ホームページトップへ/ Back to Home

ルーティンを抜け出して一週間。ようやく緩んできた。自分の住む町界隈で朝から晩まで過ごす。正月の買い出し以外は自転車も使わず歩いている。昨日の大雨は上がり、気温も20度近くまで上昇した。暖冬のせいか、もうコブシの白い蕾がびっしりと枝の先端で揺れている。久しぶりにゆったりと眺める木々は瑞々しい。はっきりした構想はないままに新ページを拵えてみた。改訂をくり返しながら、形を作っていくことにしよう。本日の更新は「樹木」（仮題）です。空を見上げるひとときを。

I have been away from my daily routine for almost one week. I spend whole a day in my hometown. Except for the shopping for new-year's preparation, I don't ride on a bicycle but walk. The heavy rain has gone and the temperature rose up to nearly 20 centigrade today. Perhaps because it's much warmer than usual winter, white buds at the end of twigs were already remarkable when I watched Magnolia praecocissima. Wow! Refreshing are trees. I've started a new page without a very clear plan. I'd like to form it into a good shape in time. Today's update: Trees, for a moment to look up at the sky.

毎年今頃甥や姪や（義）妹たちを招いてささやかな忘年会を開くのだが、今年は我が家の受験生が予備校通い、甥も予備校、姪たちはアルバイト、クラブ活動などに忙しく自宅パーティーは取りやめた。その代わり、近所のカラオケルームで三時間余り歌うことに。（今さらながら私はカラオケルーム初体験。スナックの片隅にあるカラオケで歌ったことは何度かあるのですが。*^_^*）食事や会話を楽しむパーティーとは全く違う。どちらかというとスポーツに近いのではないかと思った。普段は滅多に会わない親戚同士、でも幼い頃からよく知っている同士。そこには曰く言いがたい不文律があり、誰も仕切らないのにみんながそのルールを知っている。何となくはにかみながら、時を共有している感覚。ちょっとこそばゆかったがとても楽しかった。カラオケなんて（合唱するでもなく、各自好きなのを順番に歌うだけというのは）非生産的なと思っていたこともあったけれど、これも一つの間接的な自己表現らしい。恋の歌を歌いながら大人になっていく子どもたちを眩しく眺めていた。本日の更新は「静物」にaoの新作デッサンと「卵」です。関東地方には久々に大雨が降っている。

Every year at this time of the year, I give a party at home inviting my nieces, nephew, my sister and sister-in-law. This year, they are too busy to come: my daughter and my nephew are going to cram schools, nieces are busy with part-time jobs and club activities. Instead, we held a karaoke-party at a neighborhood karaoke-room. (It was my first experience to go to a karaoke room indeed!) This party was completely different from the ones where you enjoy eating and talking. Rather it was like an athletic game. There is a sort of unwritten rules which players (singers) keep well. Although they have known each other since they were born,these young relatives seldom meet with each other in their daily life. Somehow we had a feeling of sharing time together. We enjoyed ourselves with bashful smiles. We were all a little shy but it was fun to sing. For a long time I had a prejudice to karaoke, which I thought was something unproductive. (We never sing songs toghether. Participants just sing one by one in turn.) I've found it's one way of self-expression of our people. I kept watching children who are growing up singing love songs. Today's update: ao's latest pencil drawing and an egg. It's raining heavily in Kanto District.

師走の街にちょっと出てみた。相変わらずの賑わいだが、何となく大人しい。それはこちらの感じ方の問題なのかも知れないけれど。読み終えたばかりの小説のことが引っかかっている。たかが、されど。街に何を見て、何を読み解くのか。かけずり回るばかりで落ち着いて書くことを怠っていた自分が後ろめたい。見ようとしなければ見えなくなるし、かつて見えていたはずのものが姿を消す。喧噪の中の空白。本日の更新は「静物」にaoの油彩最新作とデッサン画二点、そして「卵」です。いよいよ娘の受験出願直前となり（スポンサーとして）カレンダーを作成してみてギョッとした。いただく側ではなく支払う側となって眺めると、何と高額な出費が控えていることか！（今さらではあるが。）「教育産業」とはよく言ったものだ。その末端で禄を食む身としては複雑な思いがする。トカゲが自分の尻尾を食っているような？

I went out for shopping. The town was as busy as ever but it was somehow calm. Probably it was how I took it. I mean my sensibility took it that way. I've been conscious of the novel which I just finished reading. It's only a matter of a fiction, but still ... What do I see and interpret from a town? I'm a little ashamed of myself, moving around busily always not sitting down quietly to write for such a long time. Unless I try to watch, I won't be able to see anything. What I thought I could see disappears easily. I watch the blank space in the bustle. Today's update; ao's latest works in Still Life, (an oil painting and two pencil drawings), and eggs. Now that my daughter is about to take entrance exams of colleges, I made an "EXAM CALENDAR." as a sponsor. To my great surprise, how costly education is! it's a big industry. This time I'm going to pay while I'm getting my salary from it. I feel I'm a lizard eating its own tail.

日頃の寝不足が溜まりに溜まって、午後居間の長椅子で眠ってしまった。いつもなら授業をしている時刻なのだが。こんなことあり得ないと思いながら意識が遠ざかる。直前までやり残しの仕事に追われていた。書類を作成し、何件も電話をかけ、連絡をし...でも、もういい、少し休もう。そう思ったとたん、どこかの栓が外れ、シューッと力が抜けて行き、バッタリ。目覚めた時にはもう真っ暗だった。一瞬の緊張。「遅刻？」「今日は何時までに行くんだっけ？」「流山、それとも本郷？」「自転車、電車？」「雨、晴れ？」「弁当の支度は？」バカだ。休みなんだってば。しかし、冗談じゃない、夕食の支度だ！いや、体が硬くなって動かない。椅子で着の身着のまま眠ったからだ。ダメじゃない、何やってるのと一人ごち。こういう混乱がしばらく続く。そういえば雪山で二十日以上遭難していて奇跡的に助かった人のニュースが続いている。体温を22度くらいにキープして「冬眠状態」だったとか。保護された後、一度血液を抜いて暖めて体に戻したなどという話聞くと驚愕の他ない。う〜ん、睡眠の不思議。本日は短信のみにて。私の脳も冬眠状態。かくて冬至を越えた。

Accumulated shortage of sleep made me fall asleep on the chair in the living room at the time in the afternoon when I usually am teaching in a classroom. It can hardly be true, I was saying to myself, while my consciousness was fading away. I had been extremely busy right before, writing documents, making phone calls, and tying loose ends up. That's enough. I need a rest. Then I lost the tension immediately. When I woke up again, it was already dark. For a moment I was frightened: "Am I late for work?" "What time am I supposed to arrive?" "Should I go to Hongo or Nagareyama today?" "Bike or Train?" "Rain or fine?" "Lunch to fix?" What a fool! I've now on holiday,. But my body was stiff, for I slept on the sofa. What a confusion! BTW, I've read about a man who was lost in a mountain for more than 20 days and was rescued. His body was kept at about 22 centigrade. He survived by staying in a sort of hibernating state. When he was hospitalized, doctors drew his blood out of his body, warmed it and gave it back to his body. Incredible! Today's update: just this short note. Evidently my brain is also in the hibernating state. Thus, we've passed winter solstice.

December 21, 2006

師走は容赦なく日を重ねていく。まだやり残していることばかり。噂通りTIMEの最新号は毎年恒例の「今年の人物」に誰の顔写真もなく、YouTubeみたいな図柄の上に銀紙が張ってあって雑誌を手に取った人の顔が写る。ぎょっとして手元を見ると、コピーは一言、You。笑うと言うより溜息が出る。ま、誰にとっても厄介なヒトではある。煤払いしなくては。本日の更新は「静物」にaoの新作油彩二点と「卵」、そして表紙の写真（LaQuaに開店するEnglish Pub）です。街は祝祭シーズンの輝きを増す。

Days pass by mercilessly in December. Only 10 days are left in 2006. I have a lot to do yet. As advertised before, the latest issue of TIME has no photo of "The Person of the Year" on the cover page but a silver paper pasted in the illustration of what looks like YouTube and it shows the image of a person who takes hold of the magazine. Yuck! The cover says, "You." Yes, it's the most troublesome person for everybody. You need a year-end clearing of her/him! Today's update: ao's latest oil paintings in Still Life; eggs; and the photo on the index page (an English pub which will be opened tomorrow at LaQua, Bunkyo, Tokyo.) The city is bright in this festive season.

銀杏の葉も散り果て、冬至に向かって日はますます短くなる。今年も残すところ半月足らず。慌ただしい。体力も気力もほぼ限界。ちょこちょこした楽しみを見つけて何とか持ちこたえている。昨夜はトランジスタラジオ（そんな呼び方、今でもありか？）で深夜放送をニマニマしながら聴いていた。いや、ラジオ番組を聴こうと思った時ラジカセなんてものがもうウチにはないことに気付いて、慌てて電気屋に買いに行ったのだった。掌に載るラジカセ（つまり、カセットテープに録音するもの）があった。今時こんなの買う人いるかしら。最近、リスニングの授業をLL教室でやっても、テープを聴く装置を持っていない学生がほとんどで、「復習をしておくこと」という課題は無意味に近くなっている。デジタルデータを持ち帰れるようにしないとダメなのだ。でも、ノイズいっぱいのラジオは楽しかった。カセットも悪くない。本日の更新は表紙の写真（東京都武蔵野市の公園に散り敷く銀杏の葉）とこのページのツバキの写真です。aoの新作デッサン二点も「静物」に加えました。本郷の大銀杏の写真は「掲載写真帖」に移動しました。忙中閑ありといきたいものです。御身お大切に。【追伸】昨日アップした『翻訳読書ノート』、最初の段落にまるまる一行落丁がありました。お詫びして訂正いたします。失礼いたしました！

Eventually most of the leaves have fallen from gingko trees. Daytime is becoming shorter and shorter by winter solstice. Only a half month is left this year. I'm so busy. Very little energy is left in my body and soul. I'm sustaining myself by connecting little bits of pleasure; late last night I listened to a radio program with joy. A few hours before it, I realized we have no radio cassette recorder at home any longer. I hurried to an electrical appliance shop. I found an extremely miniature which is smaller than my palm. Once we called this kind "a transistor radio." I wonder how many people want to buy this type of radio now. Recently very few students have cassette-type tape recorder at home; therefore, we can hardly tell them to practice English which we teach at Language Laboratory where cassette tape is the only sound recording medium. We need digital appliances. Anyway, I enjoyed the radio program full of noise. The cassette tape was still useful. Great! Today's update: photos on the index page and the one here. ao's latest pencil drawings are in "Still Life." Old photos of gingko trees in Hongo are now in "Cover Photos." Let us find time to enjoy ourselves on busiest days! Take care!

一日外で働いてようやく家に帰り着き、骨休みをする間もなく台所に立つ。夕食の支度は不思議と苦にならない。好きな音楽を聴きながら、煮炊きする。その間中一日の出来事を反芻している。非常にくやしい思いをしたこと、失望させられたこと、不安なことばかりが去来する。時には感情的になってそのまま抗議のメールでも書こうかという気になるのだけれど、包丁を持って仁王立ちしている自分は我ながら恐ろしい。やめたやめた、言葉なんて空しい。毒気のある気持ちで作る料理は不味くなる。そのうち鍋がことこと言い始め、油がジュウジュウ言い立て、湯気に巻かれていると娑婆の不平もどこかへ。遅い夕飯を食べ終わる頃には疲労感の方が勝り、眠気が押し寄せてきて闘争本能は鈍る。あぁ、これだから女は戦争に向かないのか。ま、よしとしよう。本日の更新は『翻訳読書ノート 31』です。ミニエッセイのタイトルは「アフリカの魂」。ルワンダ女性の声を聴いた。

When I come back after a long work outside, I launch cooking. Basically I like cooking. I prepare soup, salad, vegetables, main dish, and something more while listening to my favorite music. Cooking and music time is also when I remember again and again what happened at work. All kinds of sensation such as indignation, disappointment, uneasiness, happiness, and so on come back to my mind. Sometimes I feel like writing an email to refute someone for his/her incredible statements. Actually I dare not. Written words may well bring another disaster. I'm horrified with myself standing with a cooking knife! Poisonous mind cannot cook delicious food. Stop it! In the boiling, frying, grilling sound which overwhelm me I forget such negative feelings gradually. After dinner, I'm overcome by satisfaction, fatigue, and sleepiness. My fight spirit is all gone. Ah, that's why women are not for wars. Al right. Never mind. Today's update: a mini essay on a book entitled Left to Talk. I wrote a short review on Rwandan woman's life history. Sorry, it's only in Japanese.

December 11, 2006

来年度から担当する三年生のゼミの面接が続いた。これは三年・四年と持ち上がり、卒論、就職まで見届けるので、現在の学部に所属するようになって初めての専門科目だ。経済・経営専攻の学生たちを何故語学・文学系の教員が指導しうるのかと疑問を呈する向きもある。（私自身も半信半疑。）でも一つ言えるのは、超領域的なアプローチで見えてくることもあろうという可能性に賭けること。こちらもだてに二十年間この仕事をしてきたわけではない。短大の学生たちから始まり、非常勤も含めあちこちで鍛えられた。それほど残りの時間があるわけではない。締めくくりに学生たちとオールラウンドな付き合いをしてもよいのではないかと思うようになっている。若い眼差しを見返す時、私の中にも何かかきたてられるものが確かにある。それを感じるうちは大丈夫なのではないかと、思う。本日の更新はaoの卵です。気張りすぎずにゆっくり行こう。

I've been having interviews with students for a seminar starting next year. I am supposed to teach juniors and seniors consecutively in the seminar. Certainly I'll be responsible for instructing their graduation thesis and watching their job-hunting. It will be my first experience to be in charge of a special subject since I started working for the present department of our university. Some say a teacher of English language and literature is not qualified to teach students majoring business administration. Well, I am not confident myself; however, cross-cultural approach might give new points of view possibly. I am not a novice any more myself. I believe 20 years' experience has empowered me in many ways. The rest of my career is not very long. I'm looking forward to putting my energy for students in a new way. I feel the new challenge quite inspiring. Let me do it! Today's update: ao's eggs. Let me go on slowly. Let me do my best slowly and steadily.

