日本語は英語の後に続きます。Japanese follows.
It is said that “hatsuyume (the first dream of
the New Year)”, which tells the fortune of
the year, began in the Heian period (794-1185),
and there are various theories as to when one
would dream.
Since people do not sleep on the night of
New Year’s Eve when they make a New
Year’s visit to a shrine or temple, it is called
“joya-no-kane (New Year’s Eve bells)”
(Briefly written on
New Year's Eve bells & New Year Dishes),
“joya” literally means “remove the night”
and therefore, it seems persuasive that
the first dream is a dream people have on
the night of the 2nd.
There is the traditional expression “Mt. Fuji
for first, hawks for second and aubergines
for third” as the luchky items to dream about
in “hatsuyume”, began in the Edo period
(1603-1868) and these lucky items are still
quoted to this day.
The manner of “chozu (washing your hands
and rinsing your mouth for purification)” at
“hatsumoude (the first shrine visit of the
New Year)” is the same as that of tea
ceremony before entering a tea room:
First, take the ladle with your right hand and
scoop water, rince your left hand using about
half the water. Then pass the ladle to your
left hand and rince your right hand with the
remaining water in the ladle. Pass the ladle
back to your right hand, scoop water and
pour some water in your left palm. Rinse
your mouth with that. Bring the ladle to a
vertical angle with both hands to let the
remaining water run over the handle to
purify it.
After “hatsumoude”, I had a bowl of matcha
with Japanese wagashi sweets called
“yomo-no-haru (full of spring)” which represent
the New Year.
その年の吉凶を占う初夢は、平安時代に始まった
といわれ、いつ見る夢かには諸説ある。大晦日の
夜は初詣などで寝ないので「除夜」の鐘といい
そのため初夢は２日の晩に見る夢というのが
説得力があるように思う。吉夢と伝わる「一富士
二鷹、三茄子」は江戸時代からだとか。
初詣の際のお手水の作法は茶道と同じで、まず
右手で柄杓を取り水を汲み、半分の水を左手に
かけて清める。柄杓を左手に持ち替え、残りの
水を右手にかけて清める。柄杓を右手に持ち替え
水を汲み、柄杓の水を左手の平で受け、その水を
口に含んですすぐ。柄杓を縦に両手で構え、柄に
残りの水を沿わせて流し清める。
初詣後の一服は新年を表す「四方の春」で。