The seasonal phrase for this time of year is this, “蚕起食桑”. Literally it means “silkworms get up and eat mulberry leaves”. In other words, silkworms begin eating mulberry leaves actively. It is easy to guess that sericulture is a major industry, for both the farm folks and those who want to enjoy luxury with rolls of silk cloth.
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今の季節の七十二候は、「蚕起食桑」。文字通りだと、蚕が起きあがって桑の葉を食べる、つまり、蚕が盛んに桑の葉を食べ始めるということのようです。養蚕は重要な産業だと容易に分かります。農家の人たちにとっても、絹の反物で贅沢しようとする人たちにとっても。
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You see a very old face powder case in the upper right of the photo. Apparently, it is a promotional item of a famous cosmetic company. It is really exquisitely and beautifully made. It was a keepsake from my late mother’s dearest friend. This lady was tall, beautiful and fond of using cosmetics. I myself have been using the products of the same company for a long time, which makes me feel somehow it meant to come to me and I wrote “energy of beauty”.
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写真の右上に写っているのは、とても古いおしろいの容器です。実に精巧に作られていて美しいものですが、有名化粧品会社の販売促進用の品物と思われます。亡母の親友の形見の品です。その人は背の高い美人でお化粧が大好きな人でした。私も長い間同じ会社の化粧品を使っていて、何かしらご縁があるような気がして「美の波動」と書きました。
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I remembered one of my students liked this phrase. It is certainly the most desirable behavior. However, it seems extremely difficult in the state of things these days.
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以前一緒にお稽古していた女性がお好きだった言葉を思い出しました。和顔愛語。理想ですよね。でも、今の世の中では難しいかもしれません。
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This year the rainy season started very early, and the Kinki region where I live is no exception.
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今年の梅雨入りは随分と早くて、近畿地方も梅雨入りしました。
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Sound of rain through the night/
Made me think of/
Rainy season’s start/
Calligraphy and translation by Chio
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The seasonal phrase for this time of the year is this, 竹笋生, which means bamboo shoots grow. You don’t necessarily go to a bamboo forest to find bamboo shoots. You can find them in the backyards of houses or near the plow-fields in rural areas at times. I remember digging out bamboo shoots and eating them at relative’s houses when I was a child. Uncared bamboo shoots never tasted good, though.
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この時期の七十二候の名称は、『竹笋生』つまり竹の子が生えてくる、のようです。筍は竹林でなくても、田舎の家の裏庭や畑の端の方でも生えていて、子どもの頃には親戚の家などで、掘り出して食べた思い出があります。放ったらかしの筍なんか美味しくはありませんでしたが。
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My first calligraphy teacher was a kind of person called 文人, that is, someone who enjoys elegance and good taste; and is good at artistic hobbies like calligraphy and painting. And like many other of this kind of people, he loved writing traditional kind of poems and published a book of his poetry collection. Looking into this book for materials of my calligraphy, I only ended up practicing to copy his calligraphy on the cover of the book.
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書の師は文人と呼ばれる人でした。書も画もこなし、風雅の道に心をよせている、というような。短歌の作歌もお好きだったようで、短歌集を出版されています。その中から選んで書きたいと思ってみてみましたが、選びきれず、結局その本の表紙の先生の字を臨書してみただけでした。
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“The balmy, warm southern wind blows over every bud equally, so all the small shoots grow to be large and beautiful.” I thought the phrase well matches this time of year. However, in fact, it is too hot today and there is information of a record-early beginning of the rainy season.
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凱風とは柔らかで暖かい風。『南から吹く風がどの芽にも分け隔てなく平等に吹くので、全ての小さな芽は大きく美しく育った。』この時期に相応わしい言葉だと思って書きました。ところが今日はとても暑いし、今年は記録的に梅雨入りが早いかもしれないという情報もあります。
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