Fun of Good Old Japanese - 江戸・明治に学ぶ　楽しむ生き方

Lake Suwa in central Japan (Nagano pref.) gathers water in the mountainous region. It pours into the Pacific via Tenryu River (213km, 9 th longest river in Japan). The lake has rich fishery resources which are precious protein source for locals. The museum shows us not only how to catch fishes, but also entertainment (skating) and prayer to the lake . 諏訪湖の北岸にある下諏訪町立の博物館で、歌人・島木赤彦の記念館も併設されています。 周辺の川からの水が流れ込む諏訪湖は、魚＝山間部の貴重な蛋白源の宝庫です。 さまざまな方法で魚を獲り、スケートを楽しみ、御神渡りする神に祈った諏訪の人々 の様子がよくわかります。諏訪湖の水は天竜川を経て太平洋に注ぎます。 The first panel says Suwa people are familiar with the lake even though sometime struggle with it. 最初のパネルには、諏訪の人々は諏訪湖に親しみ、時に闘いながら生きてきたと書かれています。 Wooden boats and fishing equipment are displayed. A model and an old photo show us how to use it. It’s understandable. 漁業用のまるた舟と漁具が展示され、漁法が模型と古写真で展示されていて、よくわかります。 The model above shows a region-specific fishing technique (Yatsuka method). It was really elaborate. Stones were sunken and a mound (Yasuka) was built at first. After ice covered th...

Notice: My first book written in Japanese is published on the 17 th of January, 2025. 初めての本が来月 17 日に出版されます。電子書籍と注文後に印刷される本があります。 ■電子書籍（予約受付中）　 https://amzn.to/3VysaEU ■ペーパーバック（オンデマンド印刷）　 https://amzn.to/49zagrm 昔の日本人の５つの楽しみと人生を楽しむために必要な４つの土台について書きました。現代への応用方法も詳説しています。 Fun things for Japanese more than 100 years ago 江戸・明治時代の人たちの楽しみ よろしければ、読んでみてくださいね。      

Exhibits of the  permanent exhibition room 2 focus on folklore , which is the theme of this blog. 常設展示室 2 は、本ブログのテーマの 民俗の展示 です。 Part1 of this article/ part1 の記事： Suwa City Museum (1/2) 、諏訪市博物館（part 1 ）   Miracle of the Lake Suwa 、湖の奇跡 Cracks show up on a very cold day in winter (right) . The phenomenon is called “Omi (deity) Watari (crossing the lake)”.   It is considered the passage of the Suwa deity , so the Shinto ritual is performed (upper left). It says, “ Suwa people have lived together deities  not only at the lake but also at mountains and at villages.” I agree; I feel the existence of deities in this area. Because of the global warming, “Omi-Watari” doesn’t show up recently. However, the priest of the shrine has recorded the condition of the lake’s surface and the state of society since 1443. It is a valuable record to know the climate and the society in the past. 諏訪湖では厳寒期に湖面の氷が押し合い、氷の山脈「 御神渡り 」が出現します。上社から下社への神の通り道とされ、神事が行われます（左上）。「 諏訪の人々は、湖に、里に、山に、神＝...

The museum is in front of Suwa Taisya Kamisha, Honmiya (shrine, https://suwataisha.or.jp/en/ ) in central Japan. The deities have enshrined in Suwa since the ancient era. People have worshipped and have served for a long time. The rituals exhibited in the museum make us feel existence of the deities. The related events tell us the life of locals.  Photos are uploaded under the permission of the museum office. 博物館は、諏訪大社上社の前にあります。 諏訪は古代から神様が祀られた地 。人々は、御柱祭などで信仰を続け、奉仕してきました。展示されている祭祀の様子から神様の存在が感じられ、その周りにある人々の暮らしが分かります。 博物館に事前申請と許可を得て撮影・掲載しました。   The hot-spring gushes in Suwa; it is also longstanding hot-spring resort. There is a footbath in the museum site (lower right). 諏訪は有名な温泉地。博物館の敷地には足湯（右下）もありますよ。   Permanent exhibition room Ⅰ (History) 、常設展示室１（歴史） The room has sufficient space and the light is dimmed. I felt like knowing the prayers of creators who made the  earthenware in the Jomon period  (from around 12,000 years ago to around 2,400 years ago). Btw, ...

Raiden is the stage name of the strongest sumo-wrestler in history . Unexpectedly, he (1767-1825) wrote diary and letters a lot. Therefore, we can know about him a lot even now. The small museum tells us his life well. Sumo was the definitely most popular sport back then; people enjoyed playing and watching sumo. However, I’m not sure whether he enjoyed it or not. I’ll try to read his diary. I also visited the house where he was born nearby. 雷電（ 1767-1825 ）は、伝説的な強さを誇った力士 ですが、筆まめだったので彼のことがよくわかります。近くで保存されている 生家も見学 しました。相撲は今も昔も庶民の楽しみですが、彼にとってはどうだったのでしょうか。今度、彼の日記を読んでみます。   The museum is i n the building of the roadside rest area  “Raiden Kurumi (walnut, the local specialty)-no-Sato (village)”. 小さな資料館は、 道の駅・雷電くるみの里に併設 されています。くるみは当地（東御市）の特産品です。 His height was 197 cm and his weight was 188 kilograms; he was a giant at that time. He was prohibited to execute three kinds of sumo moves, because he would injure his opponent. However,  his winning percentage was 96.1%  (462 w...