旧友に４５年振りに再会 Meeting with my old friends after 45 years blank

１１月１６日（日）

今日は何と４５年振りで昔の友達に再会。誰かの文句じゃないけど、あれから５０年という感じ。結婚前にアメリカはマサチューセッツ州のアマーストの大学で出会ったカップルです。日光に来ておられて夕方京都に帰るとの突然の電話に驚くやら、なつかしいやら、何とか時間を作って会って来ました。１時間半の短かったこと。駅前のホテルでコーヒーを前につもる話に我を忘れたひと時。お互いに重ねた星霜に感慨深いものがありました。
An unexpected thing happened to me today. I met my old friends(a couple) for the first time since 45 years ago. I met them on the campus in Amherst in Mass. when I was still a student there. They gave me a sudden call yesterday asking if I had a time to meet them before they go back to Kyoto this evening.So surprised and moved with a kind of home-sick feeling, I rushed to JR Nikko station. We spent over one hour in the hotel in front of the station chatting over our life in the past through so many years. We got old each other. That's for sure. But we still have another life to challenge and respect as far as we are in good shape.

孫の誕生 6th grandchild born

11月15日（土）

秋晴れの良き日に陽成君がこの世に登場して３日目に初対面してきました。息子の第二子でジュニアの誕生に爺も遥か南京のキャンパスで１人万歳する写真も届きました。半月早い出産で2500gより少し少な目でしたが健康に生まれ、美しい赤ちゃんを抱っこした時の感激は最高でした。２歳半になったお姉ちゃんとこれから仲良く大きく元気に育って欲しいと祈っています。陽成君は爺と干支が同じで６回り後輩、陽成君の父親は私と干支が同じで３回り後輩。勝手に何か良き縁を感じて１人で喜んでいる婆です。

November 15th(Sat)I visited the newly born baby, 3 days old, for the first time under such a beautiful day in autumn. A photo of my husband with a gesture of congratulating the birth of our 6th grandchild,"Banzai", has just arrived in our son's i phone. The baby, already given his first name, Yosei, was born half a month earlier than the due date, with his weight, a bit below 2500g, but he is healthy and so beautiful. I was so happy to see him in my arms full of pleasure and appreciation wishing he and his sister, 2 and a half years old, may grow healthy and get on well with each other. One more my personal pleasure I found is that the baby's zodiac year, a horse, happened to be the same with his grandpa's and our son's, snake, the same with mine.

ジャズを宇都宮のブランドに Utsunomiya-city to be activated by Jazz music

11月11日（火）
先ほど宇都宮での「スイングタウン協会」の設立記念パーティーに参加。１並びの覚えやすい今日この日に、又新しい動きが生まれました。宇都宮を、いや栃木県をジャズで盛り上げて行こうという強い使命感を持ち続けてきた夫の同級生、吉原郷之助氏の夢の実現がいよいよスタートしました。そもそも１４年前に栃木県知事から宇都宮をジャズの街にという構想を託された経緯があったよう。それが草の根的についに渦を巻いて今日に辿り着いたということ。おめでとうございます。発起人の一人の夫が今中国に行っていて不在のため、代わりに参加してきました。新しい息吹をシェアさせていただいたことに感謝です。
I was in the big gathering in Utsunomiya to celebrate the establishment of a new music activity named "Swing Town Association". This event was set up on the special date with four one-numbers, 11(November)/11th. A new movement initiated by Mr.Gonosuke who is my husband's friend from junior high school has just started on this special date. His idea to activate Utsunomiya with Jazz music has been in his thought and his well planed dream finally stepped forward to be realized today. Congratulations! On behalf of my husband, now away in China, I was lucky to be in this happy moment and grateful to be able to share this new wave and breath.

１１月８日（土）

高齢（恒例）の日光芸術の集い・日光芸能祭開催。私が所属する女性コーラスグループの一つ、わたすげ、も参加。厳しい練習の成果発表となるが、観客数が淋しい。

男性４人組はWith Fourのみなさん。市民病院に勤務する好青年達で「わたすげ」女性コーラスで数年前にデビュー。

There held "Nikko Public Entertainment Festival of all art activities by local people" which is an annual event in Nikko at this time of a year.　”Watasuge, women's choir group" I belong to also participated as usual. It is to show a good result of our severe practice every week, but it ends up with such a small audience. Poor performers!

11月4日 秋晴れの日に November 4th Beautiful day

11月４日

今日の秋晴れにふさわしい晴れやかな出来事が。９月始めの１０日間、JR今市駅前の新しいカフェのスペースを借りて日彫会（女性４人、男性３人の７人の侍が集まる日光彫の同好会）がその売上金全額を広島土砂災害への義援金にしようとの目標で作品のチャリティー販売会を行ったことは先のブログに書いていますが、本日その売上金全額を市の社会福祉協議会事務所で所長にお渡しすることが出来ました。新聞にも紹介されることと思います。具体的な内容は新聞で公表されので写真だけここに載せました。


November 4th
　Got a good experience responding to today's beautiful weather. We, seven members of a group named Nicchou-kai (Nikko woodcurving circle), were honored to hand the whole amount of money we gained from the charity sales of our Nikko-bori works, to the president of the office of Social Welfare. I already wrote in my blog Diary about this activity organized at the new coffee shop near JR Imaichi station for 10 days in early September for the purpose of fundraising for the great natural disaster which recently attacked Hiroshima. Its details will be carried out on the newspaper sometime in the near future,