あちこちで学生たちが痛んでいる。個性が強く、大勢にフィット出来ない若者たちはよもやというところで壁にぶち当たり、呻吟する。少し緊張を緩めて鷹揚にいけといいたいのだが、そんな世慣れたアドバイスなど聞くわけもなく。自分はどうだったか。呆れるくらい妥協を重ねて今日まで来たような気がする。いい加減なものだ。何でも大雑把にさばいて、途中でくよくよするのを止めてしまう意気地無さ。（だからまともな成果は何も出せないのさという声がどこかから響く。）若さは痛々しくまた眩しい。なんとしても生き延びよ、したたかに生きよと祈るばかり。本日の更新はaoの卵です。学生たちと自分の娘の年齢がいよいよオーバーラップする。

Students are suffering. Those who have remarkable characters and who cannot fit into the majority hit the wall they have never expected. I want them to relax and be more tolerant, but how could they listen to such a worldly advice? I try to remember how I was doing at their age. Oh, I have given in so often and that's why I have never produced anything significant. To be young is to be painful and dazzling. Survive by all means, be tough, I pray for them. Today's update: ao's eggs. My students' age and that of my daughter are now overlapping.

本郷には自転車が似合う。学生たちが自転車で行き交う。キャンパスを街を。「本郷では時が止まっている」と自嘲的に人が言うのを聞いた。古い町並みと裏路地。東大キャンパスは東大の学生たちだけのものではない。銀杏が黄葉の盛りを迎える日には外からたくさんの人がキャンパスに入り込む。私も紛れ込む。一陣の風に銀杏が舞う。吹雪のように。人は見とれている。舞い散る落ち葉を浴びながら私も立ちすくむ。一万年前からの手紙。どれほどたくさんの人々がこの街で銀杏を浴びたことだろう。この街を走り抜けていったことだろう。毎年十二月の初めにこの黄金の日が来る。燃え上がる銀杏の日。本日の更新は表紙の写真（弥生町交差点の大銀杏）とこのページの写真（東大正門付近の銀杏）です。aoの卵もあります。今回は2ページ目の終わりと3ページ目の始めです。昨日までの写真は「掲載写真帖」へ収めました。銀杏が散り終わると、冬。

Bicycles suit Hongo, where students go by cycling in campus and in town. "Time stops in Hongo," I heard someone say. There are old town streets and back lanes. The campus of University of Tokyo belongs not only to its students. On the day when gingko turns perfect gold, many citizens go into the campus. So do I. At a gust of wind, gingko leaves fall dancing. Like falling snow. People are fascinated. I stand still watching the leaves. They are letters from ten thousand years ago. I wonder how many of people have bathed the falling gingko leaves ever? I wonder how many people have passed by. Every year at the beginning of December we have this golden day of gingko flaming up in gold. It's the day of golden gingko. Today's update: the photo in the index page ( an old giant gingko tree at the crossing of Yayoi-cho, Hongo) and the one in this page (a tree behind the main gate of the University of Tokyo.) There are new eggs of ao, too. They are at the last part of p.2 and the beginning of p.3. Old photos are saved in the page of "Cover Photos." When all leaves fall, winter comes.

November 29, 2006

ある案件をめぐって十人が十人とも別のことを言い、多様な情報や見解が錯綜する場合、どのように意志決定をしていったらよいのだろう。まとめ役は調整役であると同時にどこかの時点でオピニオンリーダーになる必要があるのか、それとも黒子に徹して多様性の中から最も実りある道筋を探し出し、他の意見の持ち主たちが納得するのを忍耐強く待つべきなのか。でも大抵の案件には「期限」がある。そう悠長にはしていられない。八方丸く収まることはまずなさそうだ。さあてどうしたものか。（首は捻ってもアタマはあんまり動いていないなぁ。）体験的な、あるいは実践的な感覚に頼っていてもだめだとは分かっていても何ごとかを理論化するのが下手だ、私は。時は過ぎていく。いつしか霜月も尽きる。待っても甲斐なく。本日の更新はaoの「卵」です。

People have different opinions over an issue. I wonder how we can make a decision when various kinds of views and ideas conflict. Should a moderator / facilitator become an opinion leader at some point, or should s/he keep quietly looking for the most feasible way for the majority to agree? Anyway, we almost always have a deadline for anything. We cannot take time forever. I guess there is nothing that makes everybody satisfied. Well, what shall I do? (I've been wondering but my brain doesn't seem working very effectively, alas!) I know I cannot be too much dependent upon my experience or practical knowledge only; however, I'm conscious of my inability to theorize them. Time is passing. It's already the end of November. I've waited long enough for nothing. Today's update: ao's eggs.

2月の記載に対する未知の方からの問い合わせが今頃届く。義弟の私家版の書籍出版について。ドイツの鴎外記念館で聞いたと。非売品のこと故アマゾンで調べても出ているわけがなかった。しかし、こんな些細な短信でも検索エンジンに引っかかり、それを辿ってのお問い合わせ。書籍の持つ力を感じる。本日の更新はaoの新作デッサンと「卵」です。

I received a mail from a person who asked for the information about the book my brother-in-law published in February. He heard about it at Mori Ougai Memorial House in Germany. He wasn't able to search the book at Amazon.com because it is not for sail. Amazing enough, he found this site instead for its brief note, helped by Google. I feel the power a book has. Today's update: ao's pencil drawing and eggs.

本郷の大樹に比べたらまるで子どものような頼りない木々だが、流山キャンパスの銀杏(上の写真)も見事に黄葉してきた。これが後十年、二十年したらどんな木になるのだろう。その頃にはもう私はここにいないだろうが。人は去っても木は茂る。だから木を見ていると木が見下ろしてきた時の流れを思い、些細な愁いは消えてゆく。人がどうしたこうしたというのは、小さなことだ。本日は短信のみにて。

Compared to the huge trees in Hongo Area, Tokyo, gingko trees here at Nagareyama Campus () are just short and thin like children. However, they have been wonderfully turning into yellow. I wonder how they would look like in ten, or twenty years. I won't be here any longer then. If people are all gone, trees will keep growing. Therefore, when I look at the trees, I think of the passage of time they might have seen, when weariness over the human related trivial matters disappear. Today's update: this short note only.

勤労感謝の日。一葉忌。毎年どんより曇った薄ら寒い日となる。ずっと忙しくしていたので、今日ばかりはゆっくり休む。いただいているお便りへのお返事や懸案事項のまとめなど、やりたかったことは色々あるのだが、何となくボンヤリして一日過ぎた。しばらく散歩にも出ていない。このまま冬眠に突入か。気が付いたら春だったなーんて！本日の更新はaoの「毎日卵」と油彩画一点です。「本郷大横丁マッププロジェクト」は、牛歩ながら進んでいる。そろそろ本郷の銀杏も黄葉の時期が来た。輝く黄金の日に今年も出逢いたい。

It's Labor Thanksgiving Day. It's also the anniversary day of Higuchi Ichiyo's death. Almost every year, November 23 is a chilly cloudy day. As I've been extremely busy, I took a rest from everything today. I had letters to write, works to be finished, but I was just hanging around all day long. I haven't been out for a walk these days. Am I going into the hibernation? When I wake up next time, it might be spring. Today's update; ao's Eggs and her latest oil painting. BTW, Hongo Oyokochou Map-project is going on very slowly. Gingko leaves of Hongo are turning yellow. I hope to see the golden trees very soon!

10日ほどもこのページから遠ざかっていた。もちろん忘れていたわけではない。二つのキャンパスを行き来しながら、（もしかすると本業の授業より数が多いかもしれない）会議だの会合に追われていると、自分の時間を確保するのがとても難しい。「無理しなさんな〜」という声を内外に聴きつつ、「でもね、今はしかたないのよ」と自分に言い聞かせている。（ホントにそうなのか？？）★昨日は中学校の同期会に行った。あっという間にタイムスリップ。（私たちが東京都豊島区立高田中学校を卒業したのは1968年のこと。）「過去を懐かしむだけでなく、新しい出会いのために」とスピーチした幹事女史、立派だった。いろんな場所で生きている友人たちの話に聞きほれてしまう。私に決定的な影響を与えてくれた何人かと、あんな風に数十年の時を越え、肩の力を抜いて話ができるなんて幸せなこと。全く思いもよらぬ方からこのサイトの宣伝までしていただき、驚愕のあまり凍り付く瞬間もあったのだが。（どうしてご存じでしたかと直接伺おうと思いながら、その機会を逃してしまった。）ここに書くのは「独り言」のつもりが、実は人前でおしゃべりしていることに他ならないという明々白々な事実を思い出すと身が竦む。改めてご訪問に感謝！★一方、毎週「Keiのワンポイント英会話」というコラムを掲載してくれていたメルマガが先週突然配信中止となり、残念。若い友人の清新なエッセイ発表の場でもあったのだが、有為転変がこの世の習い。いいさ、また新天地を開拓していこう！★本日の更新は「静物」にaoの新作油彩と「毎日卵」です。表紙の写真は御茶ノ水橋。このページはつくばで見た落ち葉の吹き寄せ。以前の写真は「掲載写真帖」へ移しました。★おや雨音がする。また一段と寒くなりそうな気配。何卒ご自愛のほど。

I was away from this page for nearly 10 days. It doesn't mean I had forgotten about it but I was too busy for that, going back and forth between two campuses and attending numerous meeting (probably there are many more meetings than classes!) "Don't work too hard," says my friends and colleagues; I know I shouldn't be too much involved. However, how can I escape from them? "It can't be helped" I say to myself. (Is it really true??) ★Yesterday, I went to a reunion of our junior high school classmates. We graduated from Takata Junior High (Toshima, Tokyo) in 1968."Let us watch the future as well as we retrospect the past with sentiments," said the reunion's chief organizer. Her speech was just wonderful. I was fascinated to listen to my old friends talk of their lives. I had a chance to talk with some of my classmates who had influenced me greatly, in a very relaxing manner. I was so happy to have that kind of occasion jumping over the past few decades. To my amazement, one person introduced this website to all the participants from the stage! Wow, how could he know of it? I missed the chance to ask him the question. I have to remember that I'm not writing here just for myself but writing to casual passers-by anytime. Thanks to your visit! ★BTW, there was an announcement last week that a free e-mail publication in which my mini column on the tips for good English conversation to be terminated. This was also where one of my young friends living in London was writing about her experiences over there in nice essays. Well, things have been changing all the time. Don't be sorry but seek another chance! ★ Today's update: ao's oil painting in Still Life, eggs in An Egg a Day; a photo in the index page (Ochanomizu Bridge) and one in this page above (colorful fallen leaves I saw in Tskuba). Old photos are saved in the page of Cover Photos. ★ I can hear the sound of the rain. It's getting cooler day by day. I hope you'll take a good care of your self.

朝の通勤電車で不覚にも眠り込み、ハッと気付いた駅でつい降りてしまった。下りるべき駅を通過したと勘違いして。実は三つ手前だったのに。すっかり目が覚めた。遠ざかる電車を見送りながら、朝靄にかすむ景色が胸にしみた。苦笑しながらホームに佇んでいた。本日の更新はこのページ「吉川」というその駅の写真と、表紙の写真（つくば中央公園）です。この前TXの終点まで行ってみた。「卵」も新しいのが入っています。昨日までの写真は「掲載写真帖」へ入れました。

This morning I fell fast asleep on the commuter's train. When I woke up suddenly I thought I had passed the station I should have got off, and I jumped out of the train. No, it was three stations before that. I got wide awake then. Looking at the train departing, I was impressed with the misty scene of the railway. I kept standing bitterly smiling to myself. Today's update: the photo in this page (it's the railway I watched this morning at Yoshikawa) and the one in the index page (Tsukuba Central Park). In fact, I went all the way to Tsukuba by TX the other day. New eggs are uploaded as well. Old photos are moved to Cover Photos.

立冬を過ぎてしまった。昨日はぽかぽかしていたので冬のことなど考えもしなかったが、北海道では竜巻が発生し、甚大な被害を及ぼした。千葉にも時々竜巻のニュースがある。自然災害は時もところも選ばない。自然が牙をむくときの人間の無力さ。電車のホーム電光掲示板には相変わらず「テロ警戒中」の文字が流れている。静かな場所がどこかにあるだろうか。本日の更新は「卵」です。だんだんaoの表情が変わってきている。私の知らない若い女の顔。

We're now in winter. It was so warm yesterday that I didn't think of our traditional calendar. However, in Hokkaido a tornado destroyed houses and killed people. Sometimes I've heard of tornados happening in Chiba Prefecture. Natural disasters attack anywhere anytime. We are helpless when the nature shows its fangs. Meanwhile, on electric billboards at train platforms flash the warning of terrorism as usual. Where in the world is a quiet place? Today's update: eggs. ao's face is changing into one of a young woman unfamiliar to me.

