(Please scroll down for the English version.)
実りの月
今年の八月が普段より暑くなっても、やまいき市の生産者たちは毎週野菜をたくさん出してくれた。タマネギとジャガイモが山ほどあったおかげで、僕はフライドポテトやオニオンオムレッツのような様々な料理を挑戦することができた。キッチンがめちゃくちゃになったが、そういうものかな。その他、東部地区盆踊り、お祭り、友達の来村、といつもの仕事で忙しくなった八月はあっという間に終わった。八月三十一日にやっと一息ついて、白川渡の八朔祭に誘っていただいた。
十八時前に白川渡の八幡神社に着いた。金曜日の夕方がだんだん暗くなったが、神社は提灯の灯で静かに照らされた。気軽な挨拶と子供の笑い声で溢れた黄昏で、僕は八朔祭の由来を初めて聞かせていただいた。「八朔」は八月朔日の省略で、旧暦の八月一日の意味だ。この頃、稲の穂が実りを見せ始めるため、たくさん実りがあるように神に祈る祭りだ。みなさんは階段を上り、お参りした。僕は手作りクッキーを持って来て、みなさんに食べてもらう前に、お供え物にしていただいた。
上多古に住んでいる僕は白川渡のみなさんに会う機会がそれほどない。そのため、せっかく誘っていただいたら、みなさんと話したり、食べたり、飲んだりしたいだ。伊勢音頭の歌詞を知らなくても、みなさんと手を叩きたい。人数が少なても、外の暗闇の中で太鼓のビートと即興の歌に合わせて踊るのが最高だった。
夜が遅くなり、みなさんはそれぞれの道で帰った。人の歌や笑い声の代わりに、虫の鳴き声は夜の空気を支配した。懐中電灯が闇の僅かな一箇所しか照らさなかったが、谷の上の夜空が無数の星で光っていた。僕はその星を眺めながら夜の涼しい風を肌で感じ、あんなに暑くてバタバタしていた八月の素敵な終わり方だと思った。川上村には田んぼがなくても、今年みなさんの作物はたくさん実りがあるように心の中で祈った。タマネギとジャガイモも大歓迎だ。
Harvest Moon
Even though this August was hotter than usual, the growers of Yamaiki-ichi gave us a lot of vegetables every week. Thanks to having a mountain heap of onions and potatoes, I was able to challenge myself by making French fries, onion omelettes, and other dishes. My kitchen was a mess, but that’s how it goes. Other than that, an August busy with the Eastern District Bon-odori, festivals, visits from friends, and the same work as usual went by in a flash. I was finally able to take a breath on August 31st when I was invited to the Hassaku Festival in Shirakawado.
I arrived at Shirakawado’s Hachiman Shrine just before 6 p.m. The Friday evening gradually grew darker, but the shrine was quietly illuminated by lanterns. In a twilight filled with casual greetings and children’s laughter, I learned about the origin of “hassaku” for the first time. “Hassaku” is an abbreviation of “hachigatsu-sakujitsu”, or the first day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar. Around this time, ears of rice begin showing their crops, so it’s a festival to pray for a large harvest. Everyone climbed the steps and paid their respects to the shrine. I brought homemade cookies for everyone to eat, but first left it as an offering to the shrine.
As I am living in Kodako, I don’t have many opportunities to see the people of Shirakawado. That’s why since they were kind enough to invite me, I really want to talk, eat, and drink with everyone there. Even if I don’t know the lyrics to Ise Ondo, I want to clap with everyone when they sing it. Even if there weren’t very many people, it was great dancing in the darkness to the beat of the taiko drum and improvised song.
The night grew even darker, and everyone went home their separate ways. The songs and laughs of people were replaced by the cries of bugs, taking hold over the night air. My flashlight only lit up a small part of the darkness, but the night sky over the valley twinkled with countless stars. As I gazed at those stars and felt the cool night wind on my skin, I felt that it was a beautiful ending to such a hot and busy August. Even if there aren’t any rice paddies in Kawakami Village, I prayed for everyone to have a large harvest this year. Onions and potatoes are more than welcome.
