最近はマメに天気をチェックするようにしていて、今日は曇り空だと思い込んでおりましたが、朝から雨が降っていて驚きました。お天気アプリをいくつか取り込んでいますが、個人的にこれ！というものが未だ見つからず、こんなに様々なAI技術が進歩しても自然相手の天気予報だけは難しいのだなと実感しております。

先日、天気予報会社を密着取材するテレビ番組を観る機会があり、気軽に見ている天気予報の裏側で、刻々と変化する空模様に翻弄され一喜一憂している社員の方々の姿が新鮮に映りました。予想が外れた時の利用者からの苦情がリアルで、真摯に受け止め落ち込んでいる社員を見ると、的中して当たり前だと思っている自分の思い込みを反省…。自然はそんなに甘いものではありませんね。

 

風鈴の短冊のようなものは「舌（ぜつ）」ともよばれ、こちらの舌には寄木細工が使われており、南部鉄器との相性がよく趣のある雰囲気です。自立するのでどこにでも置けるのが魅力ではないでしょうか。

先日、ハガキを探していましたら寄木細工のハガキが売っているのを見つけました。裏面一面が寄木細工になっており、こんなハガキを頂いたらどこに飾ろうか迷ってしまうことでしょう。

そんな珍しいハガキもあったのですが、全体的に売っているハガキの量や種類が驚くほど少なく、店員さんに尋ねないと見つけられないほどでした。便箋と封筒のセットやカラフルなメッセージカードは沢山並んでいるのですが、ハガキは、えっこれだけ？という印象でした。ハガキの需要は少なくなっているのでしょうか。確かにハガキに書ける量の挨拶などはメールで済ますことができ、切手を貼って相手に届くまで数日かかってしまうなど非効率に思えるのかもしれません。今の若い世代には考えられないことかもしれませんね。

ハガキは漢字で「葉書」と書きますが、語源としては葉っぱは関係ないようです。昔紙の切れ端などに書く覚書を「端書（はしがき）」といい、これが語源だとされています。江戸時代には「端書」「羽書」ともいわれ督促状のようなものだったそうです。

「葉書」という漢字を使うようになったのは諸説あるようですが、郵便局の木として指定されている「多羅葉（たらよう）」という木に関係があるようです。多羅葉の葉は常緑で２０ｃｍほどの細長い形をしており、この木の葉の裏に尖ったものや爪先などで文字や絵をかくと、その跡が黒く変色し残るため、古代インドでは文字を書くために使われていたとか。日本でも武士がこの葉にメモを書いて送ったことが「葉書」という漢字が使われた理由だとも言われています。

また驚くことに、宛先、定型外の切手を貼れば現在でも多羅葉の葉をハガキのように郵送できるそうです。驚かせることがお好きな方は試してみてはいかがでしょうか。ちなみに多羅様の葉に限ります。

ハガキのことを書いていてまた頭の中が脱線しているのですが、子供のころ読んだアメリカの絵本で「がまくんとかえるくんシリーズ」４冊のなかの「ふたりはともだち」という短編集の最後に「おてがみ」という話があります。手紙をもらったことがないと悲しむガマガエルの「がまくん」のために、カエルくんは急いで家に帰って手紙を書き、カタツムリくんに託します。よりによってどうしてまたカタツムリくんに…という疑問はさておき、カエルくんはがまくんの家へ戻り一緒に手紙を待とうと誘いますが、がまくんは「どうせ誰も手紙をくれない」とうなだれています。とうとうカエルくんは手紙を書いたことを伝えると、２人で手紙が来るのをドアの前で幸せな気持ちで待ちます。そして４日後カタツムリくんがようやく手紙を持って到着する。というのどかなお話なのですが、この年になると色々と考えさせられ、心に染みます。

それでは、また次の機会に。

 

 

Hello everyone. This is Staff H.

Recently, I have been checking the weather frequently and assumed that today would be cloudy, but I was surprised to find that it has been raining since this morning. I have been using several weather apps, but I haven’t found one that I personally like! I realize that even with all the advances in AI technology, it is still difficult to forecast the weather when dealing with nature.

 

The other day, I had an opportunity to watch a TV program that closely followed a weather forecasting company. Behind the scenes of the weather forecasts that we watch casually, I was struck by the fresh image of the employees who were both happy and sad at the mercy of the ever-changing sky conditions. The complaints from users when the forecast was wrong were very real, and when I saw the employees who took it seriously and were depressed, I reflected on my own assumption that it was natural that the forecast would be right on target…. Nature is not so sweet, is it?

 

In this rainy weather, I tried to blow off some of the humidity by manually ringing the Nambu ironware wind chime in the store, and the sound was pleasant and lingering, like the sound of a tingsha used in yoga. You will feel as if you are about to indulge in meditation…or rather, you will be energized.

The strip-like object on the wind chime is called a “tongue,” and the marquetry used for the tongue is a perfect match for Nambu ironware, creating an atmospheric atmosphere. The charm of this bell is that it is freestanding and can be placed anywhere.

The other day, when I was looking for postcards, I found a marquetry postcard for sale. The entire reverse side of the postcard is made of marquetry, and if you received such a postcard, you would be wondering where to put it.
There were such rare postcards, but the quantity and variety of postcards sold were surprisingly small overall. I had to ask the clerk to find them. There were many sets of letterheads and envelopes, and colorful message cards, but postcards? I had the impression that this was all there were. Is the demand for postcards decreasing? Certainly, the amount of greetings that can be written on a postcard can be done by mail, and it may seem inefficient to put a stamp on a postcard and have it take several days to reach the recipient. This may seem unthinkable to today’s younger generation.