昨日夕方近く散歩に出たら、あっという間に日が暮れて見上げると大きな黄色いお月様。十五夜だったのだろうか。そういえば先日あちこちで「十三夜」が話題になっていた。一葉の小説を引用している新聞記事もあり、日本人の月に対する思い入れの深さを再認識した。オオカミなら、あれに向かって吠えたくなるのか。思わず私はシャッターを押した。花鳥風月に惹かれるメンタリティーは拭い去りがたい。何を仮託しようと言うのか、ただ誰しもなにがしかの感慨を持って眺めたかも知れない月を私も見たと。晩秋に向かう。本日の更新は上の写真と、表紙の写真、早くもイルミネーションが輝き始めた東京ドームシティ・ラクーアの回廊です。「卵」と「掲載写真帖」も更新しました。

Yesterday evening I went out for a walk. It got dark immediately. Then I found a large orange moon hanging. Was it a full moon? I remember there were many articles on the web and in newspapers talking about the growing moon. One of them was quoting a short story by Higuchi Ichiyou even. It reminded me of the traditional sentiment aroused by the moon in our culture. What in the world are we to imply through the moon? I just want to say I saw the moon too, which you might have seen somewhere. Autumn is coming to the end very soon. Today's update: the photo above and also the photo on the index page, the early illumination at LaQua, Tokyo Dome City. Eggs and Cover Photos are also updated.

我が町東村山には何のめぼしいものもないように思って暮らしているが、実は東京都内唯一の国宝建造物がある。正福寺地蔵堂という。正福寺は鎌倉時代に開かれた古刹で、地蔵堂は「中国から伝えられた禅宗様（唐様）建築の代表的な建造物」とのこと。この度30年に一度の屋根葺き替え工事が終わり、「地蔵まつり」が開かれた。本堂ご開帳と聞き及び、思い立って出かけてみた。雅楽と舞いの奉納には間に合わなかったけれど、堂内のご本尊様とそれを取り巻く千体地蔵を拝んできた。そういえば、八国山の尾根道に鎌倉時代の遺跡があるのを思い出す。東京は江戸とばかり考えるのは不見識なようだ。関東には関東なりの歴史がある。少し視界を広げなくては。ピンと反り返った独特ななお堂の屋根を見上げていると、目先のことにばかり汲々としてどうすると思えてくる。本日の更新は「国宝　正福寺地蔵堂　地蔵まつり」です。地元を見直したひとときだった。それから「卵」も一つ。ご訪問に感謝です。

Usually I feel there is nothing special in my home town Higashimurayama.; however, in fact, we have the only National Treasure Building of Tokyo in our city. It's "Jizou-do" at Shofuku-ji Temple, which was originally built in Kamakura Era (in 1407). Jizou-do has the traditional Zen style coming from China. The roof of the wooden building has been re-covered once every 30 years. The latest recovering was completed in September and today Jizou Matsuri Festival was held. Jizou-do was specially opened to the public. We decided visit the temple. Although we were not in time for the dedication of ancient Japanese traditional music and dance, we got the chance to observe the inside of Jizou-do with its main Jizou Statue and thousand of small jizou statues surrounding it. I remember I saw an ancient site of Kamakura Era in Mt. Hachikoku. When we talk of Tokyo, we tend to think it is the embodiment of Edo Era but actually Kanto Plain in wider scale has longer history. I need to have a larger view of this district. Looking up at the characteristic roof of Jizou-do, I felt I should not be near-sighted. Today's update: a photo page of "Jizou-do Festival." One more egg, too. Thanks for your visit!

霜月到来。ここから年末までは転がるように過ぎていくのが常だ。でもそう簡単に年は越せない。親の出る幕は全くないが、aoの受験が現実味を帯びて近付いてきた。この頃「はぁ〜？」という絵ばかりを持って帰る。本日の更新は「静物」にaoの油彩『左大腿部』です。最初見た時はぎょっとした。「毎日卵」は2ページ目に入った。私は自分が受験生だった36年前を思い出している。ここを越えなくては何も始まらないとしゃかりきになっていた。あれは青春時代の大きな山だった。そんな大袈裟な言葉を使うだけで恥じ入ってしまうのだけれども、確かに。

November has started. Usually time starts rolling so fast at this time to the end of the year. But I can hardly go on to the next year so easily. Although there is almost nothing parents can do, the time our daughter is to take college entrance exams is approaching realistically. Recently all the drawings she brings home are strange--at least to my eyes. Today's update: ao's oil painting, "The Left Leg." She has been producing an egg every day. (An Egg a Day) The second page for eggs has began. I still remember the days when I was preparing for the entrance exam 36 years ago. I was very serious thinking my life won't begin unless I could pass over the mountain successfully. How naive I was! It really was a mountain in my youth.

October 31, 2006

このところ更新できずにいた。前項は数日前に途中まで書き、眠くて断念。それ以来あれこれに追われてここにたどり着けなかった。「ここ」は自分の隠れ部屋なのだが、外に向かって窓をいっぱいに開けているという矛盾。ホームページやブログで「何故人は日記を晒すのか」という問いかけがある。実はこんなものは日記ではないのにそう呼ばれているだけのこと。相変わらず書かないこと、書けないことの方が誰の心にも余計にある。書くのはほんの一端に過ぎない。それでも端をひらひらさせながら人は「私はここにいる」と呟く。それが誰に届かなくても、だ。Sarah Brightmanを大音量で聴きながら、心の中をかき混ぜる。本日の更新は表紙（地下鉄駅の券売機の前に何故か片方だけのハイヒール）とこのページの写真（建築現場の青い空）です。私が更新を怠っている間にも「卵」は増え続けています。昨日までここにあった写真は「掲載写真帖」に移動しました。

I have not been able to update this page for many days. When I wrote this note last time, I couldn't help giving it up in the middle because I was too sleepy. Since then I have been away from this page, which is my private room so to say. I know it's a contradiction; how can it be a private space if I open it to the world? One of the frequently asked questions is why people expose their "diary" on the Internet. In fact I don't think what people write in their websites or blogs are not real diaries although they are called by that name. How can they write what they have in the depth of their heart so casually? It's only a very small part of their heart/mind. But people show the part to cry "I'm here, Watch me!" most of the case in vain. I disturb myself while listening to Sarah Brightman in a large volume. Today's update: a photo in the index page (a high-heeled shoe left alone in front of the ticket vending machine in a subway station) and the one in this page (the blue sky above the construction site). ao's eggs are increasing while I was lazy.　Old photos are moved to "Cover Photos."

いつもより少し早く帰れるかなと思ったら、鉄道事故で足止めを食らう。あと数駅というところで武蔵野線は止まり、乗客は電車からホームに吐き出された。思案のしどころ。そのままホームで運転再開を待つか、アナウンスの通り遠い迂回路へ踏み出すか、それとも行き当たりばったりローカルな路線を乗り継いで行くか。私は第三の道を選んで見慣れぬ駅舎の外へ出た。案の定タクシー乗り場は長蛇の列で論外。路線バスで最寄りの私鉄駅へ向かうこととして停留所で待つ。列はどんどん長くなるがバスはなかなか姿を現さない。痺れを切らしかけたところへ小さな市内循環バスがきた。別の駅へ向かうらしい。確信はなかったが一か八かそちらへ飛び乗る。だが走り出して間もなく、バスは渋滞に巻き込まれた。はかばかしく進まない。いくつめかの停留所で聞き慣れた駅の名前！歩いていける距離ならバスに揺られている筋合いはない。迷わず飛び降りた。しかし、どちらへ歩いたものか見当が付かない。幸いなことに周りに数人、私と同じようなことを考えた人たちがいた。中の一人が「聞いてきます」というなり、人影を追って駅への道を尋ねてくれた。暗い道をそこから見知らぬもの同士は無言で歩き続け、ようやく目指す駅へたどり着いた。結局あの時電車を下ろされた駅でじっと待っていても、はたまた迂回路を辿っても、結局は同じくらい時間がかかったのかも知れない。咄嗟の判断に性格が出てしまう。本日の更新はaoの卵です。

In spite of my original intention to go home earlier than usual, I was detained by a train accident on my way. Only a few station before I wanted to get off, all the passengers had to step out of the train. The announcement told us to take different routes for respective destination. Well, there were several choices: just to take the lines the announce told us; to wait quietly on the platform until the train service began again; to go ahead without any definite plan looking for some luck. I chose the last one. I went out of the train station and looked around. There was a long line for taxi. I stood at the end of the line waiting for a bus. Then came a mini-bus which will drop me at a railway station I know. It started immediately fortunately; however, it was stuck in the traffic congestion. How irritating! I jumped off the bus when an announcement told us a name of another familiar railway station. I had no idea which way to go. One of the passengers who left the bus asked a passer by the way and we walked together in silence in darkness to the station. Eventually we arrived at the station. I was not sure if my choice was right or not. Had I waited quietly on the platform, perhaps I could have come home almost the same time I actually did. Nobody could tell what to do on emergency anyway! Today's update: ao's eggs.

再三の大雨。ぐっと冷え込んできた。珍しく午後の早い時間に乗った武蔵野線、開発途上地帯で広々と地平線まで見えるところが一箇所ある。雨の止み間に北東の方角にうっすらと山影。ああ、あれが筑波山かと初めて思った。快晴の冬日には西に富士山が見える。さすが武蔵野線の面目、関東平野がぐるりだ。ここから抜け出すのは容易でないのだが。本日の更新は「静物」にaoの新作デッサン「布と身体」。そして卵です。毎日一つずつ増える。時には二個。最初は赤玉だったのがここ数日は白玉になった。アドバイザー女史によると「この卵を描くというプロジェクトの意味は真っ白から真っ黒までのその間のグレーのグラデーション階調をいかに描き分けるかという訓練ということです。ラベルを描くとか、卵を立てるとか、下に布をひくとかそういうことは一切せず、愚直なまでに真っ白の卵を真っ白の紙の上に置いてひたすらそれを描くのです。そして卵がちゃんと白いものに見えるように形がちゃんと卵と分かるように描く、それってなかなか難しいんです」とのこと。aoは反発しながらもアドバイスに従って愚直に描き続けている。ここから発見出来ることは、私にもありそうだ。

Heavy rain falls again and again. It's getting very chilly. Unusually I took Musashino Line early in the afternoon today. When I came to the point where the horizon is visible, I could see in the northern east a faint shadow of a mountain. I recognized it to be Mt. Tsukuba for the first time. In a fine cold winter day, we can see Mt. Fuji in the west. Because Musashino Line is running through Kanto Plane, we can see t all around. Today's update: ao's latest work, a pencil drawing of "a cloth and body" in Still Life; and eggs. Everyday one (or sometimes two) egg(s) is(are) added. First the egg was a red one, but it's white now, following the advisor who says, "The purpose of this project--an egg a day--is a practice to draw the gradation sequence clearly from pure white to black. Don't think of drawing a label on the egg, standing it, or laying a cloth under it, but just draw naively a white egg on a white paper. Draw so that the egg looks in the shape of an egg and as white as it is. It's a challenge quite hard to achieve." Feeling a little revolt, ao keeps drawing naively, following the advice. Maybe there is something I can also learn in this practice.

私に届いたと思った紀州梅の小包が、実は近所の同姓の方宛の誤配とわかり、慌てて電話した。ところがご当人は、そのようなものが届く覚えはないと言う。「確かにあなたのお名前と、代金振り込み用紙が」と説明しても訝しがるばかり。とにかくお届けしましょうと申し出たところ「では中間地点で」となって夜半に信号の下で出逢って立ち話した。驚くべきことに、彼女はここ一ヶ月ほどの間に身に覚えのない食品や洋服の「取り寄せ品」がこれで合計三度も届いたとのこと。送り主のメーカーにいちいち問い合わせて返送するのも手間で困惑している。どうやら何処かから漏れ出た彼女の個人情報を誰かが悪用して、通信販売の物品を請求書付きで送らせているらしい。「愉快犯」と呼ぶのも不愉快な犯罪だ。こんなことが続いたらどうしたものか。「消費者センター」のようなところが相談にのってくれるのだろうか。便利の裏にある危険を垣間見る思いがする。本日の更新は、30回目を数える『翻訳読書ノート 』に、「悪童を産んだひと」と題してアゴタ・クリストフをめぐる短いエッセイ。ハンガリー動乱から50年目の今年。そしてaoの「毎日卵」です。おまけに、表紙とこのページの写真を明るい里山からセイタカアワダチソウやルコウソウの枯れ色に換えました。昨日までの写真は「掲載写真帖」へ。しばらく続いていた青空が、どこかへ行ってしまった。

I thought I received a parcel of pickled plums as a present, but in fact it was an ordered goods addressed to a cognominal person in my neighborhood. I called her immediately; however she was bewildered to hear what I explained. She said she had never ordered such a thing herself. According to her, she has received foods and clothes that she never thought of buying three times already with bills. It's very likely someone who illegally obtained her personal information might be making goods sent to her. People may call it "a crime for pleasure" but it is a humorless crime definitely. What could be done to stop it? Would "Consumer Affairs Bureaus" be of any help? I feel I've seen the darkness behind all the convenience we're enjoying. Today's update: a short essay entitled "An author who gave birth to terrible infants" on Agota Kristof in Translated Works. (sorry, only in Japanese.) It's just the 50th anniversary since the Hungarian Rising. There are new eggs by ao. Photos on the index page and here in this page are new. Old ones are moved to "Cover Photos." Where has the blue sky gone?

