By Mitsue Finch Uchida
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(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。1月もいつの間にか行ってしまいました。そして巷では色んな問題が重い頭をもたげています。その中でも英国史上最大の冤罪事件「郵便局スキャンダル」。これは富士通の子会社が開発したソフトウエアーの欠陥から起こった事件です。20数年もの長い年月に解決されず、人間が機械の方を信用して人間を裁いたとは信じがたい事実。然し自殺や倒産、牢獄に入れらた郵便局の経営者や家族はこの苦しみからどうしたら這い出すことができるのでしょうか。正当な裁きを祈願してやみません。今後の裁判に目が離せません。
そして何よりも元旦に襲った能登半島地震は本当に大ショックな出来事でした。そして日が経過すると同時に死者の数も増え、避難していらっしゃる方々のコンデイションも良くないと聞きます。一日も早く被災者の方々の安らかで平穏な日々、当たり前の日常が戻ることをを願うばかりです。
前途多難な2024年の幕開けでしたが、今日から2月です。2月の別名は如月（きさらぎ）。「衣更着（きさらぎ）」とも書き、寒さが厳しく衣を重ね着するという意味があるようですね。そして今回は2月の行事でも段々と消滅していく節分の豆まきに焦点を当ててみたいと思います。
節分には「季節を分ける」という意味があり、季節の変わり目をさし、年に4回（立春・立夏・立秋・立冬の前日を言う）あり、そのうち立春の前日のみを節分と呼ぶようになったようです。旧暦では、立春は1年の始まりとされ、立春の前日は大晦日にあたるため、特に尊ばれるようでした。そして、季節の変わり目には邪気（鬼）が入りやすいとされており、清らかに新年を迎えるために、災厄や疫病を鬼に見立て、弓矢で追い払う儀式だったのが、室町時代以降、豆をまいて鬼を追い払う行事として発展し、庶民の間にも広まっていったと言われています。鬼は夜来るので一般的には夜に豆まきが行われています。
先日、実は友人が日本からのお土産で節分の豆まき用の豆をいただき、余りに、軽くて美味しいので一気に全部(年の数以上)食べてしまいました。意外と簡単に作れる「手が止まらない節分豆の作り方」。トライしてみてください。
さて個人的には、今回も何とへまをしてしまい、家の鍵を持ってるつもりで犬の散歩へ行き、帰ったら鍵はポケットになく焦りました。そこで2件隣の塀伝いで(最初のお宅には許可を得て)私が住んでいる家の小さな庭へ(後ろの家のドアはその朝Unlockしたので)入ることが出来ました。なんとそれも鼠小僧顔負けのミッションでした(苦笑)。このミッションが成功したのも、お隣さんの協力と筋トレとヨガのお蔭かと自分のスキルを見直したのですが、一つ間違えば骨折りとなったところでした。
この詳しいお話は「英国春秋」に書きますのでお時間と興味のおありの方はお読みくださいませ。併せて最近の私の筋トレの様子もどうぞ！
では、2月の寒さにも負けず、スノードロップのごとく逞しく身体にやさしく過ごしましょう。
さてここでいつもの愚俳句と川柳：
* にわ椿 主（あるじ）なくとも 季節しり
* バレンタイン この日あやかり チョコ食（しょく）し
* 節分に 亭主追い出す 豆まきか
* 鬼は外～ どうして退治 しないのか
< お知らせ >
JA(日本人会)の月例講演： 2月14日(水)午後8時～
「ロンドンで始まった水素療法」のお話です。会報の二水会の所に載っています。是非ご覧ください。
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Hello everyone, I hope you are all well. January was gone with a blink. We are afraid that we have many big issues hanging over us. Among them was the biggest false accusation case in British history, the Post Office Scandal. This incident occurred due to a flaw in software developed by a subsidiary of Fujitsu. It has been unresolved for over 20 years, and it is hard to believe that humans trusted machines and judged humans. However, how can post office managers and their families who commit suicide, go bankrupt, or go to prison escape from this suffering? I will continue to pray for a just judgment. I can’t take my eyes off the upcoming trial.
Above all, the Noto Peninsula earthquake that struck on New Year’s Day was a truly shocking natural disaster. As the days pass, the number of deaths increases, and I hear that the conditions of those evacuated are very bad indeed. I can only hope that the victims of the disaster will have peace and quiet, and that their normal daily lives will return to normal as soon as possible.
2024 has started with a lot of trouble ahead, but today marks the beginning of February. Another name for February is Kisaragi. It is also written as “kisaragi,” and it seems to have the meaning of wearing layers of clothing in cold weather. This time, I would like to focus on Setsubun’s bean-throwing, which is gradually disappearing as an event in February.
Setsubun has the meaning of “separating the seasons,” and it refers to the change of seasons, and it occurs four times a year (the first day of spring, summer, autumn, and the day before the first winter), and only the day before the first day of spring is called Setsubun. According to the lunar calendar, the first day of spring marks the beginning of the year, and the day before the first day of spring falls on New Year’s Eve, so it seemed to be especially respected. It is said that evil spirits (oni) tend to enter during the change of seasons, and from the Muromachi period onwards, it was a ritual to treat disasters and epidemics as demons and drive them away with bows and arrows in order to welcome the New Year in a clean manner. It is said that it developed as an event to ward off demons by throwing soya beans and spread among the ordinary people. Demons come at night, so bean-throwing is generally done at night.
The other day, a friend of mine brought me some beans for Setsubun as a souvenir from Japan, and they were so light and delicious that I ate them all in one go. ““How to make Setsubun beans that you can’t stop eating” is surprisingly easy to make. Please try it.
Well, personally, I made a silly thing again and I went for a walk with the dog thinking I had my house keys, but when I got back, I found the key was not in my pocket and I was panicked. I want to one of my neighbours to ask climb up to her garden fence. I was able to enter the small garden of the house where I live (the door of the house behind me was unlocked that morning) by climbing two houses’ fences. It was a mission that put Nezumikozo to shame. I managed to get my house key on my door!!!
I really appreciated to my neighbour’s cooperation, my weight training and yoga practice that I was able to succeed in this mission, and I reevaluated my skills, but one mistake could have cost me my arm and leg.
I will write about this detailed story in “Eikoku Shunju英国春秋“, so if you have the time and interest, please read it. Also here’s my recent training session!
So, let’s enjoy the February and stay strong and kind to our bodies like snowdrops.
Now, here are the usual goofy haiku and senryu:
* Niwa camellia Even if there is no master, it is the season
＊Valentine thanks to this day Eating chocolate
* Setsubun is here Let’s Kick out the husband with beans
* The demons are outside~ Why aren’t they exterminate
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