I wasn’t thinking much when I pressed the shutter button, while walking with my mom in a wheel chair, however, the result, this photo pleased me.
Shower brightened up/
Waterfowl/
Whiter/
Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko
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母と車椅子散歩の散歩中にふと撮った写真が気に入りました。
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Almost every day, my mother in a wheel chair and I go to this house while taking a walk to see the fruits on a tree planted to grow on a rack at the entrance.
Neither for eating/
Nor showing/
Akebia fruit/
Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko
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母と車椅子散歩をするとき、ほぼ毎日見に行きます。
お玄関に棚を作って通草を植えておられるお家を。
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When my mother in a wheel chair and I take a walk, total strangers such as people walking by and people heartily working in their gardens often pleasantly call to us, “Hello!”. I wonder if my mother’s appearance makes people want to say, “hi!”.
Anyway, because of this new routine of ours, our neighbors think I am “a devoted daughter”, since we try to practice it every day and twice a day if possible.
Wheel chair sings along/
With the breeze/
Indian summer sky/
Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko
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母の座っている車椅子を押して散歩をしていると、道行く人、庭先でガーデニングに励む人・・・全く知らない人たちが、「こんにちは！」と挨拶してくれます。母は、挨拶したくなる顔をしているのかな？
何にしても、この新しい母娘の日課のおかげで、私は近所の人たちから「孝行娘」だと思われています。ほぼ毎日、出来るだけ日に２回実行していますので。
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My mother and I went up to the top of Mt. Hiei by taxi. I often try to talk about her old days and things from her childhood days, as she has been mentally ill for months. However, I am not certain it will be effective for her recovery.
Leaf peeping/
Calling each other/
By names from our childhood/
Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko
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母を連れてタクシーで比叡山の山頂まで紅葉狩りに行きました。心を病んでいる母には、昔の話・母の子供の頃の話を聞き出すようにしています。病状の回復に効果があるかどうか、本当のところ確信はありません。
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When I began practicing calligraphy at home for the first time for a long time, Mother looked interested herself. I urged her to practice with me hoping it will work for her rehabilitation, as she hasn’t been well both physically and mentally for months.
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久しぶりに家でお稽古をしていたら、母も練習したそうな顔をしていたので誘ってみました。身も心も病んでいる母のリハビリになったらいいなと思います。
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As today falls on the Respect for the Aged Day in Japan, my mother joined and enjoyed a party organized by her nursing care home with other aged people at a sushi restaurant.
Respect for the Aged Day/
I am still/
In full bloom/
Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko
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今日は敬老の日なので、母が通っているナーシングケアホームが、回転寿しのお店でお楽しみお食事会を企画してくれました。
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The nursing care center my mother goes twice a week regularly, holds various events. Last Saturday, we enjoyed shamisen performance and today I fully enjoyed the powerful, beautiful sound performed by two flutes of reed and a guitar. Before the performance started I was expecting a sort of soft, weak sound recalling the phrase, “man is a thinking reed…”, though.
With the sound of recorders/
Settling/
The summer coming to an end/
Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko
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母が通っているナーシングケアホームでは、積極的にいろいろのイベントを催しておられて、先週の土曜日の三味線の演奏に引き続いて、今日は蘆笛２本とギターの演奏会がありました。「人間は考える蘆である・・・」というフレーズを思い出して、もっとか弱い音色を想像していたのですが、とても力強くて美しい音色を満喫しました。
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Together with my mother, I enjoyed a shamisen concert last Saturday by a volunteer shamisen performer at a little nursing care center my mother was admitted recently. Although this type of musical instrument, of course, has a long tradition, its sound produced a quite funky groove.
In every house a good/
Old-timer lives/
Oh, pepo flowers/
Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko
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この前の土曜日に、最近母が通い出したナーシングケアホームで、ボランティアの方による三味線の演奏がありました。古い楽器のはずなのに、とてもファンキーでした。
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These days, I try to bring out my mother in a wheel chair for a walk. We usually go and see the old house where my calligraphy teacher lived not far from our house and then just come back. Today, when we went near the house we noticed a mouth-watering smell from a little udon noodles and sushi restaurant close to the house and my mother said she wanted to buy and eat some rolled sushi or makizushi. I entered the restaurant and asked to take out a sushi roll but today was their fixed holiday. However, the good-natured couple, owners of the restaurant, kindly said they were happy to make one because they have the ingredients when they knew I was a student of their neighborhood calligrapher.
I saw many calligraphy works by my teacher in the restaurant which my teacher and his wife frequented for delivery. I took photographs of the works and as soon as we went home I tried practicing copying one of his works I found on the walls of the restaurant, however, my effort just turned out to far from the splendor by my teacher.
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このところ車椅子で母を散歩に連れ出すようにしていますが、たいてい書の師のお家にまで行くようにしています。今日もその近くのおうどん屋さんの前を通ったらいいにおいがして、母が巻き寿司が食べたいと言うので、そのおうどんやお寿司のお店で巻き寿司のテイクアウトを頼もうとしたら、定休日でした。けれども、私がその書の先生の弟子だと知ると、人のいいご主人と奥さまが、材料はあるのだから、と巻いてくださいました。
このお店は、先生と奥さまがよく出前を頼んでおられたところで、店中に先生の作品が飾ってありました。それを写真に撮って帰ってから臨書しようとしましたが、全く似ても似つかないものになってしまいました。
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My mother and I had some cucumbers and tomatoes for lunch which she got from a day care center that she visited for the first time in her life of 87 years.
The second photograph shows my work of the most well-known tanka by Ms. Machi Tawara.
８７歳にして母が初めて行ったデーケアセンターでもらって来たキュウリやトマトを昼食にいただきました。