2021年8月8日、２０２０東京オリンピック閉会。コロナ渦の中よく此処までやったよね・・。

多種多様な意見が渦巻く中、菅首相は政治生命を掛けて決断し、開催に踏み切ったと思う。財政的には当初の目論見と大きく違い、相当きびっしい状況に追いやられ、下手すれば政権は持たなかったと思う。

国民の判断は大きく分かれ、閉幕後の内閣支持率は３５％と少し落ち込んだようであるが、ある意味おりこみ済みの結果では。私など個人的には非常に良かったと思う。少なくとも沈み込んでいるコロナ禍の社会に希望と明るさを与えたのは間違いないでしょう。メダルの数もさることながら、閉会式のテレビ視聴率が４８％強に達したのが何よりの証では・・。

SNS上での反響がどうなっているのかは知らないが、個人的に流れてくるSNSからの情報はマイナス思考にあふれ、非常に批判的なものが多い。

オリンピック批判もさることながら、最近はコロナワクチンの後遺症など、如何にも科学的な根拠にもとずくものの様に記され、相当拡散している様であるが、発信源は今一つハッキリしない。ただ、現状を悲観した批判的な情報であればあるほど、SNS上では蔓延する傾向があり、「これが真実。本当の本当は・・・」的な情報が流れてくる。

マスコミ情報もさることながらSNS上での情報を無暗に信じ拡散するのは如何なものかと強く感じている今日この頃である。

台風9号が猛暑を巻き込んで行ったようで、少し凌ぎやすくなって来た感じ。今週は大阪地方は雨模様が多く、一気に秋めくのではなかろうか❓。

西日除けに植えたゴーヤが今年も頑張ってくれている。後２～３週間は頑張ってもらいたいものだ

Olympic Anthem

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics will close on August 8, 2021. How did we make it this far in the corona vortex?

I think Prime Minister Kan made the decision to hold the Olympics with his political life on the line, despite the many and varied opinions swirling around him. Financially, the situation was very different from the original plan, and the government was forced into a very tight situation.

The public’s judgment was sharply divided, and the approval rating of the cabinet after the closing of the summit seems to have dropped a little to 35%, but in a sense, I think this was a foregone conclusion. Personally, I think it was very good. At the very least, it gave hope and brightness to the sinking society of the Corona disaster. Aside from the number of medals, the fact that the TV ratings for the closing ceremony reached over 48% is the best proof of all….

I don’t know what the response has been on social networking sites, but the information from social networking sites that flows to me personally is full of negative thoughts and very critical.

Aside from criticism of the Olympics, recently, information about the after-effects of the corona vaccine has been written as if it were based on scientific evidence, and it seems to have spread considerably, but the source of the information is still unclear. However, the more pessimistic and critical the information is, the more it tends to spread on SNS. The more pessimistic and critical the information is, the more it tends to spread on SNS, and the more “this is the truth, the real truth is…” kind of information flows.

The more critical the information, the more it tends to spread on SNS.

Typhoon No. 9 seems to have swept away the intense heat, and it seems to be getting a little easier to get through. This week, Osaka area will have a lot of rainy weather, and it will probably turn into autumn at once ?

The bitter gourd I planted to keep out the western sun is doing well again this year. I hope they will do well for another two to three weeks.

今朝（7月15日）の読売新聞地域版に「はかない一晩」と題し、淀川区のご婦人が投稿した「月下美人」の綺麗な写真が出ていた。13日の晩、5輪咲いたとのこと。彼女は毎年、この月下美人が咲く夜、知人を招き、観賞し楽しんでいるとのこと。

実は、我が家の月下美人も昨夜（7月14日）、一夜限りの見事な花を一輪咲かせた。

まっこと綺麗じゃのー、花火の如き一時の綺麗さではあるが、他の花には見れない華やかさと一抹の寂しさを感じさせる、何とも言えない花である。

一晩だけの命だけに、天が与えし華であり香りであるのか！。

追記

今朝の天風メルマガ「一日一話」より

021/7/15　因縁
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
このたくさんの数多い人の中から
知り合いになったということは、
とうてい人智では究明することのできない、
因縁という不可思議な
幽玄微妙の作用のいたすところである。
しかるにこの因縁という
不可思議な作用によって結ばれて、
知り合う仲となったものを、
己の気に食わぬとか、
あるいは心に合致しないとか、
彼にはこういう欠点があるとか、
または与（くみ）しがたき習癖があるとか
等々の理由をつけて批判排斥して、
せっかく結ばれた因縁を無にするというのは、
天意を冒とくする者というべきである。
中村天風

