It is a brief extract from a poem by Su Shi in the Northern Song dynasty in ancient China, a major personality and poet. Apparently, it is about a gusty evening shower that comes suddenly and then stops quickly. Now I recall evening showers in summer were just like this when I was growing up. Rains should fall in this manner.
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中国北宋の著名人であり詩人であった蘇軾の詩の抜粋です。ざあっと降ってすぐに止む夕立を詠んだものだそうです。昔の夕立は確かにこういう感じでした。雨もこんな具合ならいいのに。
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Inside the pot here means another world, where, they say you can have as much drink as you want. It implies the pleasure of leaving your mundane duties behind but that the place is extremely limited.
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壺の中の別世界では飲み放題らしいです。そして、それはお酒を飲んで俗世を忘れる楽しみや、また極めて狭小な範囲であることのたとえだそうです。
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The stretch of terribly heavy rainfall seems coming to an end…and this time, terrible heat comes back, which makes me feel weary.
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大雨がなんとか終わりそう・・・と、今度はまた暑さがぶり返してうんざりします。
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Tongue of a butterfly/
Resembles a flowering fern/
How hot the air is/
Haiku by Akutagawa Ryūnosuke
Calligraphy and translation by Chio
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The seasonal phrase for this time of year is this. It apparently means “there is dense mist all round”. Do you agree to this comment on thick fog at this time?
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この時期の七十二候の名称です。意味としては、「深い霧が立ち込める」ということらしいですが、霧って見ますか、この時期に？
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I like writing words from old children’s songs. And these fans are some of the results, and are my favorite, as well. However, they are nowhere to be found, even though I cleaned up my house. I wonder if I gave them to someone as presents.
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古い童歌の詩を書くのが好きで、この団扇もそうですし、自分でも結構気に入っていたのですが、家を片付けても何故か見当たりません。誰かにあげたかしら？
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Actually, this year’s Tanabata star festival (July 7th) on the old lunar calendar was the day before yesterday. My attention was so focused on the customs and offerings about the Obon period, and the days of record-setting rainfall, as well, that it had slipped from my memory. I heard wishes for Tanabata star festival originally were written on the leaves of paper mulberries. Next year I will be more careful not to forget this date on the lunar calendar. August 4th, 2022 will mark this event next year.
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旧暦の七夕（七月七日）は、実はおとといでした。この記録的な豪雨や、お盆の習わしやお供え物の用意他に気を取られて、うっかりしてしまいました。七夕の願い事は元々梶の葉に書きつけるものだったそうです。来年は旧暦のこの日を忘れないように気をつけようと思います。来年は8月4日がこれにあたります。
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We haven’t enjoyed calligraphy lessons in our usual classrooms since February last year. My present teacher told us her students that we should learn calligraphy copying especially at times like this. However, I just can’t stop myself turning to my first teacher’s calligraphy that has been so familiar to me since my early childhood rather than the classics respected by all the calligraphy learners of all ages and cultures.
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去年2月からお教室でのお稽古が叶いませんが、今の先生は、こういう時期にこそ臨書することをしっかり学びなさいとおっしゃいます。私はどうしても皆から長く尊ばれている古典よりも、幼い頃から親しんだ初めの先生の書に気持ちが向いてしまいます。
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The seasonal phrase for this time of the year is this, “evening cicadas sing”, which somehow implies a sort of loneliness, that is, a feeling the summer season is finally ready to leave.
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今ぐらいの時節の七十二候の名称です。寒蝉はひぐらしだそうですが、何とはなしに夏ももう終わっていくのかなという寂しさを感じます。
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I regret I had almost forgotten about this one, which I wrote to raise awareness in myself when I realized I finally had become the only one in my house.
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いよいよこの家に残されたたった人間になったと思ったときに、自分自身の自覚を促すために書いたはずなのに、殆ど忘れ去っていました。
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During the Obon period, usually in mid-August, it is believed that the ancestral spirits come back to their family. Today I bought some offerings to the ancestors including sweets, fruits and vegetables. I heard a story that goes fruits of a plant called “Chinese lanterns” should serve to guide the deceased to their house safely.
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今日はお盆のお供えの用意をしました。鬼灯はご先祖さまが迷子にならずに帰れるように提灯の役をすると聞きました。
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O, Chinese lanterns/
Ready to welcome dad and mom/
Brand new tatami mats/
Calligraphy and translation by Chio
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