穏やかに Wish for peace

4.24

和やかな風の吹く春の日に平和を願うという意味のようです。もっともこの春は新春の意味らしいですが。

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I learned this poem from ancient China expresses wishing for peace on a gentle windy spring day. “Spring” here means “new spring” or New Year, though.

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勘違いあるいは混乱 Confusing the two

4.22 4,22

草餅とうぐいす餅。うぐいす餅のことを草餅と呼ぶのだと思っていました。どちらも春のお菓子だし。

今日買ってきたのは草餅の方。

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I am afraid I have confused these two kinds of sweets, Kusa mochi and Uguisu mochi. Both are special kind of mochi for the spring season. Main ingredient of the former is mugwort, a kind of plant with strong fragrance.

I bought a couple of Kusa mochi at a grocery store today.

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徳を積むこと Ideal situation

4.17

目立たないところで徳を積んでいても、それは世の中に知れ渡る、とのこと。それはそれでいいですが、私は薄っぺらいことが嫌い。

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The phrase means even if you accumulate virtues shunning publicity, people will notice soon. I think that is all very good. What I detest is anything superficial.

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焼きました Delicacy of the season

4.16 4,16

今年初めての筍は、ご飯でもなく、煮物でもなく、バターで焼いて醤油味にしました。苦みが好き。

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We butter-sauteed the first bamboo shoots of this season and added a little soy sauce, we didn’t cook them with rice nor stewed. I like the bitter flavor.

Spring taste/

Steamed rice with bamboo shoots/

How tasty!/

 

Stewed bamboo shoots/

Crunchy and brisk touch/

Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko

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春の嵐 Fickle weather

4.15 4,15

かなりきつい雨嵐になったり、からっと晴れ上がったり。

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Today, we had a very changeable weather. At times, rather strong rainstorms and at other times, it entirely cleared up.

Stormy weather in spring/

Even the sound of the rain/

Sounds like gravels/

Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko

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飽きてきたかも Rather heavy rain again

4.14 4,14

さすがに雨好きの私もこれだけ続くとちょっと・・・。

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As I wrote before, I don’t really dislike rain. However, rainy weather this times lasts too long even for me.

Rain on young leaves/

Whispering something/

Softly/

Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko

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気分も華やか Flower arrangement exhibition

4.12 4,12

春らしい日。大きな華道展に行ってきました。いかにも春らしい。

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We had a fairly spring-like day. I went to enjoy a large-scale ikebana exhibition, to be sure, an event of springtime.

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美しい日本語ですが A week of overcast weather

411 4.11

はっきりしない天気が続いて、雨がそれほど嫌いでない私も気持ちもどんよりしてしまいます。今朝はどうにか晴れました。

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The weather hasn’t been very good for sometime, which made even me a little depressed, despite my liking of a sort for rain. This morning, we finally had a reasonably fair weather.

Long spell of rain/

In early spring/

Some pasts remain blurred/

Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko

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清明 Beautiful diminutive for the first half of April

4.8

今ぐらいの時期のことのようですが、綺麗な語だと思います。ただ、今日などは午後から綺麗に晴れ上がりましたが、相変わらず風は強いし冷たいです。

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For around this time of year, there is a beautiful phrase consisting of two Chinese characters, “pure, clear” and “bright”. However, it was a cold, windy day today just as a couple of days before. The sky had beautifully cleared up in the afternoon, though.

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小雨 Are we going to need an umbrella?

4.7 4,7

昨日も今日もちょっとした小雨模様です。桜はだいぶ散ってしまいました。

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We have had occasional gentle rainfalls since yesterday. A large part of the cherry blossoms around here have already fallen.

Rain falling on the cherry blossoms/

Had stopped/

Before the umbrella was opened/

Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko

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