河原にも野原にもセイタカアワダチソウが繁茂し始めた。この帰化植物は悪者扱いされることが多いが、秋の深まりを感じさせる。ススキの穂も伸びてきた。段々寒くなると、心の中は懐かしさに満たされる。静かに物思う季節。喧噪の世の中とは別に。本日の更新はaoの「卵」です。

Solidago altissima is growing on river banks, fields, and everywhere. This immigrant is very often considered to be evil but it makes me feel I'm in the middle of autumn really. Japanese silver grass (Miscanthus sinensis) is growing too. As it's getting colder, my heart is filled with nostalgia. It's the season to be pensive quietly. Let me be away from the busy world, today's update: ao's "an egg a day."

自転車をこぎながらふと思った。若い頃、私には「どうしてもやり遂げたいこと」が常にいくつかあった。その時々の悩みは、「それがなかなか成就しないこと」だった。今はどうか。「やりたいこと」はいくつかある。だが、「どうしても」かどうかよく分からない。「できれば良し、できなくともまた良し」といった寛容さ、乃至は諦観がまとわりつく。成ることはあまりに少ないと思い知ったからだろうか。それとも、志が段々低くなったのか。大志を抱くより、目先に分かりやすいゴールを設置して、ほどほどの達成で満足するように自分を躾てしまったのか。「そんなはずは」とペダルをこぐ足に力を込めて早くも落葉に覆われた舗道を駆け抜けるくらいが昨今の実情だと思うと、たいへん情けなくもある。日々の忙しさに溺れているとそんなことすら滅多に考えなかったなと、愕然としながら。本日の更新は「静物」にaoの新作油彩「ハンガーラックとハンガー」と、デッサン「そんなあなたも放っておけない」です。「はて〜、これは？」とつい口走ってしまった。それと「卵」を二つ。さすがに夕方は冷え込む。ご訪問の皆様、お風邪など召されませぬようご自愛のほど。

While cycling I thought, "As a young woman, I always had something I wanted to achieve by all means. Do I have such a zeal recently?" Yes, I do have something I want to achieve, but I'm not sure if I want it "by all means." "It's good if I achieve it, but it doesn't matter much if I cannot." This is I'm feeling nowadays. Am I tolerant or have I given up the utmost efforts from the beginning? I'm afraid I've made it a custom to settle easy goals and satisfy myself with small successes. "Never!" I say to myself and push pedals with full force. All I can do is just to ride through the pavement covered with fallen leaves full speed by bike. How helpless! Don't forget to be ambitious, I want to say. While I'm busy doing this and that, I apt to forget ideals. I haven't thought of such a thing these days even. It's a shame. Today's update: ao's latest works in Still Life, an oil painting entitled "a hanger rack and a hanger" and a pencil drawing entitled "I Can't Leave You Alone." They made me puzzled frankly. There are two more "eggs." It's getting very cool in the evening. Please take care of yourself, my dear visitors.

今年のノーベル文学賞はトルコのオルハン・パムクに決まった。パムクの作品は一つしか知らない。「翻訳読書ノート」で二年前に『わたしの名は紅』を取り上げた。たまたま書店で見て関心を惹かれ、手にしたのだった。デンマークの友人の息子がトルコの女性と結婚しているというのも、トルコに関心を持つきっかけの一端だった。息子の元をしばしば訪れる彼女は、いつか一緒に行こうと誘ってくれたこともある。ロンドンに住んでいる若い日本の友人は、イギリスに食傷・辟易するとトルコへ出かける。すると非西欧的な文化に癒されるのだと言っていた。遠い国、未知の世界に、小説を通じて開かれる扉。異文化に対する不寛容が蔓延る昨今の情勢の中で、精緻な言葉に導かれて旅する想念の異境は貴重だ。核実験などより、その国の文学を世界に提示出来たらどれほど深いインパクトを与えられるか知らない為政者は悲しい。本日の更新は「卵」を二個です。

Orham Pumk is the Nobel Laureate in Literature in 2006. I've read only one work of his: My Name is Red. I wrote a very brief review on it two years ago. I happened to find the book in a store and somehow strongly attracted. I have a Danish friend whose son is married to a Turkish woman; that might be one of the reasons I took interest in the author. My friend suggested me to travel to Turkey someday together. She goes there to see his son's family quite often. A young Japanese friend of mine living in London said she sometimes go to Turkey when she gets fed up with British people and culture. She says she is consoled by the non-European factors of their culture somehow. A novel opens a door to the world unknown to us. As intolerance to foreign cultures prevails in our society nowadays, it's precious we have a route to different worlds in literature. It's amazing how gravely people could be impressed with literature. It surpasses much more than nuclear weapons. Miserable is the leaders who have no idea what kind of impact literature can give to the world. Today's update: two eggs in "an egg a day."

毎日色々なことがある。降る日もあれば晴れる日も。何がどうと書くことはできないけれど、「溢れそうな聖杯を抱えて市場を歩く少年」のように、真剣ではある。とはいえ、いつもどこか呑気な性分、これはどうにもならない。さて、『ギャラリー余白』の一隅に「毎日卵」という小さなコーナーができた。aoが受験まで続ける練習に付き合うことに。私も「毎日メモ」を始めようかな。

We have various happenings every day. One day it's sunny and another day it's rainy. I cannot write the details but I'm quite serious like a boy "walking in the marketplace holding a chalice full of sacred wine." I'm relaxing somehow too. It's my nature and couldn't be helped. BTW, there is a corner entitled "an egg a day" in Gallery in Magins. ao declaed to draw an egg everyday until she take the entrance exam to art colleges. I provide the corner for her. Well, should I write "a note a day"?

豪雨が洗い流した後の空は「体育の日」に相応しい晴天となった。地元の「八国山」まで自転車を飛ばし、ゴウゴウと鳴る風に当たりながら、散策を楽しんむ。天恵と言いたくなるような日射しだった。たまには人間にも天日干しが必要だ。本日の更新は表紙の写真（八国山麓北山公園内の刈穂）とこのページの写真（八国山麓のサツマイモ畑）です。こんな日には本もパソコンも要らない。以前の写真は「掲載写真帳」に移動しました。ところで、今朝中学時代の友人から電話があった。歳月をものともしない豪快な彼女。同期会にぜひ出席をと。

Washed by the heavy rain, the sky was perfect blue suitable for the National Sports Day. I went to Mt. Hachikoku by bicycle and enjoyed taking a walk in the growling wind. The sunshine was exactly the bliss. Sometime human beings have to be dried under the sun. Today's update: the photo on the cover page (harvested rice) and the one above (the field of red Japanese potatoes). Not a day for books and computers. Photos for previous days are moved to the page for "Cover Photos." BTW, an old firend of mine called and told me to attend the reunion of junior high school classmates. She is brilliant with no trace of age!

昨日は一日中猛烈に雨が降り続いていた。まさかの遅刻。流山へ通い始めてからよほど気を付けて始業30分前には到着するようにしていたのに、自転車が使えず電車を乗り継いでいく途上の道が傘の行列で歩行者による大渋滞という前代未聞の現象に見舞われ、乗れるはずの電車を逃した。スクールバスも長蛇の列。大量の積み残しをしたまま乗りたかった便は行ってしまった。客待ちタクシーも見あたらず。レインコートから滴を垂らしながら教室に飛び込んだ。時間通りに来ていた学生は僅かだったけれど。帰路も電車の延着が続き、雨と風に弱い武蔵野線らしい。目の覚めるような秋晴れを心待ちにしている。秋草を眺めながら歩き回るんだ。いや、心ゆくまで眠りたい。ちょっと壊れそうになっているのはココロかカラダか。・・・アタマ、かもしれない。（本日の更新は、いまのところ短信のみにて。）

Yesterday, it was raining heavily all day long. I was late in time for my early morning class in spite of myself. Usually I arrive in Nagareyama more than 30 minutes before the beginning of the first period; however, I was blocked by crowd of people, or I should say hundreds of umbrellas right before the entrance gate of a railway station. I missed the train I should have caught. I missed the school shuttle bus too; there was a long waiting line and I couldn't get in the one I should have taken. No taxi either. Thus I stumbled in the classroom in my dripping raincoat. There were just a few students waiting. On my way back, the trains were late just like Musashino Line which is notorious for the delay by strong wind and heavy rain.　I'm expecting a beautiful sunny autumn day to come as soon as possible. I would like to take a walk looking for autumn plants. Also, I want to sleep as long as possible. Something is likely collapsing; my body or soul? Maybe it's my mind.　Today's update: this note only for the moment.

これまでに作成してきた「本郷界隈」関連ウェッブページを先週はあちこちで見てもらった。訪問講義をした本郷キャンパスのゼミ三年生たちからは「こんな所が身近にあるとは知らなかった」「自分でも歩いてみたい」「マップ作成が楽しみだ」などの感想が出た。一方、流山キャンパスの一年生CALLクラスでは「遊ぶところが見あたらない」「写真には人間があまり写っていない（ので面白くない）」「伝通院は子どもの頃の遊び場だった」「北野神社（春日）の石段はよく知っている、なつかしい」「日本庭園なんかに興味はない」などなど、ハチャメチャながら二十歳前の若者のホンネがいっぱい出た。その後、本郷大横丁をめぐる懇談会に出席。正式には二度目だが、前回より活発な意見交換となった。地域活性化の試みは周辺がいくら騒いでも、地元商店街・住民の意向がまずハッキリしていないと先へ進まない。しかしその土地に長く暮らす人々にとって日常を見直し改変する作業は青天の霹靂。当然ズレが生じる。新しいメンバーも交えて、ようやく何かが動き始めるかな、というところ。急ぐことはない。地元を見つめるのは非常に局所的で閉鎖的な営為にも感じられるが、文化・歴史の継承、今後の都市生活の展望、環境保護、経済商業活動の振興、少子高齢化社会と福祉の関係等々、きわめてグローバルで今日的な課題が満載されている。と、僅か数時間の話し合いの中で実感したのであった。完璧に個人的関心と趣味で始めた「本郷散歩」だったが、ふと気が付けば「坂の上の雲」を眺めているような気分がする。（ちょっと大袈裟！）本日の更新は<ギャラリー余白>中「静物」にaoの新作二点です。ようやく文化祭騒動も沈静化し、これからaoも受験勉強に専念するのであろう、と期待しつつ？表紙写真は東京都文京区春日、シビックセンター下のポケットパークの一つ「木」。このページはそろそろ花の終わるカクトラノオに来たトラマルハナバチ（かな？？？）です。以前の写真は「掲載写真帖」へ移しました。

I had my web pages on Hongo Area seen by many people last week, fortunately. Juniors of a seminar which I visited at Hongo Campus for a lecture gave out opinions like "I've never known such interesting spots are around"; "I would really like to take a walk in this area myself."; "I'm looking forward to launching the map-making project." and so on. Whereas, freshmen in CALL at Nagareyama uttered like this: "No place to enjoy ourselves, say a large game-center, in this area?"; "Your photos are not so interesting because I can see few people in them."; "Oh, it's Dentsuin Temple is where I used to play with my friends in my childhood!"; "I know the stone steps leading to Kitano Shrine (in Kasuga) very well. They make me feel at home."; "Oh, come on, I'm not interested in old Japanese gardens." Their opinions varied but I was glad I heard the frank voice of young people. Afterwards, I attended "The Hongo Meeting." Compared to the first time, it was more active and participants exchanged ideas and opinions quite freely. Unless the inhabitants of the area want to start something new by themselves, nothing will change; however, to them the requirement is a sort of a bolt from the blue sky. We need to take time. With a few new members included, something might perhaps start moving gradually, hopefully. To think about Hongo Oyokocho seem to be very local and closed, but I'm coming to realize that it involve a lot of up-to-date issues such as "succession of history and culture," "to draw a grand view of life in large cities," "preservation of natural environment," "development of commercial activities," "welfare of the society with more elders and less children," etc. I started thinking of these things together in a few hours during the meeting. So global and contemporary indeed! I started recording the image of Hongo Area based on my personal interest first, but now I feel I am looking up at clouds high above slopes. (Is it a too much exaggeration?!) Today's update: ao's latest works in 'Still Life', Gallery in Margins. She has finished her activities for her high school cultural festival eventually. I hope it's high time for her to start studying hard for entrance exams.　The photo on the cover page: A pocket-park at Kasuga-Hakusan Crossing in Bunkyo, Tokyo; one on this page: Bombus diversus Smith (???) visiting Physostegia virginiana (maybe) . Old photos are removed to Cover Photos.

September 23, 2006

週日はずっと出ずっぱりであれこれの要請に引っ張り回されているため、週末くらいひっそりと自分の関心事にかまけていたい・・・などと思うのは我が儘だろうか。まだ新学期が始まったばかりだというのに。千葉と東京のキャンパスを往来するのは、やはり疲れる。同日に午前と午後で両方に行かなくてはならないことが頻繁に起こると余計に。だが、拒否することはできないし、瞬間移動もできないし、体の力を抜いてふわ〜っとあちこちするしかなさそうだ。何か心楽しいことを見つけながら。本日の更新は、実験ページ「本郷大横町界隈　見たまま・歩いたまま」です。これまで趣味的に集めてきた写真を仕分けして、「マッププロジェクト」に役立てられないかと整備中。（余りパッとしないが、今回は細部の手直しと同リンクページを集中的にまとめてみた。自分のサイトの容量を再び一気に増やしてしまったが、いずれ大学のサーバに移植する予定にしている。）来週はまた本郷会の会合がある。ご町内の皆様方と、さてどんなことになりますか。

I've been so busy doing this and that beyond my capability that I want to stay quietly doing whatever for myself. Is it to selfish to say such a thing? The new semester has just started yet! I get easily tired as I have to go back and forth between two campuses in Chiba and Tokyo. Especially when I have to be in both campuses in one day, in the morning in Tokyo and in afternoon in Chiba, I get just exhausted at the end of a day. But I can never decline the requirement or transport instantaneously like a magic, so I have to learn how to relax anytime and move smoothly. Let me find something pleasant and hopeful. Today's update: "Hongo Oyokocho" which is an experimental page. This time I arranged the Link page. I wish I could make use of what I've been collecting on my own for a more public use; "The Map Creating Project" in Oyokocho Shopping Street. Next week, we'll have a meeting of Hongo-kai. What will happen next with Hongo people?

