幼き日みんなで作りし「秘密基地」　アンダーソンさん夢ありがたう

　　　　　　-深悼・G・アンダーソンさん（『サンダーバード』制作者）-

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　    (December 27, 2012)

I am so sad to hear the news  just now that Gerry Anderson, the creator of Thunderbirds, has passed away.

Your work Thunderbirds is eternal in my heart.

We boys would raise our voices loudly and in unison in the famous countdown, "Five...Four...Three...Two...One..." in those good old days.

Thank you very much for your dreams.

May his soul rest in peace.

きらめくと決めてをりしかけふの雪　光をかへし舞ひくるを見ゆ

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　    (December 20, 2012) 

I was gazing out of the window at  the falling snow during the lunch time just now although it was a fine day. The snow was shining and reflecting the light of the sun. It was brilliant against the blue sky.

 

I felt like as if the snow itself had decided today to glitter in the sunlight.

瓦斯の燈に吹雪かがやくひとところ
                                        夜目には見えて街遥かなる　
                                                                                  北原白秋
 

This area was hit by a terrible snowstorm almost a blizzard today.
 

The snowstorm reminds me of the above-cited waka poem composed by Hakushu Kitahara(1885-1942), who was a famous poet and is still widely liked by a lot of Japanese people.
 

In this piece, he is looking at a snowstorm glittering by gaslight on a cold winter's night. In the darkness of the night, only the point emerges in the light.
 

I don’t think anyone would like a real snowstorm. But in this work, it is beautiful for some reason. I feel like as if this piece depicted one scene from a fantasy story.

 

この里は冬おく霜のかろければ

草の若葉ぞ春の色なる　

藤原定家

 In this region, the whole sky is almost always covered with heavy clouds during the winter. But it was nice and sunny today. The day like today in this season is called “小春日” in Japanese, or a tranquil autumn day(Some call it an Indian summer day).

Today I felt the same way as the above-cited waka poem composed by Fujiwara no Teika(1162-1241). I enjoyed the light green leaves still remaining in my bit of garden and the cloudless brilliant blue sky.

和歌の影響を受けた英詩


        A Memory

Four ducks on a pond,

A grass bank beyond,

A blue sky of spring,

White clouds on the wing;

What a little thing

To remember for years-

To remember with tears!

The poem cited above was composed by William Allingham(1824-89), who was an Irish poet. This work is said to be influenced by the Japanese waka poetry. It is lyrical and gives a beautiful scenery in his mind’s eye. It already has a profound feeling of waka poetry, and what is more surprising, this work is composed of just 31 words! Yes, this is the "三十一文字(みそひともじ)" world.

ミルハウザーの描く月夜

 

I like reading Steven Millhauser’s works and am impressed by his writings, such as the following: 

Dark fields of blue air stretched away in every direction. I looked down at the moonlit leaves below, at the top of a streetlamp, at shafts of moonlight slanting like white ladders under the leaves. I walked carefully forward above the trees, taking light steps that sank deep, then climbed a little higher, till catching a breeze I felt myself borne away into the blue countries of the night. (CLAIR DE LUNE  by Steven Millhaser) 

Beautiful and miraculous! When reading his works, I can believe the power of words.

ニューヨーク・タイムズ紙で見かけたミルハウザーのエッセイ

Recently I came across an essay by Steven Millhauser, one of my favorite American novelists. The essay was written about a short story for the New York Times. I was impressed by the following paragraph:  

“It wants to be a single word. If it could find that word, if it could utter that syllable, the entire universe would blaze up out of it with a roar.” (The New York Times, October 3, 2008)  

Wow, I was surprised at his expressions, and I also want such a single word and hope that the word will come to my tanka, haiku, and other fields.

 

見し秋をなにに残さむ草の原
                  一つにかはる野辺のけしきに　
                                                     藤原良経

 

The waka poem cited above was composed by Fujiwara no Yoshitsune (1169-1206) in the Kamakura period. He is looking out over a desolated field in the season when autumn is gone. It is lonely, but I think that his description, "草の原一つにかはる" is splendid and remarkable.

 

Today is the “立冬”, or the first day of winter according to the lunar calendar in Japan.

I heard the news that the US President Barack Obama was re-elected, so today is also the first day of next four years in the US.

Winter is chilly but it is brilliant.

 

I would like to believe and pray that the president will bring  a lot of poetic and fantastic moments to the world.

風の上に星の光は冴えながら
                    わざとも降らぬ霰をぞ聞く 
                                                       藤原定家
                                             
                                                 

We had a lot of rain and hail today, so it was very cold.

The waka poem cited above was composed by Fujiwara no Teika (Sadaie Fujiwara, 1162-1241), who was a famous, excellent waka poet in the Kamakura period.

In this waka, he watches the brilliant starlight in the windy night sky while listening to the hail. Wow, how chilly it is. But what a fantastic world!

ビル街もひとりひとりの暮の秋

                                                                                          (November 5, 2012 )


 Each person who walks down the streets of business buildings, had a day in his or her own way in late autumn. The autumn deepens into winter.

 

 
 

碧空を秋惜しみ舞ふ葉の一つ

                                                       (November 4, 2012 )

 

The leaves in autumn are beautiful, especially against the blue sky. The contrast of the colors is wonderfully picturesque.

 It was fine today. I gazed at a dried leaf dancing for a while in the sky. It was so beautiful, but I felt that it indicated to me the end of autumn.




 

月よりの寒風なるか急ぎけり

          (November 3, 2012)

It was cold tonight, but the moon was so bright and beautiful. When I went out for a while, a cold wind was blowing. I hurried along the street. I felt as if the wind had been blown from the moon.

朔日をあられ降らせし霜月の しばし真白き街の玲瓏

(November 1, 2012)

We had a hailstorm today in this district. It was so cold. The ground in my neighborhood was covered with hail and was changed to be brilliant white. Not a soul was to be seen. After a short time, the hail melted away and people began to walk the streets as if nothing had happened.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

コスモスの群れ咲く丘にのぼりきて 見はるかす海どこまでも紺

(October 20, 2012)

I love cosmoses, which are in beautiful bloom in autumn. There is a hill about twenty minutes walk from my home. A lot of cosmoses are blooming in profusion on the hill. We can also look out over the sea from there. I climbed up the hill today and had a clear view of the sea and the sky thanks to autumn clean air. I really enjoyed the contrast between the colors of the cosmos and the ocean.