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

Agricultural off-season was a busy time due to travels and events (February and March, 1804) 、旅やイベントで忙しい農閑期（文化元年２月・３月）     Meal for Inari-kou event、稲荷講の膳 February, 1804 Waiting-sun events (Himachi) were held occasionally. On the 8 th , Hyōemon, who wrote this diary, hosted a Himachi , inviting eight people including Shiba-Jo. Although he served udon noodles and tea rice, he wrote, "No food was served." Perhaps there were no side dishes. It seems a decent meal was served n ormally .   14 th , they set out for the pilgrimage to Naritasan Temple this year too. Their companions were eight people ; it was a lively group including members from other villages. A woman also participated.   They boarded a boat and arrived at their destination at dusk. Unfortunately, it rained, but the next day, the 15 th , was sunny.   They participated in the Goma ritual at the temple. They moved on foot and by boat; they returned to their villages just aft...

Seeing off pilgrims to Ise (January, 1804) 、伊勢参りの村人が出発（享和 4 年 1 月）   Line to  Ise Shrine  on New Year's Day; the most popular pilgrimage destination   1804 A Russian envoy arrived in Nagasaki, seeking trade. This marked the beginning of serious approaches from the modernized West towards Japan, which had adopted a policy of national isolation.   The era name was changed in February. This is also recorded in this diary.   The new era name was Bunka. This marked the beginning of what would later be known as the Bunka-Bunsei era. In the Bunka-Bunsei era, the common people's culture of Edo became refined , like senryu (short humorous poems). However, the shogunate imposed strict censorship, restricting the publication of illustrated satire picture books and detaining writers.     January On New Year's Day, Hyōemon, who wrote this diary, visited the local shrine (guardian deity).   On the 2 nd , despite it be...

Life in the year end and Annual horse capturing event (November and December, 1802) 、野馬捕りと年の暮れ（享和 2 年 11 、 12 月）   November, 1802 Hyōemon (a village head who wrote this diary) departed for Edo (old name of Tokyo where his lord lived) on the 4 th and returned home on the 15 th . He stayed in Edo for 12 days.   16 th , the village headmen of 55 villages gathered for the meeting regarding the sukegō (providing labor for post-towns ) of Kogane-juku; “ juku ” means a post-town. His purpose for going to Edo was the sukegō issue, but there was no prospect of a resolution. No village wanted to work for sukegō job. Sukegō was a system; when a post-town lacked sufficient horses and porters, surrounding villages were required to provide them. The wages were low. Hyōemon's village was designated as a sukegō village for Kogane-juku on the Mito Highway from Edo to Mito.   Btw, Edo, where he stayed for 12 days, was a paradise of entertainment even then ( Life i...