September is already drawing to a close. It’s still hot here in Nagoya, but it feels like I’ve been wearing short sleeves for nearly half a year now. Should I buy new short sleeves, or should I just make do with what I have until long sleeves are needed… The question of what to wear in September and October is starting to arise for me.

By the way, the other day I came across an ancient literary work describing daily life on September 20th, roughly 700 years ago.

It’s Yoshida Kenkō’s Tsurezuregusa, written around 1331 during the late Kamakura period. Within it, there’s a passage describing September 20th (by the old calendar) nearly 700 years ago. One section is titled “Around September 20th” (Section 32), and the title itself is the date.

Around the twentieth day of the ninth month, I was invited by someone and went moon-viewing until dawn. Something came to mind, so I had them guide me, and I entered. In the overgrown garden, the thick dew and the unforced fragrance wafted softly, creating a hidden atmosphere that was profoundly moving.
Though he left at a good hour, I still felt the tenderness of the moment and watched from my hiding place for a while. He pushed open the sliding door a little more, as if to view the moon. Had I rushed in then, I would have spoken out of turn. How could I have known someone was watching from behind? Such matters depend solely on one’s vigilance day and night.
I heard that person soon disappeared.

This is the passage.
Simply put, on the night of the full moon in late autumn, around the 20th of September, two people were enjoying moon viewing together. Kenko and his acquaintance visited a certain person’s house. While waiting, Kaneko observed the house: the garden was untended and overgrown, yet carried a natural fragrance. Such details seemed to deeply resonate with him. What impressed Kaneko even more, however, was the owner’s demeanor, leading him to watch the person for a while.

It’s truly a casual, rambling account, simply recording the everyday life of the Kamakura period without any particular focus. Some readers might feel a sense of kinship, thinking, “Even people 700 years ago had sensibilities similar to ours…” while others might admire, “Well, that’s Kenkō for you! It’s that uniquely first-rate perspective only he could have.”

By the way, did you assume the person being observed was a woman? I myself had assumed so, but actually, the original text doesn’t explicitly state that the observer is a “woman.” Many modern translations seem to imagine a woman, conjuring an image of quiet, ephemeral grace, but the truth is, who this person was, where they came from, and what they were like remains a mystery.

As autumn nights grow cooler, why not take on the challenge of solving this mystery from Yoshida Kenkō, who lived over a thousand years ago?

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

ご実家の整理やお片付けなどをされている方のご相談などが多くございます。

お片付けなどくれぐれもご無理のないようになさってくださいませ。

風光舎では古美術品や骨董品の他にも絵画や宝石、趣味のお品など様々なジャンルのものを買受しております。

お片付けをされていて、こういうものでもいいのかしらと迷われているものでも、どうぞお気軽にご相談下さいませ。

また風光舎は、出張買取も強化しております。ご近所はもちろん、愛知県内、岐阜県、三重県その他の県へも出張いたします。

まずは、お電話お待ちしております。

愛知県名古屋市千種区姫池通

骨董 買取【古美術 風光舎 名古屋店】

TEL052（734）8444

10：00－17：00 OPEN

＃出張買取＃骨董＃古美術＃骨董品＃絵画＃版画＃茶道具＃刀剣＃彫刻