2014.11.09
ウイリアムに想う2
佐藤賢太郎 

今日は田圃や落ちた杉の枯葉を集めることをウイリアムに頼んだ。そして嬉しくもギリシャ夢の架け橋が印刷されて届いたのである。歴史春秋社から二人が本を届けてさり、感謝を申し上げた。そして昼食をお二人はウイリアムと共にすることになった。その後にパソコンの調子が悪いので私は會津若松のお店に行くことになった。

帰宅して杉の葉を集めているウイリアムとともに家内と3人で杉の葉の片づけをした。そしていつものように二人で風呂に入った。今日もとても贅沢な生活を私たちはしていると話しながら、朝から晩まで英会話日本語の勉強である。

 それにしてもウイリアムはとても熱心に日本語を勉強している。食事のときにも食べ物は何ですかと聞き、または謙虚とは何ですかとか、信じると、信頼することの意味の違いを英語で教えてくれる。また自分の腕にまで日本語と英語を書いているのである。

 
 Day 2 – Makiwari

At breakfast Sato-san informed me that today I’d be ‘makiwari’. I was confused for a moment before he explained that ‘makiwari’ meant wood-splitting. Sure enough, this is what I spent most of the day doing, using an axe up by Tougenoyu. It was another beautiful day in Toyomi, though, and it was great to be working outside under the sun with the sound of birds and the river all round me. Sato-san had a special treat in store for me at lunch, as we drove into the mountains for an obentou picnic from a woodland spot overlooking his village, Funato, with a spectacular view of Mount Iide-san’s snow-covered top. On the way up we passed various small groups of people out picking mushrooms, and we ourselves were lucky enough to find some of the tiny rare nameko mushrooms. It was a special feeling participating in an activity that people in the area had probably been doing in the same way for centuries. During the drive back down I quizzed Sato-san on the different varieties of trees in the area, and we discussed the difference between Japan’s natural mixed woodland and the dense Japanese cedar forests planted in the last century. Sato-san’s belief in a wholly natural life is very strong, and it’s fascinating to hear his view on the effect modern man has had on his surroundings. At the end of the day, we opened the balcony doors of Tougenoyu and had an amazing bath with a view of the the forest and a fresh mountain breeze. Looking out of the window afterwards, I was greeted by a bright full moon, and the first of the evening’s fog rolling in over the river; a beautifully peaceful scene with which to end my 2nd day at Cosmo Yume.