Postcards are written in kanji (Chinese characters) as “postcards,” but the etymology of the word does not seem to have anything to do with leaves. In the old days, a memo written on a scrap of paper was called “Hashigaki,” and this is believed to be the origin of the word. In the Edo period (1603-1867), it was also called “Hashigaki” or “Hasho” and was a kind of reminder letter.

There are various theories as to why the word “hagaki” came to be written, but it seems to be related to the “tarayo” tree, which is designated as the post office tree. The leaves of the tarayoh tree are evergreen and long and slender, about 20 cm in length. If a sharp object or the tip of a fingernail is used to write letters or drawings on the underside of the leaves of this tree, the marks are discolored black and remain. It is said that the kanji character for “postcard” was used in Japan when samurai warriors wrote notes on these leaves and sent them.

Surprisingly, you can still mail a taraba leaf today as if it were a postcard, as long as you address it and affix an outside-the-box stamp. If you like to be surprised, why not give it a try? By the way, it must be a Tara-sama leaf.

Writing about postcards reminded me of a story I read as a child in an American picture book series called “Gama-kun to Kaeru-kun Series”. To help “Gama-kun,” a toad who is sad because he has never received a letter, “Frog-kun” hurries home to write a letter and gives it to “Snail-kun. Putting aside the question of why he wrote to a snail of all people, Frog invites Gama-kun to come back to his house and wait for the letter with him, but Gama-kun is sad, saying that no one will give him a letter anyway. Finally, Frog tells Gama-kun that he has written a letter, and the two of them wait happily at the door for the letter to arrive. Four days later, Mr. Snail finally arrives with the letter. It is an idyllic story, but at my age, it makes me think about many things and touches my heart.

 

See you next time.

 

 

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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

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雨で外出の機会も減ることでしょうし、湿気もあって埃もたたないでしょうから（笑）お片付けにはもってこいかもしれません。無くしたと思っていた品が思いもよらず見つかるかもしれませんよ。

 

ではでは、また。

 

Hello everyone, this is Staff T.

The daytime sun is very hot in Nagoya. I feel that many people on the streets are now wearing summer-like clothes. In the store, wind chimes, which make you feel the fresh breeze coming in, are showing their presence as if it is finally their turn to come out.

 

Today is the first day of June.

June is the time of year when cherries and plums are in season and hydrangeas are in beautiful bloom. Amidst all the fun of Father’s Day and bonuses, some of you may have noticed that this is the only month of the year without a national holiday. A calendar with weekdays full of black numbers doesn’t lift our spirits either.

 

However, when asked “What do you think of June? I am sure that most people think of “rainy season” and “rain” when asked “What do you think of June? Every year I get frustrated with laundry that never dries and depressed with wet feet, but since I bought a new umbrella the other day, I am actually looking forward to the rain.

 

 

Here is a trivia. Did you notice that “0% chance of precipitation” in the weather forecast is read as “ray percent,” not “zero percent”? Zero” means ‘nothing,’ but ‘ray’ means ‘very little,’ so a ‘0% chance of precipitation’ does not mean that it will never rain.

 

And “June Bride” comes to mind immediately.

June Bride” means ”June Bride. Many couples get married in June because of the legend that “brides who get married in June will be happy.

The origin of June Bride is believed to be in the West. There are various theories, but the most famous is that Juno (Juno in English), the wife of the Roman god Jupiter (Jupiter in Roman mythology) and protector of women’s marital life, protects the month of June. Juno is the patron goddess of women and the highest-ranking goddess in charge of marriage and childbirth. It was believed that brides who married in June, the month protected by the goddess, would enjoy a happy married life for the rest of their lives. The English word “June” is derived from “Juno,” the goddess who protects the month of June.

 

June also means “change of clothes. However, in schools these days, June 1 is not clearly designated as a change of clothes, and students are allowed to change their clothes according to their personal physical condition, so the month of June may not be so much associated with….

 

The custom of changing clothes was introduced from China in the Heian period (794-1185). It became a courtly custom to change clothes twice a year. Initially, it was called “koi” (changing clothes), but as the word “koi” came to be used as a title for female courtesans, it came to be called “koroshie (changing clothes)”.

In the Edo period (1603-1867), the number of types of kimono increased, and changes of clothes four times a year were prescribed in the samurai society according to the climate, which spread to the general population. When western-style clothing was introduced in the Meiji period (1868-1912), officials and military personnel began to wear uniforms, and the calendar was changed to the new calendar, so summer and winter clothing was changed twice a year.

 

Nowadays, thanks to rational storage, some families do not change their clothes. Also, with air conditioning in place, some may dress the same way all year round. However, changing clothes is actually a great opportunity to develop a sense of seasonality in clothing and to learn how to care for, manage, and organize clothes. Changing clothes is not just a chore, but an event in daily life, and by repeating it season after season, children will have a good opportunity to learn.

 

The rain will reduce the chances of going out, and the humidity will keep the dust at bay (laughs), so it may be a good time to clean up. You may unexpectedly find an item you thought you lost.

See you soon.

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

 

 

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

10：00－18：00 OPEN