日本に帰って以来、季節に一度、「源氏物語を読む会」に参加しています。
会では、毎回3帖ほどを講師の先生が丁寧に読み解いてくださいます。古い日本語を読むだけでも一苦労の私ですが、先生の解説のおかげで、なんとか物語についていくことができています。しかも驚くことに、あれほど複雑だと思っていた人間関係も、少しずつ見えてくるようになりました。
この会のユニークなところは、着物で参加すること。最初は「少し面倒だな」と思っていたのですが、考えてみれば、こういう機会でもなければ着物をタンスから出すこともありません。今では、母から譲り受けた着物や、昔仕立てたままほとんど袖を通していなかった着物を着る、楽しみな機会になっています。
今回は夏ということもあり、紗の加賀友禅の付け下げを着てみました。仕立ててからもう35年ほど経つ着物ですが、夏椿の柄が今の年齢にしっくりとなじみ、思いのほか楽しい気持ちで出かけることができました。
「源氏物語」も着物も、千年の時を超えて受け継がれてきた日本の美しさ。そんな歴史のほんの一部に、季節ごとに触れられるのは、なかなか贅沢な時間だなと思います。
Since returning to Japan, I have been attending a reading group for The Tale of Genji once every season.
At each meeting, the lecturer carefully explains about three chapters in detail. For someone like me, who finds it challenging just to read classical Japanese, it is not always easy to follow. But thanks to the lecturer’s guidance, I somehow manage to stay with the story. To my surprise, I am even beginning to understand the complicated relationships among the characters little by little.
One unique rule of this group is that we are expected to attend in kimono. At first, I thought it sounded like a bit of a bother. But without an occasion like this, I would probably never take my kimono out of the wardrobe. Now, it has become a pleasant opportunity to wear the kimono I inherited from my mother, as well as the ones I had made years ago but hardly ever wore.
Since this gathering was held in summer, I chose a sha summer kimono: a Kaga Yuzen tsukesage with a pattern of summer camellias. It has been about 35 years since it was made, but the design now feels just right for my age. I enjoyed wearing it and went to the gathering in a cheerful mood.
Both The Tale of Genji and kimono have histories spanning more than a thousand years. Being able to touch a small part of that long tradition once every season feels like a quiet and rather luxurious pleasure.