１１月３日（月）

今日は昨日とは打って変わって絶好のお天気日和となった。宿泊したところが蒲郡（がまごうり）の明山荘。ホテルからは右に知多半島、左に渥美半島が眺められ、竹島が中に浮かぶ。愛知の江の島と言われている由。帰路につく前に竹島でひと時を過ごした。八百宮神社に詣でて、海岸べりの無防備な歩道を歩き、浜で孫達を遊ばせる。竹島を本土と結ぶ橋を渡る時の強風には大騒ぎ。ついで道生氏が前にアイディア、デザインを手掛けたという生命の海・科学館を見学。恐竜の世界と地球の誕生ビデオを見たり、ITを使った資料見学など、興味のある子供には面白いもの。休日のせいか、沢山の子供連れで賑わっていた。私は豊橋から一人で新幹線で帰路についた。彼等はそのまま車で町田へ寄り、同行した義父を送り届けて千葉へ。今回、孫息子と父親は車で一日早く出かけて、１００名山中４９個目の福島の荒島岳に登って大垣で一泊し、翌日、新幹線で向かった我々と岐阜羽島で合流。生憎、昨日はもっと大雨であったが、二人の父息子は気合で４９個目の荒島岳を踏破していたのである。道生氏の父親は東京で新幹線に乗った我々に新横浜で合流。岐阜羽島で総勢６人となってそのまま伊吹山に向かった。雨模様で視界は悪く、それでも登ってみると案の定視界はゼロ。仕方がない。何とか５０個目制覇の記念的記録写真は撮れた。

今日の好天気はその反動でばんばん写真撮影。

The next day, November 3rd, turned to be a wonderful day. Yesterday we stayed at Meizanso hotel in Gamagouri in Aichi which is well-known as a beautiful sightseeing spot like Enoshima in Kanagawa. The hotel we stayed had a nice view of the bay half surrounded by Chita peninsular from the west side and Atsumi peninsular from the east.　

In the middle of the bay situates Takeshima island which started its history back in Edo era with its shrine commemorating the shogun Ieyasu’s donation. In the strong wind round the seashore, we enjoyed slow walking around the island, which made Shota and Akari so happy. Then we drove to the science facility for children with the theme of “The life of the sea”. Michio, the father of Shota and Akari, was once involved in planning and designing this facility, therefore he showed his honor as well as his melancholic feeling toward those days when it was built. Shota showed his interest in operating some IT devices while Akari repeated saying “Kowai!” meaning “I’m afraid!” looking at those synthetic dinosaurs. It’s fun to see them with different reactions. There were many children due to the holiday.

 Then I decided to go back alone by Shinkansen from Toyohashi so as to be back in Nikko not so late. They drove back to Chiba through Machida-city to send off Michio’s father. There they had a celebration dinner for Shota before driving back home to Chiba. Wonderful end. Thanks to such a good weather, we ended up by taking many photos.

11月2日 雨の中の記念すべき登頂 Commemorative mount climbing on November 2nd

１１月２日（日）

この連休、２年生の孫息子君、お星様が１００名山の５０個目を登頂することになり、何もかもお預けにして同行してきました。７歳にしてこの偉業は並ではない。よく父親の誘導に応えたのと、体がついて行くのと、今回も一緒に歩いてわかったけど、足が軽くて速い。父親は密かに、小学生の内に１００名山を踏破して大学に上がるまでにエベレストに挑戦して欲しいと思っている向きがある。今回、この記念すべき最初の区切りに立って、

彼にインタビューをしたところ、一番良かった山は富士山。苦しかった山は白馬だそう。彼なりにいろいろな思いを持って数々の山を登ってきたに違いない。今は登った数だけ仮面ライダーグッズが増えているようだが、これが何に変わるかこれからが興味深い。そして山の話みたいな小さな本が書けるといいなあ～。お星さま、ば～ばは応援してますよ。どうやら２歳の妹君のあ～たんも負けん気があって後に続きそうな気配なので今のうちにリードしておかなくてはね。ところで肝心の５０個目の山は伊吹山でしたが、生憎の雨で視界はゼロ。お花で美しい山であり、琵琶湖が見えてそれはそれは美しい眺望で名が知れているというのに。悲しいかな、瞼を閉じてそれを想像して見たことにして下山の巻でした。
During these holidays, I was with Shota's family having a big plan to commemorate his 50th mountain to climb out of 100 famous mountains in Japan. Shota is only 7 years old and he did this great achievement on November 2nd. His father induced his son wishing (I think) his future be full of challenging spirit and happy feeling of conquest. He has a secret hope that Shota may conquer 100 before finishing his primary school period and he wishes his son may challenge Mt.Everest before entering a university. What a magnificent dream! I had an interview with Shota to commemorate his remarkable achievement. I asked him which mountain is the most impressive. He answered it's Mt.Fuji, then he said the hardest one is Mr.Hakuba. He might have had various thoughts in his own way whenever he had a new challenge. He has been given the same number of the anime-characters'goods as the mountains he conquered up to now, but these goods will be changed. I'm interested to see how they will be changed. Eventually, I hope, he wants to write some stories concerning his challenging experiences. His little sister, 2 years old, is already active enough to overcome her brother.
Unfortunately it wasn't a good weather at all this time. We surely climbed the 50th one, Mt.Ibuki, but we couldn't see anything from its top. This mountain is famous for its beautiful scenery with many kinds of flowers and its nice view from the top which only remain in my memory.