まさに箴言だね。人が常にかくあれば、世に争いごとは無くなるで有ろうに。

肝にめいじたく思う。

fleeting evening

In this morning’s (July 15) local edition of the Yomiuri Shimbun, there was a beautiful photo of a “beauty under the moon” posted by a woman in Yodogawa Ward, titled “A night of tranquility”. 5 flowers bloomed on the night of the 13th. She said that she invites her acquaintances over every year on the night when the moonlight beauties bloom and enjoys viewing them.

In fact, our own moonbeauty bloomed last night (July 14), and for one night only.

It’s really beautiful, just like fireworks for a moment, but it’s an indescribable flower that makes me feel both gorgeous and lonely like no other flower.

It’s a flower and a fragrance given by the heavens to live only for one night!

Postscript

From this morning’s Tenpu newsletter, “A Story a Day

021/7/15 Causality
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
From among these many, many people
The fact that we have become acquainted
That we have become acquainted with so many people
The fact that we have become acquainted among so many people is a result of the mysterious
The fact that we have become acquainted with each other out of these many people is the result of the mysterious and subtle action of karma.
However, the fact that they are united by this mysterious
Therefore, those who have become acquainted through this mysterious
However, if you do not like what you see
But if you don’t like it, or
Or that it does not match your heart.
Or that he has a flaw.
Or that he has a habit that is hard to accept.
I don’t like him, or he doesn’t match my heart, or he has these flaws, or he has habits that I don’t agree with.
To criticize and exclude a person for reasons such as, “He doesn’t fit in,” “He has these flaws,” or “He has habits that are hard to accept.
It is a blasphemy against the will of Heaven.
Nakamura Tenpu

This is a true proverb. If people were always like this, there would be no conflict in the world.

I want to keep this in mind.

憧れの入院生活を終え昨日無事退院。で、憧れの入院生活は？、となるのですが、正直な感想は、一度経験したからもう二度とは結構って感じ。

「三食昼寝つき」はその通りでしたが、ベットからは自由に動けず、点滴やら何やらで身体の周りは管がいっぱい。しかも手術で半身麻酔をされたが、これが凄い。下半身は全く感覚無し。術後まっすぐベッドに寝ていた様ですが、自分の感覚は足が曲がったままの感じ。従って真っすぐに伸ばそうと思うが、指一本動かせない。看護師さんに「足を伸ばしたいのですが・・」と言うと、「足はまっすぐに伸びていますよ」とのこと。エッ、そんなことは無い。今度は先生に尋ねると、先生曰く「麻酔を打つ前に足を曲げていたので、その感覚がそのまま残っているのでしょう・・」とのこと。そうかと納得はしたものの、麻酔の威力をしっかりと体感し、ただただ感心し驚いた。そして同時に麻薬の恐ろしさを知らされた。

そんなのだから憧れの三食昼寝付きも、思ったほど快適では無く、昼寝どころか夜もろくに眠れず、疲れて思ったほど本も読めず、良かったのは看護師さんがよくしてくれた事くらい。

よって、予定通り退院できホッとした、というのが正直なところ。

病院に居れば病人になるが、退院すれば元気モリモリ。そこで今日は朝一番に自宅から徒歩20分程の所にある「友呂岐神社」で、半年に一回の大祓いに行ってきた。

大祓い神事というのは、以下（ウィキペディア（Wikipedia））のとおり。

大祓（おおはらえ、 おおはらい）は、日本の神道儀式の祓の1つ。祓は浄化^{[注釈 1]}の儀式として宮中や神社で日常的に行われるが、特に天下万民の罪穢を祓うという意味で大祓という^[1]。毎年6月と12月の晦日、すなわち、新暦6月30日と12月31日に行われるものを恒例とするが、天皇即位後の最初の新嘗祭である大嘗祭の前後や、未曾有の疫病の流行、斎宮斎院の卜定、災害の襲来などでも臨時に執り行うことがあった。中臣（なかとみ）の祓とも言われる。

願うのは「無病息災、延命長寿」。同時に疫病（コロナ）祓い。上記の通り大祓いは、6月30日と12月31日に行われるが、神社本殿の正面に造られた大きな円形のしめ縄の中をくぐり左に回り、次に右に回り、再度おお縄をくぐって本殿にお参りする。

ここ何年かは都合がつけば、お参りするようにしているが、今回は特に退院翌日という事もあって、真剣にお祓いをしてきた。

友呂岐神社で頂いてきた大祓いのしめ縄

purification rite performed twice a year, before daijôsai and after major disasters

Yesterday, I was discharged from the hospital after my longing for a life in the hospital. So, how was the hospital stay? Well, to be honest, after having experienced it once, I don’t want to go through it again.