先日逃亡した二匹の亀のうち、トビダシが戻ってきた。といっても自主的に帰還したわけではなく、近所の家に迷い込んだところを捕獲されて連れ戻された。身元不明の間、トビダシはとりあえず入れてもらった水槽の水草を食い荒らし、次いで入れられたバケツをひっくり返してまた逃げ出し、庭の生ゴミ捨て場の中で屑野菜を食べているところを再度発見された。その家の女主人がお隣さんに「これは一体どこの亀でしょう」と相談したところから足がついて、我が家に連れ戻された次第。私はお礼に果物を持って挨拶に出かけた。「もう逃がさないようにね」と念を押され、もちろんですともと固く約束した。トビダシは心なしか神妙である。この際と古い水槽を気前よく処分してしまっていたので、彼（？）はハニカミの水槽に同居することとなった。ハニカミは意外に大胆で、新参者を踏みつけたり押しのけたりしている。さていつまで大人しくしていることやら。亀は長命というが、飼い主が先にへばったりしないよう、私も気を付けなくては。お帰り、よく戻って来たこと！本日の更新はこの短信のみにて。ご訪問に感謝。

One of the turtles which ran away a few weeks ago has returned! It did not come back, of course, by itself but it was brought back by the person who captured it. After it ran away from our garden, it walked across the lane in front of our house and got into the garden of our neighbor's. It was picked up and put in a water tank where it ate a lot of grass in it. Then it was put in a bucket, from which it ran away again. Finally it was discovered while it was eating rotten vegetables on the ground pit. Our neighbor asked a person next door to whom this turtle belonged. He mentioned my name and thus, the lady brought it to me eventually. I visited her today with a small present of fruit. She asked me never to let it escape again. I promised her that I won't. The turtle named "Runaway" is now living with "shyness" in her water-tank. She is not shy anymore. Runaway is rather quiet so far. I wonder how long it will last that way. I have to take care of myself to survie turtles which are considered to live long. Anyway, welcome back! Today's update: this note only. Thanks for reading.

秋分の日を待たずに彼岸の墓参へ。高尾の山裾にはすっかり秋の気配が漂う。びっしりと葛の葉が茂り葉陰に花が咲き誇っている。おや、虫がお食事中だ。写真を撮っている時には気付かなかった。（でもこれはなんという昆虫だろう？顔と腹側がちょこっとしか見えない。）野の草は旺盛な生命力を露わにし、人の手が届かないところでは際限なく拡がる。くすんだ曇天だったが、谷間を覗くとどこまでも緑が濃い。本日の更新はこのページの写真と表紙の写真（JR水道橋付近、外堀通り沿い神田川縁の水路モニュメント。石柱は江戸時代の「石樋」をイメージしたもの。）です。以前の写真は「掲載写真帖」に移動しました。台風が西から北上しつつある。

I visited our family tomb before the autumn equinox. At the foot of Mt. Takao, the atmosphere is completely that of autumn. I saw kuzu (Pueraria lobata) growing thickly over stone walls in the cemetery.. Behind leaves, flowers were in full bloom. I can see an insect sucking honey, which I did not notice while I was taking the photo. (BTW, what is this insect? I can see only a part of its body.) Plants were growing everywhere with almost outrageous vitality, which human hands can hardly stop. The sky was covered with drowsy clouds but the valley was powerfully green. Today's update: photos of this page and the cover page (the waterway monument along The River Kanda, by JR Suidobashi Station. Stones symbolize the stone water-pipe of Edo Era.) Old photos are now in the page of Cover Photos. A typhoon is traveling from the west to the north of Japan now.

一気に肌寒くなった。一時的なものだろうか。例年体育の日あたりには夏日がぶり返す。体育の日は1964年の東京オリンピック開催に因んで設けられた国民の祝日だが、またぞろ東京でオリンピックを企てようとは信じがたい。この過密都市はただでさえ酸欠状態だというのに。あの時日本橋の景観を壊した首都高速を取り除こうという企てもある。一度失われたものを蘇らせるために費やされる計り知れないエネルギー。悔い改めるに遅すぎることはないというなら、同じ愚行を繰り返さないことが先だろう。5年後には第二東京タワーが建つというし、この街は貪欲すぎる。人工的なものばかりで構築された都市の脆さをいつか晒すのではないかと、不安が募る。悲観的すぎるだろうか。本日の更新は、このページの朝顔に換えて、ケイトウの写真です。夏の赤とは明らかに違う。

It's suddenly so cool. Is it a temporary weather? Usually it gets as hot as summer again around October 10, which was originally National Sports Day, commemorating the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 1964. It's unbelievable that another Tokyo Olympics is being promoted. This city of overconcentration is almost suffocating. There is also an attempt to get rid of the highway running over Nihon-bashi (historically a very important and graceful bridge in the central part of Tokyo). The concrete highway which was constructed right before the Olympic Games completely destroyed the beauty of the bridge. Just imagine the energy we need to recover the lost heritage. How can we not repeat the same folly? The second Tokyo Tower is going to be constructed in 5 years. Isn't Tokyo too greedy? I'm terrified to think this man-made gigantic city would expose its fragility someday. Am I too pessimistic? Today's update: the photo of this page; cockscombs after a morning glory. The read color is not of summer.

写真の話の続きをしよう。デジカメなどない時代には銀塩写真を分厚いアルバムに貼っていたものだ。私の両親はゆっくりと子どもの成長に合わせて一人一人のアルバムを作成し、家を出て行く時に各自に分け与えた。両親のように丁寧にアルバムを作る習慣は身に付かなかったため、結婚以降に自分が撮った写真はあちこちに散在している。我が子の誕生から数年間は写真を撮りまくったので、それでもアルバムを何冊か作った。だが子どもの成長がそれほど劇的でなくなると写真の枚数が減り、いつしかコンスタントに撮影しなくなってしまった。デジカメ時代になると、今度は闇雲に撮る。現像の手間が要らない分、際限なく撮る。しかしものとしては手元に残らない。だからなのだろうか、母を訪ねた時にアルバムで出会った人々が鮮やかな印象を残す。憮然とした顔でこちらを見ている昔の写真の人々は、いつか遠いところで見も知らぬ子孫に見つめられる日が来ると期することがあったろうか。写真に命の連鎖を記録して手渡す行為を、今私は懐かしくありがたくかみしめる。本日の更新は<ギャラリー余白>中「静物」にaoの新作「意識の輪」です。これも一つの記録？

Let me continue writing about photos. When there were no digital cameras, people used to make thick and heavy photo albums. My parents made it their custom to keep photos of each child as s/he grew, and gave these albums to their children when they got married and left home. I was not so constant as my parents. Although I took photos of my daughter very often while she was growing up dramatically but I lost the custom. Once I got a digital camera, I started taking photos frantically. Unless you print the data, nothing is left at hand. Maybe that's why I was so much impressed with the old photos I found at my mother's place. I wonder if those people who are watching the camera eyes so seriously ever dreamed of someone in the future would see them with great interest somewhere. I appreciate the deed of handing the record of chain of life in photos greatly.Today's update: ao's new work entitled "Consciousness" in 'Still Life', Gallery in Margins. Is it also a style of recording?

雨の中、自転車をこいで実家の母に届け物をしに行く。どこから出てきたものやら、古い写真がたくさんあった。その中に、台紙に張られた母方の曾祖父母の正装写真。添え書きによれば昭和四年、曾祖父77歳、曾祖母74歳。既にこの段階で金婚式も済ませている。二人には十二人の子どもがあった。逆算してみると曾祖母は15歳で嫁ぎ、産み始めたことになる。その末っ子だった私の祖父は実の姉の嫁ぎ先に養子に出された。多産の家もあれば、子どものない家もあり、互いに融通し合っていたことが知れる。家督相続というものが必ずしも「実子」に拘るものではなかったことも明白だ。皮肉なことに貰われた後で継母には実子が生まれ、祖父は家を継ぐ責任を逃れた。庶民は斯様に行き当たりばったりというか大らかだった。一方、父方の祖父母の写真、父の若い頃の写真も多くあり、いずれも戦時中の風俗を如実に表している。父の学生時代が「教練」に明け暮れるものだったことを実感した。教授も学生たちもゲートル履きで野戦実習場にいる。女たちはもんぺ姿だ。父が出征中、昭和20年3月10日東京大空襲の数日後に祖父は亡った。幕末生まれの曾祖父母や第二次大戦に翻弄された父の家族など思いがけない人々に出会ったひと時、命の中継地点としての自分の存在を感じた。何らかの形で縁に繋がる人々の記憶を記録しなくてよいのかと、ふと思う。本日は短信のみにて。雑木林の際に群生する萩の花が咲き始めた。

I visited my mother by bicycle in rain. I found many old photos at her house. Among them was a photo of my great grandparents (of my mother's side) in the formal costume. According to the memo, my great grandfather was at the age of 77, and my great grandmother 74 in 1929. At that point, they had already celebrated their golden wedding. They had 12 children. I calculated and found she got married when she was 15 and started having children right after that. My grandfather, who was their 12th child, was adopted by one of his elder sisters. It was evident that there were couples with too many children and ones with no children at all. They were giving and taking children by necessity. It was not only biological children that inherited but adopted ones did too depending on the situation. Ironically, my grandfather escaped from succeeding the adopted family because his stepmother gave birth to a boy after she adopted her smallest brother. Thus, ordinary people were quite flexible. I also found photos of my father's side: my grandparents and my father in youth. They show how they were living in the days under the World War II very well. My father as a student was spending a long time in the field for combat drills with professors putting on their puttees. Women are in clumsy wartime trousers. While my father was sent to battle fields abroad, Tokyo was attacked by continuous air raids. My grandfather died a few days after Great Tokyo Air Raids on March 10, 1945. Watching those who were born in Edo Era, and those whose life was greatly disturbed by the war, I felt myself as a relay point of the life sequence. I wonder if I should record the memory of the people related to me somehow. Today's update: this note only. Japanese bush clover has started blooming along the small forest in my neighborhood.

既に10年近く飼い続けていた亀二匹が相次いで逃亡した。。逃げた亀の名は「トビダシ」と「ハナイキ」という。（もう一匹「ハニカミ」というのが残っている。）ずっと世話をしてきたので私は困惑している。何故今時？と。長い年月、淡々と「いるのが当たり前」だったのに、もういないと思うとガックリする。どんな生き物も、じっと観察していると表情があり、個性があり、癖もある。食べて排泄して、それだけなのだが動物だから動く。少しずつ大きくなっていた。突然、懸垂力で水槽の縁を乗り越えられたのだ。ハナイキは体長30cmにはなっていた。脱出してどこへ？トビダシは一度お向かいの家の植え込みに逃げ込んだことがあったが、今度は見つからないだろう。犬でも猫でもないから、考えを変えて戻ってくるということはない。だが、かつてハナイキは庭の繁みに半年以上潜んでいて捕獲されたこともあった。歴史が二度繰り返したら、それは奇跡というものだ。彼らの幸運を祈る。本日の更新は表紙の写真（黒姫高原のコスモス畑）とこのページの写真（秋花朝顔）です。前の写真は「掲載写真帳」へ移動しました。写真帳「雨後の江戸川」と「野尻湖・黒姫高原」へは『ギャラリー余白』から入れるようになりました。「休憩雑記帳」へは表紙からだと「あれこれ」が入り口です。

Two of my turtles which I had been keeping for nearly 10 years ran away one after another. They were named "Runaway" and "Snorty" respectively. (There remains one more named "Bashful.") I'm quite disturbed because I've been taking care of them for such a long time. Why they disappeared NOW? I'm disappointed to think there will be no more of them. Surely their life was just monotonous: they ate and evacuated. That's all. But they had characteristics in their ways. Like all animals, they moved. They were growing bigger very slowly. One day they found they could go over a rim of the water tank with their hands. Snorty was as big as 30cm long (from head to tail). Where have they gone? When Runaway disappeared before, it was discovered in our neighbor's garden. Perhaps not this time. Because they are neither a dog nor a cat, they won't change their mind and come home by themselves. I remember, however, Snorty once was hiding under a bush of our garden for half a year and discovered. If that could happen again, it would be a real miracle. I wish them for their luck. Today's update: the photo in the index page (the cosmos garden in Kurohime Highland) and the one in this page (a morning glory in autumn). Old photos are stored now in the page of "Cover Photos."　Photo albums "The Edo River After Rain" and "Lake Nojiri and Kurohime Highland" are accessible from Gallery in Margins.Please access "Keiko's Scribbling Block" through etcetera.

