Stay in Akita and inland journey again
秋田での滞在、そして再び内陸の旅
LETTER 24 KUBOTA, July 25
She was
in Akita (new name of Kubota) because of the bad weather. She had a chance to
attend the wedding ceremony and she wrote in detail.
天候が悪くイザベラは秋田にとどまっている。結婚式に出て、詳細に記録する。
LETTER 25 TSURUGATA, July 27
She went to see a traditional
Japanese festival and described “---half the people of Kubota--- hundreds of
children---, little girls, formal and precocious looking, with hair dressed
with scarlet crepe and flowers ---, groups of men and women, never intermixing,
stalls driving a “roaring trade” in cakes and sweetmeats, women making mocha as
fast as the buyers ate it”. People dressed up, went to the festival and bought
various finger foods which were sold in many stalls. She added “---made up the
cheeriest and most festal scene that I have seen in Japan.” |
| Japanese traditional wedding ceremony、住吉大社 |
LETTER 25 TSURUGATA, July 27
 |
| Stalls in Kawasaki-taishi temple、川崎大師のお正月 |
イザベラは祭りのただなかに行く。
秋田の半数の人は老いも若きも、おめかしして祭りに向かい、屋台の餅などは飛ぶように売れる、という。生き生きと書いていて、活気が伝わってくる。更に、日本で見た最も陽気でお祭りらしい景色だ、と記す。彼女の文は、いつも大げさだと思うが、とても楽しい雰囲気だ。
The destination was Minato. It was too crowed to go by a rickshaw, so she started walking. She arrived at the venue and wrote, “Paper lanterns were hung close together along its whole length. There were rude scaffoldings supporting matted and covered platforms, on which people were drinking tea and sake and enjoying the crowed below, monkey theatres and dog theatres---“.
 |
Monkey
performer of Osaruland in Nikko
日光さる軍団 https://www.osaruland.jp/
|
そして、人びとは湊に向かう。混雑のため人力車で進めなくなり、徒歩で向かう。桟敷が設けられ、人びとはお茶や酒を飲み、猿芝居や犬芝居？も楽しんでいたようだ。
Then she wrote about the festival; “---cars with roofs like temples, on which, with forty men at the ropes, dancing children of the highest class were being borne in procession”. “Tsuchizaki-kou hikiyama matsuri” is a very famous festival which is designated as UNESCO world heritage. However, she was not excited because of the slowness of the Japanese dance; “---performing with tedious slowness a classic dance of tedious posturings”, although most of Japanese were so excited.
The interesting thing is that she was surprised that
people cherished children; “The cultus(a
system of religious beliefs) of children was in full force, all sorts
of masks, dolls, sugar figures, toys, and sweetmeats were exposed for sale on
mats on the ground, and found their way into the hands and sleeves of the
children, for no Japanese parent would
ever attend a maturi(festival) without making an offering to his child.”
32,000 people including 22,000 strangers gathered in this festival at that
time.
 |
| Tsuchizaki festival, 土崎港曳山まつり＠展示会*1 |
祭りの描写となるが、40人の男たちが引く山車の行列と書かれている。これは、国連教育科学文化機関（ユネスコ）の無形文化遺産に登録された秋田市の国重要無形民俗文化財「土崎神明社祭の曳山（ひきやま）行事」（土崎港曳山まつり）である。しかし、踊りがゆっくりで退屈、と書かれており、イザベラにとっては、つまらないものであったらしい。でも、人びとは盛り上がっている。面白いのが、子供への対応、おもちゃなどを買う。子供を大切にすることに彼女が驚いている。お面や人形、砂糖菓子などなど子供たちが買い放題、日本人の親は、祭りに来ると子供に色々と買ってあげる、と呆れている。2万2千人の他の町からの来訪者を含め、3万2千人が集まっているとのこと。
LETTER 26 ODATE大館, July 29
She left Akita and returned to her inland
journey again, however it was difficult because of the typhoon season. She had to stay at a
crowded inn and wrote, “The yadoyas(inns) are crowded with storm-staid
travelers. Fifty travelers, nearly all men, are here, mostly speaking at the
top of their voices, and in a provincial jargon.” Japanese travelers seemed to
enjoy irresistible staying, regardless of her complain., so she wrote “Cooking,
bathing, eating, and, ---, and on both evenings noisy mirth of alcoholic
inspiration, and dissonant performances by geishias(girls) have added to the
dim.” |
Drinking
above the river、夕涼みでお酒
|
LETTER 27 SHIRASAWA白沢, July 29
Isabella finally resumed her travel, but her
“mago” was tipsy. She became a bit tolerant toward drinking habit of Japanese;
“my mago was half-tipsy, and sang, talked, and jumped the whole way. Sake is
frequently taken warm, and in that state produces a very noisy but
good-tempered intoxication.” |
Mago who draws a horse for a traveler
|
やっと出発できたが、酔っぱらった馬子を見て、酒の話となる。酒は熱燗で飲むと、大声で話すようなるが、いい酔い加減になる、と評している。日本人の飲酒習慣に慣れてきたのか、理解がある。
She couldn’t understand why there was a dirty
pond in the garden. She wrote “he gave me a room open --- to a pond, over
which, as if to court mosquitoes, ---“, “I cannot think how the Japanese can
regard a hole full of dirty water as an ornamental appendage to a house.” I
like water even if it isn’t so clean, I like the sight with water.
