今日の国際社会にかかせない英語表現： 「息を飲む美しさだ」／「～の良い所」
「私がしているのは～の話だ」
夕べは、春日大社と東大寺のお盆の行事、中元万燈籠と万灯供養会に行ってきた。
大仏殿への回廊を広場に向かい、大仏殿側の壁が切れると、何千もの灯篭が置かれた
広場と、その後ろに明るく照らされた大仏殿が視界の全てとなり、息を飲む美しさだ。
Two of my friends and I went to see the lantern-lighting rituals of Kasuga Grand Shrine
and Todaiji Temple in Nara last night.
Tens of thousands of lanterns are dedicated to Buddha and the spirits of the dead at Todaiji, and to God at Kasuga Shrine.
Approaching the Daibutsu-den through the corridor, when we came to the place where the corridor has
no wall separating us from the Daibutsu-den, there thousands of lanterns filled our entire sight with lit-up
Daibutsu-den in the back. The beauty was breathtaking.
この日は春日大社境内の高円山で大文字送り火も行なわれる。
奈良公園の良いところは、道が広く建物が少ないため、京都ほどの人ごみにはならないところだ。
京都でこれだけのイベントが一日に凝縮されたら、ストライキ明けの通勤電車のように
押し合いへし合いになるに違いない。
美しい情景は楽しめたが、個人的には非常に残念な点がある。送り火と共に行なわれた野外コンサートだ。
夏の夜、星空の下、春日大社の境内という神域で、戦没者の霊を弔い、世界平和を祈念して行なわれる行事。
これこそは「神聖」「荘厳」「粛々」といった趣とともにこそ行なわれるべき祭事だと思うのだが、奈良大文字保存会の考えは明らかにこの対極にあるらしい。
大文字を背景に、ブラスバンドによる大音響の演奏とわめき散らさんばかりの司会の声が音の暴力となって
送り火から神聖な空気を引き剥がし、美しい風景に助けられようやく耐えていた熱帯夜の暑苦しさを
否応なく思い出させてくれるのだ。
その演目がまた「軍艦マーチ」なのだ。私が戦没者なら、軍艦マーチでは慰霊されない。戦争の辛酸を少しでも舐めた者なら、終戦記念日に軍艦マーチを聞きたいとは思わないのではないだろうか？
ブラスバンドは良い、軍艦マーチも良いだろう、演奏も上手だった。司会者も一生懸命だったろう。コンサートには
文句はないのだ。私がしているのは調和の話なのだ。どんちゃん騒ぎと送り火はあまりにも趣が違う、
と言うのだ。
とはいえ、送り火もコンサートも全て奈良大文字保存会が運営しているものらしく、私が口出しする
筋合いでは全くないので、単なる感想として書くのみだ。ただ、私の友人も、通りすがりに「雰囲気ぶち壊しや」と言った小学生も私と同意見ではある。
ついでながら、同日、春日大社本殿ではコーラス隊が「雪の降る町を」を歌っていた。こちらは少なくとも季語は調和していないとだけ言っておく。
On the same night, Daimonji event was also held in a mountain in Kasuga Shrine. A good thing about
Nara Park in comparison to Kyoto is that it has broader streets and much fewer buildings to worsen
crowdedness. If this many events are held all in one night in Kyoto, you would feel the same way when you're in a commuting train right after a traffic strike.
Although we enjoyed these events themselves, there was one big disappointment. It's the concert held
during Daimonji was burning in front of people watching Daimonji. A religious ritual held in a summer
night, under twinkling stars, at a holy ground of the one of the oldest shrine in the country to console
spirits and pray for World Peace -it is natural for one to expect that it'd be held in a quiet, solemn and
divine atmosphere.
Yet Nara Daimonji Preservation Committee obviously has a completely different view.
Loud sound of brass band and voice of the MC who almost yelled in excitement violently stripped off the sacred atmosphere of Daimonji event and made one realize how hot the summer night really was, which was barely forgotten with the help of the beautiful scenery and pleasant night walk among the trees on a holy place.
And to make the matter worse, and to our surprise, the band was playing "Warship March". My spirit
wouldn't be comforted with Warship March if I were a war victim. Also I bet Warship March would be the last thing any level of war sufferer would feel like listening to on an anniversary of the end of the war.
Brass band's performance was no problem, they were good. As to Warship March, well, I say it's OK.
The MC, who I'm sure was no professional, was probably doing his best. I am not questioning the
concert itself. It's “accord” I'm talking about. Spree accompanied by loud western-style music is
something that can never be appreciated with spirit-soothing and World Peace-praying event of
Daimonji.
However, both Daimonji and the concert were planned and run by Nara Daimonji Preservation
Committee, and I am in no place to tell them to change anything. Just so they know, the two of my
friends and a primary school boy who walked by us murmuring "Totally an atmosphere destroyer..."
are sharing the same opinion with me.
Just for the record, a chorus group (in western-style) was singing a song called "In a town on a snowy
day" inside the inner shrine of Kasuga Shrine.
I think I can at least say to the shrine that the season doesn't match.