助走というのはじれったいようでもあり、必要不可欠なものでもある。「筆馴らし」という言葉は書道と無縁な私にとっては比喩でしかないのだが、徐々に調子を上げていくための準備期間が貰えるとありがたい。新学期が本格化する前の、今は助走期間。同時に泥縄常習犯の私にとっては滑り込みするための全力疾走期間でもあるのが辛いところ。空白の目立つ"To Do List"を前に焦っている。本日の更新は「休憩雑記帳」に一編「読書日記の恐怖」を追加しました。これも一つの「助走期間」にある。いずれもっと本格的なページにするつもりで。まだるっこしい文章でごめんなさい。

We feel impatient while we are in "the run-up period" although we know it's necessary. Japanese calligraphers take time before they use a new brush fully enough. Metaphorically, I'm still in that period in terms of my work in the new semester. I'm grateful to have this preparatory stage before the frantic daily schedule starts again. Also this is an important period of time for me to tie up all the loose ends in a hurry as usual. I can hardly get out of being a procrastinator. I'm watching my "To Do List" with sighs. Today's update: another title in A Short Break. Sorry, this is a short column only in Japanese. I'm planning to make this into a full (perhaps bilingual) page in time. At this point I'm still writing fearfully like in "the run-up period."

迷わず九月。後へは引けない。昨日より通勤を再開した。久々の本郷である。仕事の後は本郷通りと言問通りの交差点近くにある美容院でカットして貰い、そのまま言問通りを下って、途中老舗「石井いり豆店」で豆菓子を友人のお見舞いに送り、白山通りの「あゆみBooks小石川店」に寄る。ここはほどほどの大きさの本屋で、品揃えがよい。店頭に、ズバリ『散歩の達人』9月号-特集は「元祖山の手を楽しむ方法　神楽坂、本郷、小石川」。（あゆみBooksは地元紹介の書籍雑誌を常備している。立ち読みも含めて、随分お世話になってきた。）ふ〜ん、直接行ったらどうということのないあの場所この場所が、趣のあるレトロなスポットとして掲載されている。＜本郷大横町通りマッププロジェクト＞の参考になりそうだ。（先ほど豆菓子を買った店も押さえてある！）入り口で取った買い物籠に雑誌、文庫、新書、ペーパーバックスをスーパーで買い物するみたいに放り込んでレジへ。（何だかオンラインブックストアのバーチャル版のよう。）暮色に包まれた礫川公園を通り抜けていく時、確かな秋風に全身を包まれた。本日の更新は、お初にお目にかかります『休憩雑記帳』に第一編、「何に書くか、何を書くか」です。エッセイというほどでもなく、日記でもなく、休憩時間のお供にどうぞ。

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, it's September. There is no retreating. I started commuting to work again yesterday. Exactly after one month, I went to Hongo. Having finished my work, I walked on the back alley to my favorite beauty shop near the intersection of Hongo Avenue and Kototoi Avenue to have my hair cut. Then I walked down Kototoi Avenue, making a brief stop at an old beans snack shop where I picked up several kinds to make a present for my friend recovering from illness, and visited a bookshop in Hakusan Avenue. As soon as I went into the shop, I found the latest issue of a magazine, Sannpo no Tatsujin (A Master of Walking) which is featuring Kagurazaka, Hongo and Koishikawa as the towns for veteran walkers. I checked it to find photos showing familiar places in Hongo Area. They look retrospectively romantic in them in spite of the fact they look quite common when we see them in daily life. Quite impressed, I decided buy it for Hongo Ooyokocho Map-making Project for reference. Like in a supermarket, I threw in the magazine and several handy paperbacks, in a basket I picked up at the entrance of the shop. (It was as if I was shopping online virtually.) While I was going through Rekisen Park in the evening color, the wind blew to my body making me realize it was really the autumn air. Today's update: a brand-new page entitled "A Short Break"--it's going to be my scribbling block. Sorry, it's only in Japanese at present.

若い女性が二人、近所の銭湯から出てきしなに「夏休み終わっちゃったね」「そうだねぇ」と話していた。「そう、残念よね」と心の中で相づちを打ちながら、「あれ、この辺の若い子もあの銭湯に行くんだ」と妙に感心する。内湯のないアパートに下宿しているのか、家の風呂が壊れたのか、それともバブルバスやジェット水流でマッサージ出来る風呂屋のファンなのかとあれこれ想像してみる。数ヶ月前、私も我が家の風呂を修繕している最中、義母と通った。気持ちよかったという話を伝え聞いた義妹がこの夏は姪たちを連れて泊まりがてらこの銭湯に入りに来た。ちょっとした温泉気分ではある。一回の入浴料金400円は安くはないが、手近に利用出来る公衆浴場があるのはありがたい。散歩しているうちに滅多に行かない路地に迷い込んだら、そこにも銭湯があった。何となくあたりに「風呂屋の匂い」が漂っている。どんなにしんどい一日も風呂で手足を伸ばしている間に溶けていく、ような気がする。ちんまりした家の風呂桶より、風呂屋の湯船の方が効果絶大だと思えてならない夕暮れ時。本日の更新は短信のみにて。

Two young women came out of a public bath talking to each other, "The summer holiday is gone already." "Yes." While I agreed with them in silence, I said to myself. "Well, it's surprising young women in my neighborhood go to the public bath! Do they live in an apartment without a bathroom? Do they come just because their bathroom at home has any troubles? Maybe they love the bubble bath and the jet-streams of the public bath." I went to the public bath house with my mother-in-law when our bathroom was being repaired a few months ago. Hearing our experience, my sister-in-law came to visit the bath house with her daughters during summer. Yes, you can feel as if you are enjoying spa. It cost us \400 per person, which is not inexpensive, but we're happy to have spa-like bath at hand. While taking a walk, I happened to went into a back alley to find another public bathhouse The air smelled the hot water of the public bath. No matter how had our days may be, once you take a bath all the weariness seems to be solved. The large bath pools are much more effective for that than tiny private bathtubs. I feel like that in the evening. Today's update; only this note. See you!

いよいよ休暇は残り少なくなってきた。ちょうど4週間、すっかり仕事から解放されて自由に過ごしたことになる。こんなに気ままに暮らしたのは何年ぶりだろう。先々に気になることはいくらもあるが、ひとまず休養を取れたことに感謝している。久しぶりに旧友と交信したり、溜めて置いた本をいろいろ読んだり、近所をテクテク散歩したり、充電に努めた。先日の信濃路の旅でどれほどリフレッシュされたか知れない。これで当分関東平野にへばりついていても窒息することはないだろう（と思う）。昨日掲載した写真にことばを添えてみた。曖昧な箇所が多く信憑性のあるデータとは言いがたいが、備忘録代わりの写真帳とお許し願いたい。本日の更新は「野尻湖と黒姫高原　昆虫・花・展望」です。そして、「翻訳読書ノート」に一編追加しました。触り程度のものながらグーグルについての一文。ここから勉強を始めたい。

Holiday is almost finished. I've spent exactly 4 weeks, completely independent from work. It's been a long time since I enjoyed holiday so freely years ago. Although I have so many things to worry about, but now I'm grateful I could relax completely. I exchanged mails with old friends, read books I had piled up, and took a walk every evening in my neighborhood. Also I'm refreshed by the trip to Nagano Prefecture last week. Perhaps I won't be so easily fed up with Kanto Plain for a while. I added words to the photos I uploaded yesterday. Unfortunately there are many ambiguous points; so that the page is not correctly informative. I hope I'm allowed to upload the page for my memorandum. Today's update: Lake Nojiri and Kurohime Highland; Insects, Flowers and the Landscape." There is also a new essay about Google in "Translated Works." It's just a brief introduction in Japanese. I'd like to start my research here.

野尻湖と黒姫高原の写真をまとめてみた。ほんのしばらく載せておこう。ゆく夏を惜しみながら。仕事メールが入り始め、そろそろ正気に戻らなくては。よろしければ、どうぞこちらから。

I uploaded photos of Lake Nojiri and Kurohime Height. I would like to watch them just to detain summer for a little longer. I've started receiving business mails. It's time for me to come to my senses! Please click here and enjoy photos if you please.

一泊二日の旅へ出た。長野県野尻湖畔から黒姫高原へ。野尻湖は地下からの湧水を水源にする澄んだ湖。ボート乗り場や遊覧船もあるけれど、俗化を免れた静かな場所だ。学生時代に宗教部主催のキャンプで来たことがある。パスカルの『パンセ』を読むゼミに出て、（何やら）寸劇を演じたのを覚えている。どこへ行こうか考えた時、ふとあの頃の静寂な時間を思い出した。湖水から雲間に見上げる黒姫山の裾野に「一目百万本」というコスモス園がある。バスで高原に登り、リフトで標高1030Mの地点まで連れて行って貰った。眼下に野尻湖、そして目地遙かに山脈を見晴らせば夏雲がわき上がる。至福のひとときだった。これでまた息を吹き返し、秋の喧噪へ飛び込んでいくことができそうだ。本日の更新は表紙の写真（黒姫高原から眺める野尻湖と周囲の山並）とこのページの写真（野尻湖）です。信濃路は麗しい。

We went on a two-day-trip. Our destination was Lake Nojiri and Kurohime Height. Lake Nojiri is very clean because the source of water for the lake is coming from underground. Although the lake has pleasure boats for tourists and various facilities for visitors to enjoy, it keeps quiet, not so popularized. I had been here before. I participated in a summer camp conducted by the religion department of our college. At that time I attended a seminar where we read Pensse by Pascal, and we presented a skit based on our activities at the seminar. While I was thinking of where to go this summer, suddenly I remembered the quiet time I spent by Lake Nojiri as a student. From the lake we looked up at Mt. Kurohime; in the middle of which there is a huge garden where one million of cosmos flowers are grown. We climbed by bus and found the cable lift (for skiers in winter) was working. Good! It took us to the height of 1030M. We had a wonderful view of Lake Nojiri underneath and mountain ranges far beyond. Above them, summer clouds were growing. I spend the time of bliss. I was inspired well enough to get the energy for the coming season. Today's update: photos on the index page (a view from Kurohime Height) and the one here (Lake Nojiri). Shinano was so beautiful.

『グーグル誕生』という本を読みながら、グーグルサイトに行き様々な仕掛けを試してみる。検索から始まった技術革新が文化に大きな影響を与えるに至った現状を、居ながらにしてフィールドワーク。一般ユーザーなりの観察をしてみようと思っている。「グーグルイメージ」に自分の名前を打ち込んで検索をかけたら、このサイトに収録した写真のほとんどが12ページにわたって表示されたのには驚いた。既に閉ざしているページに出ていた写真まで、色鮮やかに表示されると奇妙な気分になる。つまりエンジンはイメージを収集したら、それをストアーし続ける。元サイトから消えても（意図的に消したものも）かつてあったという記録が残る。ということは、グーグルの検索機能は開発者の意志の通り、インターネット上のあらゆるデータを保存し整理し尽くす仕事をひたすら遂行しているわけだ。元のサイト制作者の意志を越えて、あるいは無視して。この世から消えよと命じたものも、消せない。データが一人で存在し続ける。このことの意味を問わないわけにはいかない。本日の更新はaoの新作を『ギャラリー余白』中、「静物」に入れました。少し変わった作風。ヌードモデルがポーズすると同時にレニ・リーフェンシュタールの『民族の祭典』が延々と映写し続けられていたそうな。そういうセッティングをしたアートスクールにはどんな目論見があったのやら。

I'm reading the translation of The Google Story; meanwhile, I frequently go to Google's website to try its various functions. This is a sort of a "fieldwork" by an amateur surveying the present situation of how Google has been changing the cultural habits of present world with its technology. I was astonished to find 12 pages of photos from this website of mine when I put in my name in Google Image. The list included the ones which I've already deleted from this website long ago. I felt very strange to see those photos which had vanished long before. It proves their search engine keeps colleting and sorting them. Regardless of the will of website owners, Google carries on its intention to achieve the goal that they would collect and sort out all the data on the web. We are not allowed to delete what we don't need any more. Ignoring the will of the original owner of the data, Google stores whatever it finds. Data remain for ever theoretically. I cannot help asking what it means. Today's update: ao's latest work in Still Life of Gallery in Margins. It has a different taste from other works. A woman in nude is posing in front of a wall on which the film of Leni Amalie Riefenstahl's Olympia was kept projected on and on. I wonder what the Art School intended.

朝、起き抜けに学生時代の友人からメールを受け取る。ここ30年余りの間に数えるほどしか会うことも電話することもなかった。でも、彼女にはたいへんお世話になったことがある。1979年夏、始めて海外に旅行した時、当時ロンドン駐在だった彼女の家に泊めて貰った。あの頃やんちゃな二歳児だった双子のお嬢さんたちが今では二人ともそれぞれグローバル企業に勤めている。成長する過程のほとんどを海外で過ごし、高校時代はスイスのボーディングスクールに入っていたため、英仏日三カ国語に堪能という。その一人が、記事に出ているので時間があったらチェックしてみてとウェッブサイトのURLを送ってくれていた。化粧品会社のプロダクトPRマネージャーという役職に就き、製品のプロモーションをしている。若い女性たちがこういう記事を参考にするのだろうが、ターゲットはどんなコンシューマーだろうと想像を逞しくしてみる。あちこちに娘たち世代が登場するようになったかと感慨を覚えつつ。今朝のメールは「拝見しました」という私の便りへの返信。父上と過ごすハワイの別荘からだった。（わぁ〜ぉ！）本日の更新はこのページ上の写真です。品川インターシティテラス。いっそ東京ど真ん中の真昼時。

First thing in the morning I received a mail from a friend of mine. We were classmates at college more than 30 years ago. We seldom met or even talked on the phone during these years but I've been much obliged to her, for she let me stay at her home in London when I went abroad for the first time in my life in 1979. Her twin daughters were "terrible two" at that time. Now they are grown up and working for global companies respectively. As they were brought up in foreign countries, particularly they were in a boarding school in Switzerland in their high school days, they speak three languages. My friend had informed me I would be able to see one of her daughters on the web and sent me a URL. Being a "product PR manager" of MAYBELLINE, she is introducing the latest products of her company. It's a fascinating commercial website. I wonder what kind of consumers will purchase such cosmetics. I'm quite impressed to see the generation of our daughters is now in the frontline. The mail I received this morning was a response to my report that I visited the website. She sent it from Hawaii where she's staying at her father's villa. (Wow!) Today's update: the photo in this page. Let me show you a scene in Shinagawa Intercity at midday of a midtown in TOKYO.