Although she disliked fleas and dirt of
Japanese inns, she also praised them; “the accommodation, minus the fleas and
the odours, has been surprisingly excellent, not to be equaled, I should think,
in equally remote regions in any country in the world.”
日本人の水好きをイザベラは理解できない。薄汚い池を家の装飾と考えるのか、と記す。イザベラにとっては、汚くて蚊の住処になっているだけである。私は、水があるのはうれしいし、庭に池は贅沢＆豊かさだ。蚤や汚さは仕方なしとしながら、日本の宿を褒め、このような田舎で、このような宿に匹敵するところは世界中どこにもないと書いている。
She mentioned the life and fun of Japanese; “the
men came home from their work, ate their food, took their smoke, enjoyed
their children, carried them about, watched their games, twisted straw ropes,
split bamboo, wove straw rain-coat（蓑）, and spent time universally
in those economical ingenuities and skillful adaptations which our people
(the worse for them) practice perhaps less than any other. There was no
assembling at the sake shop. Poor though
the homes are, the men enjoy them; the children are an attraction at any rate,
---"
そして、日本人の暮らしと楽しみについて書く。男たちは仕事から家に帰ると、飯を食って、たばこを吸って、子供と楽しい時を過ごしたり、抱っこしたり、ゲームするのを見たりして時を過ごす。縄を編んで、蓑を作る。居酒屋がなくても、どの地方でも、安上がりの方法と工夫で時を過ごす。貧しいが、楽しんでいる。子供と家庭は楽しみだ。
Then she
referred to the noisy chatting. She wrote “The people speak at the top of their
voices, ---“, “The next to mine is full of stormbound travelers, and they and
the house-master kept what I thought was a most important argument for four
hours at the top of their voices. but --- it was possible to spend four mortal
hours in discussing whether the day’s journey --- by road or river.” and “Japanese
women have their own gatherings, where gossip and chit-chat, marked by a truly
Oriental indecorum of speech, are the staple of talk.” I think chatting was a great amusement while
there was less entertainment such as TV, videogames or smartphones. They talked
a lot.
 |
| Shitamachi Museum 下町風俗資料館 |
そして、日本人の大声、つまらない事のおしゃべり好きの話となる。隣部屋の団体客が４時間も大声で話している、それもその日の旅について。また、女達にはゴシップなどのおしゃべりをする集まりがある、と書いている。英国には女性のおしゃべりないのかあ。TVがなかった昔は、会話があり楽しみであったのだろう。
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post (From Nikko to Niigata in deep mountains 日光から新潟への山中の旅):
Travelof Isabella L. Bird in 1878, part 5 イザベラバードが見た明治初期の日本（5）Next post (Stay in Ikarigaseki 碇ヶ関で足止め):
Travelof Isabella L. Bird in 1878, part 7 イザベラバードが見た明治初期の日本（7）
There are 12 articles about Isabella's travel in Japan. The first page:
イザベラバードの旅は全12ページの記事です。最初の記事は上記のURLです。
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