full bloom at that point is calculated. There are “400 ° C law” and “600 ° C law” in the interesting cherry blossom forecast.  The “law of 400 ° C” is that the cherry blossoms will bloom when the average daily temperature from February 1st is added and reaches 400 ° C.  Another “law of 600 ° C” is that the cherry blossoms bloom around 600 ° C, which is the sum of the daily maximum temperatures from February 1st.  It seems to hit other than.  In this case, we can predict the cherry blossoms if we calculate the temperature diligently.

27日、日本気象協会は「2022年桜開花予想(第1回)」を発表しました。昨年(2021年)は、全国で一番早く開花した広島をはじめ、福岡、長崎、大阪など、多くの地点で最早記録を更新しました。そのため、昨年と比較すると、今年は10日前後遅くなる地点が多くなるそうです。この桜開花予想は、ソメイヨシノを標本木として、前年の秋から冬にかけての低温や、桜の生長状態、積算温度を計算し、予想地点ごとの過去データをもとに、その地点の開花・満開の予想日を算出しているという事です。面白い桜開花予想には「400°Cの法則」と「600°Cの法則」というのがあります。「400°Cの法則」は、 2月1日からの日々の平均気温を足して、400°C に達した頃に桜が開花するというものです。もうひとつの「600°Cの法則」は、2月1 日からの日々の最高気温を足して600°Cになる 頃に桜が開花するというものです。以外に当たるそうです。これなら、我々でもまめに気温を計算していけば桜開花予想ができるわけですね。

One of Ogai Mori’s famous short stories is “Takasebune”.  It is a story of a conversation between a man named Kisuke who killed his younger brother and Shobei Hada, who is a police escort, in a boat going down the Takase River to banish from Kyoto.  Many people misinterpret the Takase boat and the Takase river.  In other words, there is the Takase River that connects central Kyoto and Fushimi in the south, and because it is a boat that passes through it, it is interpreted as a Takase boat.  Instead, once upon a time there was a Takasebune that connects ports all over the country, and Takasebune to the canal that connects central Kyoto and Fushimi was brought in.  It is true that this canal came to be called the Takase River because it is the river that the Takase boat passes through.  It’s a misunderstanding that was born because Ogai’s “Takasebune” became famous.

森鴎外の有名な短編小説に『高瀬舟』というのがあります。京都の罪人を遠島に送るために高瀬川を下る舟の中で、弟を殺した喜助という男と、護送役の同心である羽田庄兵衛が交わす会話の物語りです。この高瀬舟と高瀬川のことを多くの人が間違った解釈をしています。つまり、京都中心部と南の伏見を結ぶ高瀬川があって、そこを通う舟だから高瀬舟という解釈です。そうではなくて、昔々全国に港港を結ぶ高瀬舟があって、その高瀬舟を京都中心部と伏見を結ぶ運河に持ってきた。その高瀬舟が通う川という事でこの運河のことをいつしか高瀬川と呼ぶようになった言うのが真実です。鴎外の『高瀬舟』が有名になったが故に生まれた誤解ですね。

In Yawata City, Kyoto Prefecture, which is famous for Iwashimizu Hachimangu, there is a garden related to Shokado Shojo, a monk and cultural figure in the early Edo period.  In the vast garden of 22000 ㎢, there are the thatched house “Shokado” (a cultural property designated by Kyoto Prefecture) and “Izumibo Shoin” (a cultural property registered by Kyoto Prefecture) where Shojo lived, which were moved from Mt Otokoyama.  And there’s also a famous Camellia japonica garden, where more than 120 types of camellia are planted.  Shojo, who was also a master of the tea ceremony, must have been influenced by Sen no Rikyu.  Even if Rikyu’s teaching, which preached that “flowers are in the field,” goes around the park, you can feel it at every corner.  The camellia flowers were sought after for their elegance to gently snuggle up to the tea table, rather than the impressive flowers that would change the atmosphere of the room.  The camellia that grows in Yamano must have been loved as the “queen of tea flowers.”

石清水八幡宮で有名な京都府八幡市に、江戸時代初期の僧侶で文化人であった松花堂昭乗ゆかりの庭園があります。22000㎢の広大な庭園には、男山の山中から移築した、昭乗が暮らしていた草庵「松花堂」（京都府指定文化財）と「泉坊書院」（京都府登録文化財）があります。またそこには有名な椿園があり、120種類以上の椿が植えられています。茶道にも長じていた昭乗は千利休に影響を受けたに違いありません。「花は野にあるように」と説いた利休の教えが園内を回っていても、端々でかんじとれます。部屋の雰囲気をガラリと変えるような印象的な花ではなく、ささやかに、そっとお茶の席に寄り添う上品さが椿の花に求められたのです。山野に生える椿は「茶花の女王」として愛されてきたのでしょう。

“Sagiike pond” is located on the south side of Nara Park, near Tobihino Field.  In the center of the pond, there is an elegant cypress-roofed hall called “Ukimi-do hall” in the octagonal style (hexagon).  Due to the recent cold weather, the hall is covered with snow and is reflected in the “Sagiike” covered with thin ice.  The cherry blossoms that bloom around the pond in the spring, the crape myrtle that blooms around the pond in the summer, and the colors of the autumn leaves that spread throughout the pond in the fall are very beautiful.  In addition, there is Kataoka Bairin nearby, and about 250 plum trees planted around “Enmokutei hall” are beginning to open buds.

