By Mitsue Uchida Finch, Access Appointment
☆ 日本語・多言語の人材紹介派遣はアクセスアポイントメントへご相談ください Access Appointments for Japanese speaking recruitment ☆
(Please scroll below for the English version)
皆さまお変わりございませんでしょうか。5月初旬はバンクホリデーで連休となり、皆さまくつろがれたことと思います。でも朝夕まだ冷える今日この頃いつになったら暖かくなるのかと初夏、短い素敵な夏が待ち遠しいですね。
さて、「さつき」の由来ですが、早苗(稲の苗)を植える月「早苗月(さなへつき)」が短くなったという説や他色々とありますが、なぜ「早月」や「さ月」ではなく「皐月」という漢字なのでしょうか。「皐」は、人名用漢字で【音】コウ【訓】さつき、さわの3種の読み方があります。意味は、さつき、陰暦の5月のこと、きし(岸)、さわ(沢)などのほか、神にささげる稲という意味もあるため「皐」の漢字を当てたのだろうということです。ちなみに「五月(さつき)晴れ」という言葉ですが、本来は旧暦の5月の梅雨の時期に見られる合間の晴天のことをいうそうで、新暦の5月の晴れた日に使うのは誤りだそうです。旧暦は新暦よりも1、2か月ほどずれるので、ちょうど6，7月ごろのどんよりとした空模様が続く期間にふと見える晴れ間を指す言葉だったようですが、今では誤用とされる「5月のすがすがしい晴れた日」を指す言葉としても定着し、辞書にも「新暦五月頃のよく晴れた天気、陰暦五月の、梅雨の晴れ間」(大辞林)と両方の意味が載っているそうです。
夏も近づく八十八夜といううたがありますが、5月にその八十八夜もやってくるので、この八十八夜の事をこれから少しお話します。季節を知らせる日本人の生活環境から生まれた季節の習わしのひとつで、立春から88日目が「八十八夜」となり、また「八十八夜の別れ(忘れ)霜」といわれ、このころから霜が降りなくなり、“茶摘みや種まきに適した季節がきましたよ～”と言われています。そして英国でも5月は自然をお祝する日が多いようで1日はGreenman(ロマネスクの王様のような緑の葉っぱで覆われた)の行進があり春の到来を祝います。そして20日はWorld Bee Day、勿論Early May Bank Holidayも春の到来を知らせる祝日ですね。
さて、2月にウクライナ侵攻について書きましたが、状況は殆ど改善されず、むしろエスカレートしていっています。それでもウクライナの人々の底力といいますか、信念には感服するのみですが、何もできずにいる私達、そしてだんだんとそれが日常化していく恐怖・・・。とにかく、ロシアが一日も早く勝手に「自分たちは勝利を得たんだ」と偽宣言し、撤退していくことを願うばかりです。とにかく彼らが仕掛けてきて、彼らが情報を偽り、エゴで権利や欲望を望む余りのこの戦い、余りにも犠牲が多く、誰の勝ちでも負けでもない戦い。。それなら最初からしなければ賢明なのにと。。。立腹するばかり！
そして、日本では「5月病」という言葉があるように、新入社員、新入生が新しい環境に適応できずにに登校、出社拒否をするという心の病の一種ですが、一過性でもあるので、兎に角お天気の良い日は外に出て、ゆったりと緩めていきたいと思います。そんな季節にちなんで、今回のヨガは「春の体の衣替え」というテーマでやりました。もしお時間があれば一緒にやって見てくださいね。
ここでいつもの愚俳句と川柳を少しご紹介させてください。
母の日の 笑顔ほっこり 想い馳せ 胸に抱く 牡丹の花が ほころんで
こいのぼり 近ごろ肉が 多いかな 五月晴れ 梅雨の晴れ間を 言うそうな
それから5月もサンシャインさんがやってきて新しいネタで高座をご披露してくれます。今回は特別にBuy One get One Freeのコード【sun2】をいただきましたので、こちらからチケット購入いただけます。是非皆さまお誘いあわせでいらしてください。公演は5月21日土曜日午後3時半からです。
☆人材確保、転職などのいつでも何でもアクセスアポイントメントへご相談ください☆
We hope you all enjoyed the Bank Holiday weekend at the beginning of May. Although the mornings and evenings are still chilly, we are looking forward to short but wonderful summer!
There are many theories about the origin of the word ‘Satsuki (May in Japanese)’, such as that it was shortened from ‘sanae-tsuki’, the month for planting rice seedlings, but why is the kanji ‘satsuki 皐月’ used instead of ‘早月’ ? Satsuki” is a kanji character for personal names and can be read in three different ways: “ko”, “satsuki” and “sawa”. “Satsuki” means the fifth month of the lunar calendar, as well as kishi (shore), sawa (stream) and so on. It also means rice offered to the gods, which is why the kanji for “皐” was probably applied. Incidentally, the term ‘satsuki-bare’ originally refers to the fine weather seen during the rainy season in May of the lunar calendar, and it is said that using the term for the fine days of May in the new calendar is not appropriate. Since the lunar calendar is one or two months later than the current new calendar, the word seems to have been used to refer to a period of clear skies in June or July when the sky continues to be cloudy, but it has now become established as a misuse of the word to refer to ‘a refreshingly clear day in May’, and the dictionary is now listed both meanings – “sunny weather around May of the new calendar year, in the lunar calendar, during the rainy season” (Daijirin).
There is a song about the 88 nights of summer approaching, and as the 88 nights of summer also arrive in May, I would like to talk a little about it. The 88th day after the first day of spring is called the 88th night, and is also known as the “88 nights of frost”, meaning that from this time onwards there is no more frost and it is said that “the season for picking tea and sowing seeds has arrived”. May is also a month of nature celebrations in the UK, with the Greenman’s procession (covered in green leaves like the Romanesque king), May the 20th is World Bee Day, and of course the Early May Bank Holiday, which is also the sign of the arrival of spring.
In February, I wrote about the invasion of Ukraine, unfortunately the situation has hardly improved, the worse it has escalated. I still admire the strength of Ukrainian people, but we are powerless to do anything about it, and the fear that it is gradually becoming normality and forgotten… I just hope that Russia will falsely declare on their own that they have won a victory and withdraw as soon as possible. They set it up and falsified the information, this battle seems too much ego and domination, too much sacrifice, a battle that no one wins or loses. If that’s the case, it would have been wiser not to start it in the first place. It just makes me angry and sad!
And as the term “May sickness” is used in Japan, it is a kind of mental illness in which new employees and students cannot go to school or work because they cannot adapt to the new environment, but it is also transient, so let’s go outside on a sunny day and relax and loosen up. It’s spring, I did this yoga session on the theme of ‘changing your body for spring‘. If you have time, please come along and have a look.
And in May, Rakugo Story teller Katsura Sunshine will be here again to perform a new piece. This time we have a special Buy One get One Free code [sun2], you can purchase tickets here. Please come along and join us. The performance starts at 3.30pm on Saturday 21 May.
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