その時代は規律がなく、社会は荒み、人の生活、人の心は貧しくありました。その侍は香取神道流流祖飯篠長威斎家直先生の稽古を終え、香取神宮のご本殿に向かおうとしておりました。 数人の者が大鳥居を行き交っておりました。ふと見ると、大鳥居の左端に黒い者が蹲っておりました。よく見ると年老いた婆でした。 老婆の髪は乱れ、皺だらけの顔は汚れ、衣服は破れ、異臭を放ち、弱弱しく息をしておりました。
大鳥居 ： Th great gate
行き交う者は、誰一人としてその老婆に気を留める者はおりませんでした。その侍は老婆の肩を揺すり、”しっかりせよ”と声をかけました。老婆は息も絶え絶えに、”鹿島から香取神宮にお参りに来たこと”を伝えました。弱弱しい声で、”香取神宮のご本殿まで連れて言ってほしい”と言いました。聞けば、老婆の身内は戦乱で死に分かれ、今は身寄りが全くないとのことでした。 年老いて、せめて、死ぬ前に鹿島の武甕づちの大神と香取の経津主大神に感謝を伝えたいとのことでした。
総門 ： Somon
その侍は老婆を背負い、大鳥居から長い参道を総門に向けて登ってゆきました。 その間、老婆はその侍の背中で”ありがたや、ありがたや”と小さく呟き続けました。石階段を登り総門を抜け、手水舎で老婆の手と口を清めてやりました。 手水舎から楼門に歩を進め、楼門を潜り、ご本殿に対面しました。 その侍は拝殿の前で、”着きましたぞ”と老婆に声をかけ、背中から優しく降してあげました。 老婆からの返答はなく、老婆の息はすでに絶えておりました。しかし、その顔は優しく、幸せに満ちておりました。
楼門 ： Romon
その侍は、この老婆は生かせていただいた感謝の気持ちを経津主大神に伝えに来たに違いないと思いました。傍から見れば、生きた境遇と今の身なりから察して幸せとは思えなくても、老婆は常に感謝の気持ちを心に持ち続けて生きたに違いない。 その侍は翌日、香取神宮の後ろの小高い丘の上に老婆を埋葬しました。 その丘からは、利根川を見下ろし、老婆が生まれ過ごした鹿島の地を遠くに望むことが出来ました。
御本殿 ： Main shrine
聖路加国際病院理事長の日野原重明先生が、”人生を明るく、楽しく過ごすには心の中に幸福感を持つこと”という趣旨のことを講演会でおっしゃっておりました。私には、心の中にどうしたら幸福感が生まれるのかが分かりませんでした。 しかし、今は、両親に感謝し、家族に感謝し、仲間に感謝し、同僚に感謝し、生きていられることに感謝し、不平等に感謝し、不公平に感謝し、不幸に感謝し、敵に感謝し、すべてのものに感謝して生まれると確信しております。
The era did not have order, the society became rough, and there were a life of people and people's mind poorly. The worrier finished an exercise of Katori Shintoryu and was trying to go to the main shrine of the Katori Shinto shrine. Several people had gone forth and back around the great gate. When seen suddenly, the black person had crouched down at the left end of great gate.
It was an old woman. The old woman's hair was disheveled, the face full of wrinkles became dirty, and clothes were torn, released the nasty smell and were carrying out the breath weakly.
None of those who go back and forth never paid attention to her. The worrier shook the old woman's shoulder and said to her "Are you OK ". The old woman answered to him feeble "having come for a visit to the Katori shrine from Kashima". In weak voice, she said "I have you to take me to the main shrine of the Katori shrine." When hearing it, the old woman's relatives were killed in war, and divided and there was no relative now. When she was aged already and dying shortly, she wanted to deliver gratitude to Katori's God as well as Kashima's God.
The worrier carried the old woman on the back from the great gate, and took the long approach to the Somon, and went up it. While she was on his back, she was repeatedly murmuring "thank you, thank you". They went up the stone stairs, and passed the Somon, and purified the old woman's hand and mouth in the purifying basin. They went forward to the Romon from the purifying basin, and passed the Romon, and reached the main shrine. In front of the praying place, the worrier spoke to her "we reached", and took her down from his back gently. There was no answer from her and her breath had already ceased. However, the face was gentle and was filled fortunately.
The worrier thought this old woman wanted to express her gratitude to Katori's God.
When seeing from the side, she was never thought to be happy from her poor story and her poor dress, but the old woman always continued having a gratitude in her mind, and must have lived.
The worrier buried the old woman on the slightly elevated hill behind the Katori shrine on the next day. From the hill, Tonegawa river was able to be looked down on and a ground of Kashima where the old woman was born and spent her life was able to be looked in the distance.
Dr Hinohara of the St. Luke's International Hospital chairman of the board of directors had told that "We need to have a feeling of happiness in our mind for enjoying oneself in our life", at a seminar.
I did not know how a feeling of happiness would be produced into our mind. However, I firmly believe recently that it is born in appreciation of parents, in appreciation of family, in appreciation of being alive, in appreciation of coworkers, in appreciation of friends, in appreciate of being unequally, in appreciation of the misfortune, in appreciation of enemies, in appreciation of all the things you face,