奈良公園の南側、飛火野にほど近い位置に「鷺池」があります。その池の中央部には「浮御堂」と呼ばれる八角堂形式(六角形)で檜皮葺きの立派なお堂が浮かんでいます。このところの冷え込みでお堂は雪に覆われ、薄氷が張った「鷺池」に朧に映っています。春には周辺に咲く桜、夏には池の周囲に咲く百日紅、また秋には全体に広がる紅葉の色彩が池に照り映えるお堂の姿は非常に美しいものです。また近くには片岡梅林があり、「円窓亭」を取り囲むように植えられた250本ほどの梅がぼつぼつ蕾を開き始めています。

Giouji Temple was also buried in the snow.  Giouji is a tragic love temple that appears in “The Tale of the Heike”, which is classified as a military memorial story, and a famous temple of Kyoto Sagano.  Giou (21 years old), who was chased from Kiyomori’s residence, with his sister Gion (19 years old), his mother Swordsman (45 years old) and Hotoke-gozen (17 years old) who realized “someday I have the same fate”, abandoned the old grudge and spent the rest of their lives.  The large round window in the Thatched waiting room is called the Yoshino window.  It is also called a “rainbow window” because the sunlight that normally shines through the green leaves in the precincts reflects colorful colors on the shoji screens.  Now, I can see the snowy landscape outside from the slightly open shoji, and there is a faint rainbow.

祇王寺も雪に埋もれていました。祇王寺は言わずとも知れた京都嵯峨野の名刹、軍記物語と分類される『平家物語』にも登場する悲恋の尼寺です。清盛の邸を追われた祇王（21歳）が、妹の祇女（19歳）、母の刀自（45歳）、そしてのちに“いつか我が身も同じ運命”と悟った仏御前（17歳）が加わって、旧怨を捨てて四人で念仏三昧の余生を送りました。草庵の控えの間にある大きな丸窓を吉野窓といいます。普段なら境内の緑葉を通って差し込む日差しが、障子に色とりどりの色彩を映し出すことから「虹の窓」とも言います。今は、わずかに開いた障子から外の雪景色が見え、ほんの微かに虹がかかっています。

“In this calm and peaceful spring sun, the flowers are falling without calm mind”
It is a famous Tanka poetry by Ki no Tomonori, which was selected in the collection of Japanese poems “Kokin Wakashū” in the early Heian period.  Needless to say, the “flowers” that appear here are cherry blossoms.  In the Heian period, flowers meant cherry blossoms.  This hasn’t changed since then.  However, the era of “Manyoshu” was the era of plum blossoms rather than cherry blossoms.  The number of plums selected in “Manyoshu” shows its popularity.  There are 43 songs about cherry blossoms, but 110 songs about plum blossoms.  Plums are more than double the number of cherry blossoms.  It was in the Heian period that it was reversed.  In the “Kokin Wakashū” created in the early Heian period, there are about 18 songs about plum blossoms but 70 songs about cherry blossoms.  The gorgeous cherry blossoms reflect the times against the plain plums.  After that, Sakura had a great influence on the spiritual formation of the Japanese people.

「久方の　ひかりのどけき春の日に　しづ心なく　花の散るらむ」
平安時代初期の勅撰和歌集『古今和歌集』に撰集された紀友則の有名な歌です。ここに出てくる「花」は言わずもがな桜の花です。平安時代には花と言えば桜の花を意味していました。爾来今に至るまでこれは変わりません。しかし、『万葉集』の時代は桜より梅の時代でした。その人気ぶりをうかがえるのが、『万葉集』に詠まれた梅の数です。桜を詠んだ歌は43首に対し、梅を詠んだ歌は110首。梅は桜の倍以上詠まれているのです。それが逆転したのが平安時代です。平安初期に作成された『古今和歌集』には、梅を詠んだ歌は18首程度に対し、桜を詠んだ歌は70首となっています。地味な梅に対して華やかな桜が時代を反映した訳ですね。そしてその後、桜は日本人の精神形成に大きな影響を与えました。

Kyoto is snowy everywhere.  As I wanted to visit Kibune in the snow, I took the Kyoto Eizan Electric Railway from “Demachiyanagi” to “Kibuneguchi” and then took the Kyoto bus to “Kibune”.  As expected, there is more snow than in the city of Kyoto, but it’s snow-removed and it’s not a problem to walk. Occasionally, cars pass by with squealing snow tires, but the number is small and the summer congestion seems to be a lie.  The “Kurama Shrine” that I am aiming for is usually about 10 minutes on foot, but I think it took two to three times as long.  When I arrived, my body was a little sweaty.  There wasn’t as much snow as I expected on the stone steps, and when I passed through the mountain gate, I even took off my snow jacket.  There were three and five figures in the precincts, but I suddenly missed them.