The “three meals and a nap” was true, but I couldn’t move freely from my bed, and there were tubes all around my body with IVs and other things. In addition, they gave me a semi-general anesthesia for the surgery, which was amazing. I had no feeling in the lower part of my body at all. It seemed like I was lying straight on the bed after the surgery, but my sensation was that my legs were still bent. So I tried to straighten it out, but I couldn’t move a single finger. I said to the nurse, “I’d like to stretch my legs,” and she said, “Your legs are straight. What? That’s not true. This time, I asked the doctor, and he said, “You bent your leg before the anesthesia was given, so the feeling must have stayed with you. Although I was convinced that this was so, I was impressed and surprised to feel the power of anesthesia. At the same time, I was reminded of the horror of drugs.

I could not sleep well at night, let alone take a nap, and I was so tired that I could not read as much as I had expected.

The only good thing was that the nurses treated me well. So, to be honest, I was relieved to be discharged from the hospital as planned.

If I stay in the hospital, I’ll be a sick person, but if I leave the hospital, I’ll be full of energy. So today, first thing in the morning, I went to Yuroki Shrine, about a 20-minute walk from my house, for the semi-annual purification ceremony.

The ritual is as follows (Wikipedia).

Oharai is one of the purification rituals of Japanese Shintoism. Exorcism is a ritual of purification[note 1] and is performed routinely at the Imperial Palace and shrines, but it is especially called Oharai in the sense that it purges the sins and impurities of all people under heaven[1]. It is usually held on the last day of June and December each year, i.e., June 30 and December 31 of the new calendar year. However, it was sometimes held on an ad hoc basis around the time of the first Niiname Festival after the Emperor’s accession to the throne, or in the event of an unprecedented epidemic, the divestiture of the Saikyuu Saiin, or a disaster. It is also called Nakatomi-no-harae.

The wish is for “good health and longevity. At the same time, it is to exorcise the plague (corona). As mentioned above, the exorcism is held on June 30 and December 31. You must pass through a large circular shimenawa rope built in front of the main shrine, turn left, then turn right, and pass through the rope again to visit the main shrine.

For the past few years, I have been visiting the shrine whenever I can, but this time, especially since it was the day after I left the hospital, I took the purification seriously.

The shimenawa (rope for purification) that I received at the Tomoroki Shrine

Yesterday, I was discharged from the hospital after my longing for a life in the hospital. So, how was the hospital stay? Well, to be honest, after having experienced it once, I don’t want to go through it again.

The “three meals and a nap” was true, but I couldn’t move freely from my bed, and there were tubes all around my body with IVs and other things. In addition, they gave me a semi-general anesthesia for the surgery, which was amazing. I had no feeling in the lower part of my body at all. It seemed like I was lying straight on the bed after the surgery, but my sensation was that my legs were still bent. So I tried to straighten it out, but I couldn’t move a single finger. I said to the nurse, “I’d like to stretch my legs,” and she said, “Your legs are straight. What? That’s not true. This time, I asked the doctor, and he said, “You bent your leg before the anesthesia was given, so the feeling must have stayed with you. Although I was convinced that this was so, I was impressed and surprised to feel the power of anesthesia. At the same time, I was reminded of the horror of drugs.

I could not sleep well at night, let alone take a nap, and I was so tired that I could not read as much as I had expected.

The only good thing was that the nurses treated me well. So, to be honest, I was relieved to be discharged from the hospital as planned.

If I stay in the hospital, I’ll be a sick person, but if I leave the hospital, I’ll be full of energy. So today, first thing in the morning, I went to Yuroki Shrine, about a 20-minute walk from my house, for the semi-annual purification ceremony.

The ritual is as follows (Wikipedia).

