山々の紅葉が次第に朽葉色に変わり、足元に枯葉が積もっていくと同時に目の前の山は冬の色に変わっていきます。師走というのは年の瀬の慌ただしさを言い当てていますが、京都は１３日の事始めから更に慌ただしさが目立ち、新春を迎える気分が高鳴ります。
As the leaves dry and their color flees, and they gather in profusion beneath our feet, we look up to see the mountains clothed in the tones of winter.
The month’s traditional name, Shiwasu, is most apt. It breaks down to shi-, a teacher or scholar, and –hasu, to run. What it suggests is that even the most genteel of townsmen are running about frantically. That’s because from the 13th, the day called koto-hajime, the ”beginning of things”, the Gion district springs to action with preparations for the New Year’s celebration. The bustle intensifies along with the excitement and anticipation.
七日～十日
7th to 10th
云われや起源は様々ですが、各お寺で京野菜の一つである聖護院大根や長大根を直径１ｍもあるような大鍋で炊かれ、参詣者に振舞う大根焚きが行われます。この大根が中風除け、長寿延命のご利益があるとされ、多くの人々が遠来します。冬も本番になってきたこの頃にふうふうと吹きながら食す姿は冬の風物詩でもあります。
Its origins are hazy, but during this time the Buddhist temples hold daikontaki. Daikon, the large white Asian radish has become a bit better known in the West, but the daikon that appears in Kyoto during this time is not typical. It’s exclusive to Kyoto and exceptionally large. It’s called shogoin daikon, a name that conveys a connection to the sacred, and appropriately, it’s associated with a number of special health benefits, said to impart long life and ward off neurological and muscular deficiency. These special daikon, as well as everyday varieties, are cooked in enormous kettles, measuring a meter in diameter, and people come from far and wide to enjoy them. In the midst of the cold winter’s chill it’s easier to relax and enjoy Kyoto’s scenery with a steaming bowl of vegetable stew that could only come from this place.
二十一日～二十二日
21st to 22nd
この頃、一年で一番昼が短く、夜が長い、冬至となります。この日、浴槽には柚子を浮かべて柚子湯に浸かり、厳しい冬でも健康に暮らせるようにと願う、そして中風除けの呪いで南瓜を食べますが、更にニンジンやレンコン、ギンナン等の「ん」が二つ続く食べ物を七種食べると出世するといわれています。
The winter solstice brings the shortest day and longest night of the year. According to traditional medicinal prescription, this is the time to bath in water steeped in yuzu, the Japanese citron, in order to cleanse oneself both physically and metaphysically. Another food that many believe has salutary benefit is the pumpkin known as kabocha. Eating it is said to allay stroke, paralysis, and other neurological maladies. In fact the “rule of thumb” is that if one eats the seven foods that contain the sound of the consonant “n” doubled it will bode well for success in life. In the Japanese language this would include ninjin (carrot), renkon (lotus root), and ginnan (gingko nuts). Like many traditional remedies, the more science learns about these foods, the more they find agreement with the ancient wisdom on them.
