桜三題 THREE CHERRY BLOSSOM SCENES

桜三題

 

3月26日、女房と名古屋城の桜を見てきた。お堀の土手沿いの桜が満開で、とてもきれいだった。

27日、鶴舞公園の桜を見に行った。屋台と人が一杯で、桜は満開だった。

29日、山崎川の新瑞橋付近の新瑞小橋から見た花筏は素晴らしかた。川面をほとんど覆っていた。

Blossoming Cherry Trees

I went to Nagoya Castle to see the cherry blossoms with my wife on March 26. The cherry trees on the bank of the moat were in full bloom and very beautiful.

The next day (March 27), I went to Tsurumai Park. There were a lot of cherry-blossom viewers and food stalls. The trees were in full bloom.

On March 29, I saw from Aratama-kobashi the tremendous number of fallen cherry blossom petals on Yamazaki River. The floating petals covered almost all the river surface.

運転免許証返納 Returning the Driver's License

運転免許証返納　

　先日、熱田警察署に行って、運転免許証を返納してきた。７５歳になり、視力が衰え、反応が鈍くなった今、返してきた。３５歳ごろに免許を取ってから今まで、運転中に交通事故で怪我したことも、させたこともない。ましてや人を殺めたこともない。もう一生人を殺めることもないと思うと、安堵する。４月８日に「運転経歴証明書」が交付される。

Returning the Driver's License

 

　　I went to Atsuta Police Station to return (invalidate) my driver's license. I am 75 years old. My eye sight has become weak and I have slow reflexes. Since I got the license at the age of 35, I have not met any traffic accident nor have I killed anyone. I feel relieved to think that I will never kill anyone hereafter.

　　The certificate of Driving History will be issue on Apri 8.

狂言鑑賞 ENJOYING KYOGEN

　狂言鑑賞

能楽堂で狂言を観てきた。演目は「佐渡狐（さどぎつね）」「寝音曲（ねおんぎょく）」「千切木（ちぎりき）」。「千切木」では、人間国宝の山本東次郎がシテを演じた。
「佐渡狐」は佐渡に狐がいるかの問に対して、いると答えた百姓の話。「寝音曲」は酒を呑んで膝枕で謡を謡う話。「千切木」は連歌の会で仲間外れになった男の話。
いずれの狂言もユーモラスで落語に似ており、くすくす笑った。（皆、真面目に聞いているので、落語みたに大笑いするところも、笑いを皆さん御していた）
以前、能を観に行ったことがあったけれど、テンポがゆっくりで、間延びして、話の中身が分からず、眠りはしなかったが、エンジョイできなかった。今日は分かりやすく面白かった。
また、狂言あれば行きたい。

Kyogen Performance

 

I went to Nohgaku-do to see three kyogen plays (traditional short comedic drama): Sado-gitsune, Neongyoku, and Chigiriki.
　　Sado-gitsune is a drama where a farmer asks a Sado-Islander if there is a fox in the island, to which the islander tells a lie, saying that there is; Neongyoku is about a man who sings an ancient song with his head on the listener’s lap; and Chigiriki is about an old man who is ostracized by the group of haiku lovers which he wants to belong to.
　　Each kyogen was humorous and similar to rakugo (funny story telling). I couldn’t help chuckling, but most of the kyogen viewers were too serious to laugh.
　　A few years ago I went to see Noh plays (traditional masked dance-dramas), but the Noh actors’ movements were so slow and the background music so soft that I felt sleepy. However, I enjoyed the kyogen very much. I would like to see kyogen again.

空海 KU-KAI 美しき王妃の謎 Kukai: Utsukushiki Ohino Nazo

全然面白くなかった。宣伝につられて期待して見に行ったが、期待外れもいいとこであった。

問題点

１．空海が主役だが、密教や恵果和尚や仏教修行の話は一切出てこない。こんなことなら、別に空海でなくても誰でもいい。

２．阿倍仲麻呂

仲麻呂が登場するが特にこれと言った役割もない。

３．化け猫の怨念というが、楊貴妃を生きたまま殺しにした怨念が末代の天子を殺すと言う動機としては納得いかない

４．化け猫はなぜ目だけを食べるのか解説しない。

５．空海が謎を解くといううたい文句だが、解いていく過程が分かりづらい。猫が話すからそこからヒントを得ているようだが、腑に落ちない。

６．派手で物々しく、仰々しい映画だが、内容がそれに見合っていない。

７．最初に猫が夾竹桃の下を掘れば、銭が出てくると言ったが、これとなぞとどういう関係があるのか、分からない。

８．最初、どういうミステリーなのかがきちんと伝わらない。テンポが速すぎる。

 Kukai: Utsukushiki Ohino Nazo

I was disappointed at the film “Kukai: Utsukushiki Ohino Nazo” (the Mystery of the Beautiful Queen) It fell far short of expectations. I was lured to the movie theater because of the exaggerated advertisement.