八月も後半。「まだ半分」か「もう半分」か。上り坂は長く下り坂は短い。前半は心身の疲労回復で精一杯だったので"TO DO LIST"にはこれから着手、と呑気に構えている。終戦記念日の昨日、某政党のボランティア活動員という若者二人が戸別訪問に来た。チラシ一式の入った封筒を手渡して、ポスターを塀に貼らせてくれないかと頼む。断ったが、そう落胆した様子もない。某議員の人柄に惚れ込んでNPOに参加しているのだとか。とても闊達な青年たちだった。「どちらの大学？」と聞くと、一瞬躊躇った後「東京大学です」と。60年代とは全く異なるスタンスで、政治に関わる学生たちが生まれているのか。最近のキャンパスでは余り見かけないタイプなので、ついあれこれ尋ねてしまった。我が家の受験生は黙々とアトリエに通っている。若者の夏は熱い。本日の更新はaoの新作を『ギャラリー余白』中、「静物」に入れました。「え、これが油絵？」などと口走って溜息をつかれている。

The latter half of August has begun. Is it "already half" or "still" half? It takes a hard and long time to climb up and it's so quick to come down the slope. As I spent the former half just for relaxing and resting, from now on I'm going to launch attacking my "TO DO LIST." Yesterday two young men visited and asked me if they could get our permission to put on a poster of a political party on the wall of our house. I declined their wish but they did not seem to be disappointed very much. They said they were working for an MP as a volunteer of an NPO. They were very lively. "Which university do you go to?" I asked. After a momentary hesitation, one of them said, "the University of Tokyo." I was a little surprised to meet students politically active, whom I seldom meet these days. A generation, politically commitinging, is uprising. Thier politcal stance is quite different from the one in 60s. In spite of myself, I asked questions to them. Well, well, a student of my family who is going to take exams for college is drawing at an atelier day after day. Summer for young people is extremely hot. Today's update: ao's latest works in Still Life of Gallery in Margins. I asked her "Is it an oil painting, really?" just to make her sigh.

August 11, 2006

飛ぶように過ぎていく時。1200文字程度でとの依頼を受けた、ごく短い文章と格闘したのみで終わる一日。そのくらいしか思い起こせないことにまた些かの焦りを感じる。夏が目の前を通り過ぎていくのに何の手出しもできないと。本日の更新はaoの新作を『ギャラリー余白』中、「静物」に入れました。その絵の動物のような気分で。

Time is flying. I spent a day just struggling with a short essay which I was asked to write. I feel impatient with my inactivity. It's as if I can do nothing but watching summer passing by in front of me while I cannot do anything with it. Today's update: ao's work in "Still Life" at Gallery in Margins. The animal in the painting reminds of ME!

台風一過、炎暑の一日。JR中央線国分寺駅で母、妹と待ち合わせ、二つ隣の駅に当たる国立へ行ってみた。姪の一人（弟の娘）が一橋大へ通うようになり、これまであまり縁のなかった街に何となく親しみを感じる。彼女がアルバイトしているというパン屋を外から眺めた。三人で炎天下をしばらく歩き回って、ようやく古い邸宅を改造して作ったフランス料理店"Le Vent de Vert"に落ち着く。（戦艦「赤城」の元艦長のお屋敷だった洋館とか。）給仕するのは若い女性たちばかり。全員黒のジャケットに品の良い白ブラウスを着て、丁寧な応対ぶりだった。ランチタイムのこと故そんなに気取ったメニューでもなく、久しぶりの四方山話に花が咲く。朗読（指導）を仕事にしている妹に、今度私の関わっている会へ来て講演・実践指導をしてもらえまいかと頼む。考えてみたら、姉妹でイベントに手を染めるのは初めてだ。果たして実現するだろうか。食後は駅前の「たましん歴史・美術館」で『日本の東洋古陶磁展』を見る。流石に母は伊万里焼・九谷焼などに詳しい。私はさっぱりだったが、二人の後ろをついて回り「白磁」や「絵付け」の妙味を味わう。絵はがきをワンセット買って三人で分けた。一緒にいたのはせいぜい三時間足らずだったが、「日頃できないこと」をまたひとつ。本日の更新は表紙の写真（夏雲）とこのページ上の写真（空堀川のコサギ）です。そしてaoの新作二点を「ギャラリー余白」中『静物』に加えました。昨日までここにあった写真は「掲載写真帖」へ入れてあります。夏模様よ、もうしばし。

After the typhoon was gone, it was extremely hot today. I met with my mother and sister at JR Kokubunji Station. We decided to go to Kunitachi, two next stations from there. Now that one of my nieces (my brother's daughter) is going to Hitotsubashi University, somewhat I feel familiar with the town. We looked at the bakery where she's usually working (not today) as a part-timer. We walked about for a while and found ourselves seated finally in a French restaurant called Le Vent de Vert. The old western style house was once a property of the captain of a battleship named "Akagi." Young women in black jacket and fresh white shirt were waiting. Their movement was elegant and efficient As it was lunchtime, dishes were not so stylish but quite reasonable. We enjoyed eating and talking. There I asked my sister if she could come to visit a meeting to which I belong to give an instruction on "declamation" (the art of reading aloud to the audience). She is actually a semi-professional instructor of the art. This is actually the first occasion we, sisters, make a plan of an event. After lunch we visited a small museum near the railway station to see an exhibition of Japanese old pottery. My mother knows well about the pottery of which I have no knowledge. There were works of old Kutani, and old Imari. Plain ones and colored ones were both really beautiful. We bought a set of picture post cards and shared them. We spent less than three hours together. It was for me another "special" occasion in summer only. Today's update: photos on the index page (summer clouds) and this page (an egret). Latest works of ao at "Still Life" in Gallery in Margins. Previous ones are now in "Cover Photos." Let summer linger.

立秋を過ぎたとたん台風襲来だ。間歇的な土砂降りに見舞われている。昨日の夕方、晴れ間に隣町まで歩いていったら、帰りには西の空が燃え上がる夕焼けに染まった。近年これほどの色彩を空に見たことはない。圧倒されて雲を見ながらずんずん歩いた。夕焼けの色は時々刻々変化し、やがて闇に沈む。変哲のない関東平野の一隅で、大自然の営為に直接触れたようなひとときだった。ところで、このところ集中的にネット上のデータを渉猟しながら文書を作成していた。このホームページを始めた1997年頃と現在のインターネット環境は大きく異なる。先日も触れた通り、検索エンジンの発達とそれに伴う戦略的なビジネス・サービスの出現によって、いろいろなものごとの組み替えが起こっている。こうした一方向的な個人ホームページは、単独では自己完結的な「孤島」に過ぎないが、検索に引っかかることによって他世界に細いクモの糸を張る。目下隆盛のブログを使えばトラックバックによって糸の数は増え、別の島々に航路が開けるのだろう。BBSもなくし、敢えて「孤島」に閉じこもっていのは何故か、考えてはいる。ある人々のようにサイトの一部分をブログとする方法も一つだろう。かつては「垂れ流されることばは空しい」と思っていたのだが、単独で完結する文章だけに意味があるわけではなく外部の無数のことばと連鎖・呼応することで意味をなす場合もある。その一方、あくまでも自分流に仕上げていくページの面白さは格別だという気持ちも捨てがたい。（続く。）本日は短信のみにて。

In the Japanese traditional calendar, it's already autumn. Typhoons are coming. We have sporadic heavy rain occasionally. Yesterday I took a walk to the next town in the late afternoon. On my way back, to my great amazement, I found the sky in the west was colored flaming orange. I had never seen such a gorgeous evening glow before. Just overwhelmed, I walked on watching the clouds in the sky. The colors of sunset changed as time passed and finally all sank into darkness. It was a spectacular show of the great nature, which I could observe even at such an ordinary place in Kanto Plain. I was deeply impressed. BTW, I've been writing a material, making full use of online data for a few days. I strongly feel how drastically the Internet circumstances have changed since I started working on this personal website in 1997. As I wrote before, due to the rapid development of search-engines and new business with novel strategies to utilize them, various systems have been under reconstruction. A personal website like this one, as it is, remains an isolated island; only when some keywords are picked up by search engines, it is connected with other islands with thin web. If I use blog, which is now the most popular style for all kinds of personal writers, I will be able to be connected to many more islands through track-back. It will be more like having liners than depending on a few threads. Now here is no BBS. I wonder how I've come to confine myself in an isolated island. Like some of my acquaintances, I could use a blog for one page of this website. For a long time I had a fixed idea that I should not release loose writings on the net; however, I have come to notice that some writings could make sense and value when they are located in the larger interrelated context than in isolation. Well, I still cannot give up the joy of creating what I want in my own way. (To be continued.) Today's update: this note only.

「日頃できないことをする」というのは、結局いつも仕事に追われておろそかになっているあれこれを一つ一つ片付けていくことのようだ。手も付けられずにいたことが山のようにある。それからもちろん読んだり書いたりする自分のための時間も。一日に仕上げられることは本当に少ない。心にかかることはたくさんあるのに。遠くに行った友は皆眩しい。私は地元のホームセンターでリールに巻いたホースを新調して「たいした進歩だ」などと喜んでいる。（散水が5段切り替えなんて凄い。）小さな花の苗もいくつか買った。他の人が育てた花の写真を撮るばかりだったのが、今度は自分でも。本日の更新はaoの新作数点を「ギャラリー余白」中『静物』に加えました。思うように描けない描けないと言いながら。

To do something special is to do, one after another, what I cannot usually do on account of my duties at workafter all. There is so much to do at home. Also I need time of my own for reading and writing. What I can do a day is so small; whereas, I have so much to worry about. My friends old and new who went far away look all sparking. Contrastively I am contented with myself just buying a new set of hose in a reel. (Isn't it amazing that the hose has an attachment at the tip which can give 5 different types of water spray?) I also bought a few sorts of nursery plant. I've been taking photos of flowers in gardens of other people but now I'm starting to take care of plants myself. Today's update: ao's latest works at "Still Life" of Gallery in Margins. She's always sighing, "I can't draw as I want."

August 4, 2006

夕刻雑木林の中を歩くとカナカナカナ...とヒグラシの音が頭上に響く。一つなきやむと別のが、そしてまた別のがと 輪唱のように。通奏低音はアブラゼミか。下草にはミズヒキの茎が伸びて、毎年のことながら夏に秋の気配が混じる。DVDで『わが谷は緑なりき』(1941年、ジョン・フォード監督作品）を見た。ウェールズの炭坑の村に暮らした、時代に翻弄される家族の物語。語り手の少年はフォード監督自身の化身とか。モノクロの雄弁さはどうだろう。ウェールズの人々の歌声、家族の絆、地域社会の軋轢等々がつづり合わされ、流石に名作の誉れ高い胸にしみる映画だった。過酷な採掘現場、ストライキ、事故、故郷を出ていく者と残る者、すれ違う思い、信頼と愛情、といった数々の場面が深い印象を残す。若い頃「いつか見てみたい」と思うばかりで機会がなかったものを、長い年月を経て今頃手にした。しかも、一枚たったの500円。文庫本一冊と同じ感覚で。夏休みに入り時間にゆとりが出た分、少しずつ「いつもはできないこと」に手を染めている。先送りしていたものをそっと手元に引き寄せる。ささやかだけれど、私にとっては意味のあるあれこれ。本日の更新はaoの新作一点を「ギャラリー余白」中『静物』に加えました。日中はまさに炎天となった。

When I walk in the small forest, droning of cicadas sounds in chorus. Particularly in the early evening, higurashi "sings" one after another just like trolling with the thorough bass of aburazemi. In the bottom weeds, mizuhiki is growing. I feel, as usual, autumn is hiding in summer. I saw an old film How Green Was My Valley (produced by John Ford in 1941) by DVD. It is a story of a family of coal miners in a Welsh village. Life of the family is drastically changed by unstable circumstances of the time. The narrator, a boy of ten, the youngest member of the family is said to be John Ford himself. How eloquent the monochrome is! Singing voice of the Welsh, the strong family bond, and the conflicts in the local society, etc are all well mixed in the story. It is really an impressive movie, as I have been expecting it to be. All the episodes such as the coal miners' strike, accidents, poor and pround workers, people leaving home and those who are left behind, unhappy love, faith, and so on are so impressive. I had been willing to see this movie since I was very young. Now I'm grown up and got the chance after a long interval. Amazingly the DVD cost me just 500 yen. It's worth of one paperback. Because I'm enjoying a summer break, I can do what I want, in a sense. I try to grasp what I have been running after in vain. They are humble wishes, but meaningful at least for me. Today's update: ao's latest work at "Still Life" of Gallery in Margins. During the daytime, it's scorchingly hot.