Oharai is one of the purification rituals of Japanese Shintoism. Exorcism is a ritual of purification[note 1] and is performed routinely at the Imperial Palace and shrines, but it is especially called Oharai in the sense that it purges the sins and impurities of all people under heaven[1]. It is usually held on the last day of June and December each year, i.e., June 30 and December 31 of the new calendar year. However, it was sometimes held on an ad hoc basis around the time of the first Niiname Festival after the Emperor’s accession to the throne, or in the event of an unprecedented epidemic, the divestiture of the Saikyuu Saiin, or a disaster. It is also called Nakatomi-no-harae.

The wish is for “good health and longevity. At the same time, it is to exorcise the plague (corona). As mentioned above, the exorcism is held on June 30 and December 31. You must pass through a large circular shimenawa rope built in front of the main shrine, turn left, then turn right, and pass through the rope again to visit the main shrine.

For the past few years, I have been visiting the shrine whenever I can, but this time, especially since it was the day after I left the hospital, I took the purification seriously.

The shimenawa (rope for purification) that I received at the Tomoroki Shrine

1947年にこの世で生を受け、早や73年。年月を数えると其れなりであるが、何を成したか？と言われると、ハタと考えてしまう。ただ、健康にだけは恵まれて、今まで大病をしたことも無ければ、ケガらしいケガもしたことは無く、73年間一度も病院に入院したことが無い。

ところが寄る年波には勝てない。最近特に感じるように成ったのが、「人は必ず死ぬのだな・・」という事。毎朝新聞に目を通すのが日課であるが、必ず死亡記事に出会う。当然ながら死亡記事が出るのは著名人。故に小生でも名前くらいは知っているが、多くが80歳代。そうした死亡記事に接するたびに「人は死ぬのだな・・」と思う。だからどうと云う事では無い。ただ単にそう思うというだけのことだが・・。

話が少し横道にそれたが、大病も入院歴もしたことがない私が、此度入院する事に成った。73年の人生ではじめてのことである。

私は若いころからのあこがれの一つに「入院」というのが有った。何を、そんなバカな、と思われるかもしれないが 、正直そうであった。何故かというに、病気の事は別にして、入院すれば、3食昼寝付き。ベッドで寝ているのが仕事で、何もすることは出来ない。すると一日中好きな本を読み、眠気が来たら寝ればいい。何かしたくてもすることが出来ない、一つの檻の中である。実際はどうか知らないが、単純な私の頭では、そのように考えている。

従って、一度でいいから入院生活を経験してみたかった。好きなだけ本を読み、好きなだけ寝ればいい。それがやっとかなうのだ。僅か5泊6日ではあるが、明日からあこがれの日々が始まる。特にコロナ渦という事もあって、妻子と言えども面会謝絶。全く自分だけの、三食昼寝付きの気ままな日々が始まるのだ・・。

病に関しては痛くもかゆくもない。昨日も一日ゴルフを楽しみ、ここ3年間で一番の好成績で終えたくらい。ただ、医者が入院して検査する必要があるというから、そうするのであって、病があれば医者任せと、今はタガをくくっている。

First time in hospital

It’s been 73 years since I was born in this world in 1947. If you count the years, it is quite a long time, but if you ask me, “What have I accomplished? I have been blessed with good health. However, I have been blessed with good health, and I have never been seriously ill or injured, and I have never been hospitalized in 73 years.

I have never been hospitalized in 73 years. Recently, I have come to feel that “people always die. It is my daily routine to read through the newspaper every morning, and I always come across an obituary. Naturally, the obituaries are of famous people. Even I know their names, but most of them are in their 80s. Whenever I come in contact with such obituaries, I think, “People are dying. That’s not to say that I don’t care. It’s just that I think so….

This is the first time in my 73 years of life that I have been hospitalized.

One of my longings since I was young has been to be hospitalized. You may think this is ridiculous, but to be honest, it was. The reason is that, apart from the illness, if you are hospitalized, you get three meals and a nap. It’s your job to stay in bed and not do anything. Then you can read your favorite book all day and go to sleep when you feel sleepy. You are in a cage where you can’t do anything even if you wanted to. I don’t know how it really is, but that’s how my simple mind sees it.