京都は至る所雪です。一度雪の貴船を訪ねたくなり、京都叡山電鉄の「出町柳」から「貴船口」、そこから京都バスで「貴船」下車しました。さすがに京都の市街地より積雪は多いものの、雪除けがされていて歩くのには困りません。時折り、スノータイアを軋ませながら車が通り過ぎますが、さすがに台数も少なく、夏の混雑が嘘のようです。目指す「鞍馬神社」は普段なら歩いて10分程ですが、２倍から３倍かかったように思います。着いた時には体が少々汗ばんでいました。石段も思っていたほど雪も少なく山門をくぐった時にはスノージャケットも脱いだほどです。境内には三々五々人影もありましたが、ふと人恋しくなりました。

On a sunny day in mid-winter, even if the sun is shining brightly, the coldness of the sea breeze pierce me to the bone.  A colorful fishing net is dried on the side of the seaside.  Looking closely, I can see that an old fisherman is silently repairing the net, hiding behind the net. It’s like a picturesque. With my consent, I immediately took a snapshot with my smartphone.  This is my proud photo.  If I  ask carefully, this fish net is a fish net for Kinmedai(a bright-red fish with golden goggle eyes), and it seems that the body of the Kinmedai at this time is firm and fat.  At first, I thought I was preparing for spring fishing, so I sang “For spring fishing …”, but he was in the middle of fishing for Kinmedai.

冬晴れの一日、日は燦々と照っていてもまだまだ寒の内、潮風の冷たさが身に沁みます。海辺の側に色鮮やかな魚網が干されています。よく見ると、その魚網に隠れて、ひとりの老漁師が黙々と網直しをしています。一幅の絵になります。了解を得て早速スマホでパチリ。自慢の写真です。なんでも、この魚網は金目鯛用の魚網で、この時期の金目鯛は身が引き締まっていて、脂ノリノリだそうです。初め、春漁に備えてかなと思い、「春漁に・・・」と歌いましたが、今金目鯛漁の真っ最中だったんですね。

It’s Daikan. It’s  “About half a month to end the end of winter” Every year, and it is about January 20th to February 3rd.  February 3rd, the last day of the Daikan, is Setsubun, and recently, “Ehomaki” has become a standard food for “Setsubun”.  At convenience stores, it is now a promotion battle for “Ehomaki”. On the other hand, the water drawn in Kan-no-uchi(during midwinter) of the coldest winter is called “Kan-no-mizu(cold water)”, and it has been said that sake, miso, and soy sauce prepared with this water will be delicious.  It’s in the middle of that preparation now. In this way, we await the arrival of spring every moment.

今日は大寒。「冬の最後を締めくくる約半月」毎年、だいたい1月20日～2月3日ごろです。大寒の最終日2月3日が節分で、「節分」の食べ物として、最近は「恵方巻き」がすっかり定番になりました。コンビニでは今「恵方巻き」の宣伝合戦です。一方、厳冬期である寒の内に汲む水を「寒の水」と呼び、この水で仕込んだお酒や、味噌、醤油はおいしくなると言われてきました。今その仕込みの真っ最中です。こうして、刻一刻と春の到来を待ち受けます。

The corona sickness caused by the Omicron strain is steadily expanding.  To date, the number of infected people in the world is 330 million, the number of deaths is 5.55 million, the number of infected people in Japan is 1.9 million, and the number of deaths is 18,433.  By the way, it is estimated that 400 million people were infected with the Spanish flu in 1918 and 100 million people died.  On the other hand, the number of fatalities due to natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and accompanying tsunamis and fires was 300,000 in Bangladesh (Cyclone), which ranked first, and 105,000 in the Great Kanto Earthquake (earthquake / fire), which ranked ninth, and 19,000 in the Great East Japan Earthquake (earthquake / tsunami), which ranked 31th, and 6,300 in the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake (earthquake / fire), which ranked 44th. In this way, the harm caused by infectious diseases is an order of magnitude greater. I want to somehow escape from this corona disaster by the end of this year.

オミクロン株によるコロナ禍が拡大の一途を辿っています。現在までの世界の感染者数は3.3億人、死亡者数は555万人、日本の感染者数は190万人、死亡者数は18,433人です。因みに1918年に起こったスペイン風邪による感染者数は4億人、死亡者数は1億人と推定されています。一方、地震や火山噴火、それに伴う津波や火災といった自然災害による死亡者数は、1位のバングラデシュ(サイクロン)で30万人、9位の関東大震災（地震／火災）で10万5,000人、31位の東日本大震災（地震／津波）で1万9,000人、そして44位の阪神淡路大震（地震/火災)で6,300人ですから、被感染症による害は桁違いに大きいわけです。何とか今年中にはこのコロナ禍から脱出したいものです。