八月と聞くだけでただならぬ気配を感じる。日頃のルーティーンを離れてのひととき。いずれ煙のようにかき消えるだけとは知りながら、「特別」を待ちかまえそわそわと機会をうかがうような時。ここまで無我夢中で駆け抜けてきたから、ちょっと一息ついていつもとは違うことを等と。「あなたはいつも忙しいねぇ」と義母に言われるたび、「みんなこんなものでしょう」と笑ってかわしつつ、もうちょっと落ち着けないものかと反省はする。（ゆっくり座って話す機会がもっとあってもよいのではと。）雨が上がったとたんウキウキするのも大人げないが、性分なのでいたしかたない。何だろう、いくつになっても変わらないこの心持ちは。夏のマジック。本日の更新は表紙の写真（庭に咲いた鹿子百合）とこのページの画像です。上のヒマワリの絵はaoの新作（部分）です。酷評を受けたとはいうものの、何となくこのページに映えるような気がして借用。全体の写真は「ギャラリー余白」中『静物』に加えました。ところで先日来掲げていた江戸川増水之図は「掲載写真帖」に収めました。また、「雨後の江戸川」にもその二枚を加え、特設ページはもうしばらくそのままにしておきます。（昨日江戸川の鉄橋を渡った時眺めたら水位は通常に戻り、河川敷には運動場がちゃんとあった。今月はあの堤防で「花火大会」というポスターがそこここに。）

Just hearing it's August, I feel something unusual. It's the time away from routines. Although I know it will disappear very quickly, I cannot help waiting for "something special" impatiently. As I have been in a rush all the time doing this and that for months, I feel I'm entitled to take a break for a while and do something I cannot do in my daily life. Whenever my mother-in-law says, "Why are so busy always, Keiko?!" I reply, "Oh, everybody else is, I guess," with a large smile. But in heart, I feel sorry for my busyness. (Can't I sit and talk with her more often?) I seem to be immature in mind to get excited as soon as the rainy season is over but my innate nature can't be changed. What is it, this feeling of "expectation" that I hold regardless of my age? Call it "a summer magic. "Today's update: the photos in the index page (Lilium speciosum in our garden) and in this page. The drawing of a sunflower is a part of ao's latest work, which got very severe comments from instructors but I feel it fits in this page. Thanks to her! The whole drawing is added in "Still Life" of Gallery in Margins. BTW, the photos of the Edo River which were on these pages are now stored in the page of "Cover Photos." Also they are included now in the temporary page, "The Edo River after the Rain." (When I watched out of the train window yesterday, I found water had returned to the normal level, with a playground on the bank. I saw posters advertising "Fireworks" on the river banks.)

ようやく雨が上がり、熱暑らしきものが訪れた。気象庁はまだ関東地方の梅雨明けを宣言してくれないが、勝手に梅雨は終わったことにしよう。待ってましたと義母に頼まれて東西南のカーテンを一気に洗濯。暑いしカーテンだし洗ったまま吊す。風に石けんの匂いが絡まって揺れる。スーパーマーケットでは普段4900円するTシャツが二枚で1500円。こんな価格破壊して大丈夫かとこちらの方が心配になる。木陰に座って氷イチゴを食べた。雨では願うべくもない日曜日だったが、あと十日もすれば立秋とはにわかに信じがたい。前髪にツーッと白髪が数本。ほーっ。この前雑誌でイザベラ・ロッセリーニの近影を見た。何と麗しい中年女性。いずれ誰もが老いるとは言え。季節はめぐる。本日の更新はB2 。高三の夏、受験生の夏・・・思い出すのは〜。

At last rain stopped and it has become extremely hot. Japan Meteorological Agency has not declaired the end of the rainy season officially but let it be finished anyway. My mother-in-law who has been waiting patiently asked me to wash curtains in the west, south and east: I washed them all at once! Thanks to the heat, I hung them right after washing. They swang in the wind smelling soap. BTW, at a supermarket 2 T shirts--once \4,900 for each--cost just \1,500 today. I worried how they could sell them so cheaply? Is it better to clear the stock than to keep it? I sat under trees and ate a cup of shaved ice with strawberry syrup, the most typical summer sweet here. It was a sunny Sunday. I can hardly believe it will turn autumn in calendar in 10 days. I found a few long silver hair over my forehead. Well, well. I rememberd I saw a recent photo of Isabella Rossellini in a magazine; an amazinagly attractive middle aged woman. Nobody can escape from agiang but.... Time passes. Today's update: ao's latest works in "Still Life" of Gallery in Margins. She's spening the summer of 18 preparing for entrance exams in next January and February. I remember myself being at her age once upon a time.

九州を始め各地での洪水、崖崩れなど大雨の被害のことを考えたら、江戸川の増水くらいで驚いているのは脳天気すぎるのだが、先日の川の風景をまとめてみた。重苦しい梅雨空が一日も早く列島の上から去ることを祈る。夏は来るのだろうか。本日の更新は臨時ページ「雨後の江戸川」です。

When I think of the devastating floods or mud and lock slides in plural areas indcluding Kyushu, how can I get surprised at the sight of the River Edo after the heavy rain? However, I colleted the photos of the waterside I took. I heartily hope the dreary rainy clouds will go away from the sky above Japan islands as soon as possible. Will summer really come at all? Today's update: a temporary page of The River Edo after the Rain.

未知の方から突然メールで「綴りの間違い」をご指摘いただく。前回の記載が3006年になっていたとも。ご教示に感謝。こんなささやかなサイトでもどなたの目に触れるか知れないと思うと「初心に返らなくては」と痛感する。最近出版の相次ぐ「検索エンジン」をめぐる大変化についてはいろいろ考えさせられていた。かつては「床にぶちまけられた玉石混淆の資料」程度だったウェッブ上の情報が、googleを始めとする検索エンジンの進化・発展によって、「整理し尽くされようとしている」という言説が真実味を帯びてきた。「石は石なりに分類される」ということか。仕事をしながらとびこんでくるメールに応答していると、時間が瞬く間に経つ。しかも、それにSkypeが加わった。流石にカメラは付けないが、パソコンのスピーカーからきこえてくる声は画面の向こうに人がいる、と実感させる。話しながらチャットの文字も打つから、耳も口も手もフル稼働となる。（これを語学の教室に持ち込もうというアイディアを検証中。）いやはや「私はミステリーを読み始めるのでパソから離れます。こころの奥ではハイテク人間ではないとよく分かった」と言い残して降りた友人のニヤリと笑う顔が見えたような気がする。一方では夏に散らばる面々で多国間チャットを試みようというプランも出て賑やかだ。ウェッブ上で一つのファイルを共同作成するフリーサイトも試してみた。どこにいても「コラボれる」というのも逃げ場のないことではあるが。ここまでくるとインターネットは可能性に満ちた広大な領域であると同時に呪縛ともなる。機密の保持も難しい。築いたものが一瞬にして崩れ去ることも「想定内」に入れるべし、なのだろう。本日の更新は「ギャラリー余白」中『静物』（といっても今回は人物です）にaoの新作を追加しました。まだ雨は降り続く。

I received a mail pointing out my misspelling on this website from a person I never knew. The message told me I wrote 3006 instead of 2006 in the previous note. Sorry and thanks! It's really amazing to know that such a humble website as it is could be possibly visited by anybody anytime. I'm responsible for whatever I write here. I've been thinking of what "search-engines" can do; recently a number of books on enterprises like "google" have been published one after another. Once the Internet was like a library on whose floors rubbish and precious literature are thrown all equally. Now that search-engines are so powerful, they say, that everything on the Net is going to be sort out, and it sounds quite realistic. Rubbish is to be sort out. as it should be. As I was responding to mails coming in while I was working at desk, time flies away so quickly. Skype has been added recently. I won't put a camera! Listening to the voice coming from the speaker, I feel there is really someone behind the monitor. We're busy, speaking and writing short message at the same time. (An idea is to bring the system into a classroom of English.) One of my friends declared to get out of computer saying, "Well, I'll start reading a mystery. At heart, I don't seem to be a hi-tech person!" Good for her! But we're also thinking of chatting over Skype while we're away from each other in summer holiday. Today I also challenged to use a website where we can collaborate on a file. It's great we can work together on one file wherever we are; however it means we can't run away from the work wherever we go. The Internet is a boundless area of possibilities and at the same time it's a spell on us. Whatever you build up, the castle will disappear just with one click! Don't forget that. (I'm saying it to myself.) Today's update: ao's latest work. in "Still Life" of Gallery in Margins. It's still raining.

武蔵野線の「三郷（みさと）」で途中下車した。先日来の雨で江戸川は大増水。いつもは草の生い茂る河川敷はどこにも見えない。普段鉄橋を渡る時に見下ろす土手とは様変わりしていた。濁流がコンクリートの堤防を洗い、橋桁はかなり高いところまで水の中に。広々したところに出てみたい一心でやって来たものの、いきなり荒々しい大自然の前に放り出されたかんじだ。それでも時折川を見に来た人々とすれ違った。孫の手を引いた老人。犬を連れた小学生三人組。自転車で堤防を走る若い女性二人。何故か橋の下にうずくまる男の人たち。皆一様に見慣れた場所の激変に、戸惑いながらも魅了されているようだった。厚い雲の下、水辺は明るいとは言いがたかったが、街の中に閉じこもっているのとは大違い。言いようのない開放感があふれ出す。天竜川の堤防決壊のニュースや土砂にのまれた人々のことを思い出しながら、流れ下る川を眺めた。とてつもない力が渦巻いている。本日の更新は表紙の写真とこのページの写真です。カメラのメモリーの中身は、風景写真と言うより、ドキュメンタリーのようなものばかりだった。今度まとめてみよう。昨日までの写真は「掲載写真帖」へ収納しました。

I got off Musashino Line at Misato, Saitama on my way back. Rise of stream has changed the scene of Edo River (Edo-gawa) tremendously. Usually there is a huge space of riverbed, where green grass grows and people enjoy playing and fishing, but I could see none of it. The riverside was completely different from what I look down from the train passing over the iron bridge. Muddy stream was washing the concrete dike directly; bridge beams were deep in waters. Although I went to the river wishing just to get out into the huge space, I was thrown in the wild nature immediately. I passed by some people who came to see the river; an old man with little grandchildren, three boys walking a dog, two young women on bikes, men sitting under a bridge etc. They all looked not only bewildered but also fascinated with the drastic change of the familiar place. Under the thick clouds, the waterside was not bright; however, it was completely different from just being imprisoned in city. A feeling of liberation filled me. Remembering the break in a levee of the River Tenryu and those who got caught in dirt and water, I was looking at the river running. Incredible power was there. Today's update: the photo of the index page and the one above in this page: both at River Edo. In the memory card of my digital camera were not scenic photos but ones with a touch of documentary. I'd like to collect them soon. Old photos are now in the page of "Cover Photos."

July 17, 2006

「旧盆」より一ヶ月早い東京のお盆もあっという間に過ぎた。義母は相変わらず仏壇に毎日お膳を上げ特別の供え物をする。迎え火、送り火も欠かさず、盆が終われば菰にくるんだ供え物を押し車に乗せて小平霊園の炊き上げ所まで持って行く。この時期、私の母が義母を訪問し、仏壇の前で長談義。一年一度の習慣を続けてもう26年経つ。二人の母たちはつかず離れず、かたちの中にこころが入る。そんな平凡なしきたりの続くことがありがたい。老いてゆく義母と母と。周りで接待する私もいい年になった。暑いのでこのところ髪をアップにしている娘が妙に大人びて見える。かしましい女たちの立ち居にやれやれという顔の御仁一人。私も忙しがっているばかりでは、夏は来ないのだった。前期末試験の真っ最中。天気予報によれば明日はまた激しい雨が降るらしい。本日も短信のみにてお許しのほど。

Obon festival ("homecoming" of the spirits of family) in Tokyo which lasted for a few days in the middle of July in Tokyo District has already gone. My mother-in-law as usual decorated the family altar with tiny dishes and ornaments. She never fails to make welcome fire and the farewell fire at the gate. When the festival was over, she put all the offerings wrapped up in a straw mat in her small pushcart and went to the cemetery to throw it into the bonfire. My mother pays a visit to my mother-in-law during this period. They exchange presents and chat in front of the family altar. 26 years have passed since they started this custom. My two mothers are getting along somewhat well. Thanks. They are apparently getting older and older. So am I. My daughter with her hair curled up recently looks very feminine. The only man in the chattering women makes a sigh! Summer never until Obon festival is completed. We're in the middle of the final exams of this semester. Weather forecast says we'll have a heavy rain tomorrow. Today's update: just this note. See you again.

July 15, 2006

鬼灯（ホオズキ）と白百合供え雷雨待つ　　長梅雨を託つうち、連日夕立が来るようになった。用足しに出かけたところで驟雨に捕まった。自転車置き場のご老人に「急ぐこたない、ちょっと待ってから行ったら」と声をかけられたのに来客があるので気がせき、降り始めた雨の中に飛び出した。とりわけ今日は凄まじい降りに雷鳴がとどろく。地を打つのは雹と見まがうほどの大粒。けれど雨雲が一旦去ればもう何ごともなかったようなとろんとした曇天に戻る。まだかーっと晴れ上がるところまでは行かない。このところ学期末でいろいろな用件が重なり、堪忍袋の緒も切れかけている。つい人前でも言い過ぎることが続き、反省もするのだが大抵は後の祭り。人間の中にばかりいるからこうなる。広々したところに出て行かなくては。大河川を渡るたびに思う。今度こそ途中下車して土手を歩いてみようと。荒川、中川、江戸川、深い緑に縁取られた流れが鈍く光る。「川を越えて、遊びに来てくださいね」ととびきりの笑顔でお誘い下さった、柏の素敵な女性の声が心地よく耳の奥に消え残っている。よぉし、関東平野を突っ切って東へ、きっと行ってこよう。本日は短信のみにて。

Chinese lantern plant