Therefore, I wanted to experience life in a hospital, just once. I could read as much as I wanted and sleep as much as I wanted. That would finally come true. Although it will only be five nights and six days, my longing days will begin tomorrow. Especially since it was the Corona vortex, I was not allowed to see my wife or children. I’ll be on my own, with three meals and a nap.

As for my illness, I don’t feel any pain or itch. I even enjoyed a full day of golf yesterday and finished with the best result in the last three years. However, the doctor said I needed to be hospitalized for tests, so that’s what I’m doing.

フェイクニュースって恐いよね・・・。人は文字に弱いと言うか、何か文章になった物をみると、ついそれを信じてしまう傾向がある？。人によってその感覚に違いはあるでしょうが、私はどうもその傾向が強いように思う。

フェイクニュースという言葉を聞いたのは、トランプ氏がアメリカ大統領に就任して間もない頃、本人に都合の悪いニュースが流れると、「あれはフェイクニュースだ・・」と豪語していた。その時にはじめて耳にした言葉だった様に思う。その当初は、大統領の独善的思考の中から出て来た勝手な言い分の様に思い、そんなフェイクニュースなるものがやたらとあるものでは無いだろう、くらいに考えていた。

ところがとこるが、以降フェイクニュースというのを頭に於いて、パソコン上で流れる各種情報やSNSで発せられる情報に気を付けていると、如何にフェイクニュースなるものが多いかに驚かされる。従って、最近では、パソコンやスマホに入って来る情報を、そのまま信じる事が出来なくなり、下手に入手した情報の転送など出来なくなって来ている。

特にコロナウイルスに関する情報は千差万別で、何が本当か全く分からなくなるくらい。有識者と言われる医学者の中でも、色んな説があり、必ずしも一定はしていない。同様に個人的な友人知人のなかでも、コロナに対する思い方や考え方は相当に違っており、それぞれが自分が信じる情報に傾倒するため、諸説入り乱れて入ってくる。

そんなこともあって、東京在住の娘とは1年半以上会えずじまい。私も、田舎（隠岐）に車も小舟もほったらかしで1年半以上帰れずじまい。友人に電話をしても反応は様々で、気楽に帰れそうにはない。ただ、コロナワクチンを打てば、一応受け入れて貰えるのでは？と都合よく考えてはいるが、それでもオールOKとは行かない様である。

ただ、私の悩みはその程度のものだが、東京オリンピック開催を判断する菅総理の心労や如何にと思わざるを得ない。

それにしては、あの目立ちたがり屋の都知事が旗色を鮮明にせず、何処か責任ある判断に背を向けているやに思えてならない。小池色がべったり出ているとも言えるが・・。

fake news

Fake news is scary…. When we see something in writing, we have a tendency to believe it. There may be differences between people, but I seem to have a strong tendency.

I first heard the term “fake news” when Mr. Trump was inaugurated as the President of the United States, and whenever he heard news that was unfavorable to him, he would boldly say, “That’s fake news. I think that was the first time I heard that phrase. At first, I thought it was just a self-righteous statement coming from the president’s self-righteous mind, and that there would not be such a thing as fake news all the time.

However, since then, I have been keeping fake news in mind, and when I pay attention to the various information flowing on my computer and on social networking sites, I am amazed at how much fake news there is. Therefore, these days, I can no longer believe the information that comes into my computer or smartphone as it is, and I can no longer forward the information that I have obtained.

In particular, the information about coronaviruses varies so much that it is hard to know what is true at all. Even among medical experts, there are many different theories, and they are not always consistent. Similarly, even among my personal friends and acquaintances, their thoughts and ideas about corona are quite different, and each of them is devoted to the information they believe in, so we get a mixture of theories.

Because of this, I have not been able to see my daughter who lives in Tokyo for more than a year and a half. I also left my car and small boat in the countryside (Oki) and have not been able to return for over a year and a half. When I called my friends, their reactions were mixed, so I don’t think I can go home comfortably. However, I am thinking that if I get a corona vaccine, they might accept me at least. I’m conveniently thinking that if I get the coronary vaccine, they might accept me, but even so, they don’t seem to be all right with me.

That’s about the extent of my worries, but I can’t help but wonder what kind of heartache Kan must be feeling as he decides whether to hold the Tokyo Olympics.

However, I can’t help but think that the governor of Tokyo, who is a show-off, is not making his colors clear and is somehow turning his back on responsible decisions. It could be said that Koike’s colors are all over the place…