Some problems about the film:
1. Although Kukai is one of the most famous Buddhist priests in Japan, the movie does not deal with Buddhism, nor show Keika, Kukai’s teacher in China.
2. Abeno Nakamaro, an influential politician in ancient Japan, appears in the film, but he has no important role.
3. The cat’s revenge triggered by the murder of Yang Kuei Fei is not persuasive.
4. Why does the strange cat only eats human eyes.
5. Kukai does not seem to solve the problem. The process to reach the conclusion is difficult to understand.

辻井伸行ピアノ演奏会 Nobuyuki Tsujii's Piano Concert

辻井伸行ピアノ演奏会

 

岐阜サマランカホールで開かれた辻井伸行さんのピアノコンサートに女房と行ってきた。ショパン、ドビッシー、ラヴェル、リスト、ガーシュイン、サティ、カプースチンが演奏された。

辻井さんのピアノ演奏は今まで私が聞いたピアノ演奏とは、まるで違っていた。ピアノの音とは思えない。個々のキーの音が繋がっており、まるで弦楽器の演奏を聴いているようであった。激しい強音と優しい弱音がはっきりしており、特に最弱音は繊細であった。よく超絶技巧演奏とかいうけれど、辻井さんの演奏は超絶を乗り越えている。ピアノを自由自在に操る。

 アンコールに応えての演奏はフォスターの「金髪のジェニーへのオマージュ」で、彼が作曲し、カーネギーホールで演奏したものだと紹介された。懐かしさと美しい演奏に目が潤んだ。

Nobuyuki Tsujii's Piano Concert

 

　　I went to the Nobuyuki Tsujii’s piano concert with my wife at Salamanca Hall in Gifu. He played the music composed by Chopin, Ravel, Gershwin, Liszt, etc.

   When I heard his piano for the first time in my life, I was astonished. His performance was quite different from other pianists’. The quality of his piano sound was very different. The individual key sound he made was so closely connected with each other that the sound of his piano sounded like that of a string instrument.   

His fortissimo is dynamic and strong while his pianissimo is extremely week and subtle. I often hear such-and-such man’s piano technique is excellent. However, Tsujii’s piano is beyond technique. He freely plays the piano. To illustrate this, let me give you an example. When a native speaker of English says to you, “Your English is excellent,” this means your English does not sound natural, meaning you have a long way to brush upon your English.

   In an encore, he played The Homage to Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair, which he composed and played in the Carnegie Hall. It was so moving that tears filled my eyes.

 

 

 

 

 

梅を見に行く Plum Blossom Viewing

梅を見に行く

 

 

昨日（３日）大高緑地公園の梅林に女房と梅を見に行った。暖かな日で、紅白の梅がいっぱい咲いており、きれいだった。４割ぐらいが満開で、後は７８分咲きであった。露店も出ており、甘酒を飲んだ。女房は鉢植えの木を買った。大道芸人がいたり、子供が池の鯉に餌をやっていたりして、面白かった。

Plum Blossom Viewing

I went to Ohdaka Ryokuchi Park with my wife to see plum blossoms on April 3. It was a warm day and we saw a lot of plum blossoms, some red and others white. The blossoms are about 40 percent in full bloom. There were a dozen of stands selling food and drinks. We drank Amazake (sweet mild sake) and saw a street entertainer’s performance. Children were having fun. My wife bought a nursery tree.

ペースメーカー A Pacemaker

A Pacemaker

“Stop using the smartphone. I’m scared,” the man next to me said.

He and I were sitting on a subway priority seat for the aged, pregnant, or disabled people. He was around 40 years old, and was a large stout-looking man.

“I’m sorry,” I said to him.

When I had sat on it a moment before, I had noticed that he was placing his right palm on his chest. I wondered if he had a weak heart, but apparently he had a pace-maker implanted.

When the subway stopped at the next station, a woman stood in front of him, using a smartphone. My neighbor immediately told her not to use it. She bowed to him apologetically and stopped using it. Whenever the train stopped and one or two passengers stood near him using smartphones, he said to them, “Don’t use that around me.” Once when he asked a young man to stop using the gadget, he ignored his request and continued using it. So my neighbor stood up and told him to stop doing so again. The young man turned around. He was listening to the i-phone music with earphones. He took off one of them from his ear, comprehended his request and stopped using the phone.

I sympathized with him, because I myself have irregular heartbeat and take a pill every morning.

Worrying about the malfunction of his pacemaker whenever he takes trains or buses may be bad for his heart, I am afraid.

I have resolved that I would not use my smartphone near priority seats.