日本庭園と盆栽苑を巡るTraipsing around a Japanese Garden and Bonsai Exhibit

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今週は休みを取って、日本庭園を見たい来日中のお馴染み友人を昭和記念公園 へ連れて行きました。拙僧は何回もそこへ訪れたこともありますが、公園の奥の方にある日本庭園まで足を運んだことはなかったので、拙僧は非常に楽しみにしていました。そこでは#盆栽苑 というところもあって、梅雨らしいの天候で誰もいなかったですが、そのしとしととした雨は敢えて憩いの効果もあって、すこぶる落ち着いた雰囲気を醸し出していました。また、樹の葉っぱに付着した雨の雫はその緑の度合い一層に鮮やかにして、まるでその色の光を放っていたようにも見えました。そこで働く庭師(らしい)方が #盆栽の基本、醍醐味、見方を詳しく説明して頂いたおかげで、今まで垣間見ることが出来なかった盆栽の小さい宇宙の中で繰り広げる偉大な世界観を堪能できました。

This week I had some time off to take lifelong friends from back home visiting Japan to Showa Kinen Park to see a Japanese garden, something they were eager to check out. I had visited that park many times before, but I had never ventured to the back to see the Japanese garden there, so I was also really excited to see it. They had a bonsai garden, and with the weather typical fare for the rainy season there was no one else there to enjoy it. The soft mist falling had a rather soothing effect, creating an extremely relaxing atmosphere. The drops of rain resting on the leaves of the trees made the hues of green even more vivid, as if they were giving off a green light of their own. We were approached by (what appeared to be) the gardener that worked there, and he provided us with an detailed explanation about the fundamental elements of #bonsai, their essence, and things to keep in mind when viewing them. Thanks to this great lesson, I was able to enjoy the worldview of the tiny universe that unfurls within each bonsai creation, something I was never able to do before.

 

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盆栽は基本的にで三要素で成り立っています。(1) #根張り: 盆栽の根が四方八方に張り出して、安定感と力強さがあること。(2) #幹: 立ち上がりが素直で、上に行くほど自然に細かくなっていくこと。(3) #枝配り: 幹から出ている枝の太さや間隔がバランスよく配置されていること。これからの要素を兼ね備えたものが理想的とされています。盆栽の楽しみ方は人それぞれです。ある作品の一つは一人から見れば流れる滝に見える一方、また別の人から見れば上る煙や寄せる波にも見えます。何よりは、一つ一つの盆栽に大きいな自然の景色の広がりを感じることが盆栽の醍醐味であると言えます。
A bonsai creation is comprised of primarily three elements. (1) #Nehari: This refers to the roots spreading out in all directions from the base, creating a sense of both stability and strength. (2) #Miki: This describes the stem rising up unfettered, naturally growing smaller and more concise as it stretches higher. (3) #EdaKubari: This refers to the branches extending out from the main stem, with the varying thickness and space between them achieving a fine balance. The ideal bonsai tree features a combination of these three elements. The way in which each tree is viewed varies by person. In the eyes of one person, a bonsai tree can resemble a waterfall, while to another it resembles a plume of smoke rising or a wave lapping up on the shore. The most important thing is that each bonsai work delivers the essence of the art, which is simulating the grandeur of nature on a smaller scale. 

 

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数多くの作品の中から特に気に入ったものを挙げようとすると、幹の一部が白くなっている盆栽でしょう。樹齢300年の直幹という種類の一本の盆栽が非常に気になって、それは何故なのか最初わからなかったけど、庭師の説明を聞いてからその一本の盆栽の魅力とその作品に織り込めた演出がくっきり見えるようになりました。その白い部分は実は幹の枯れている部分であり、それを残すことで自然の厳しさを演出していると言われました。また、その枯れた幹の白色部分とと若々しい葉の緑色部分の美しい対照を際立たせ、「死」と「生」が表裏一体であることを表せ、栄枯盛衰その意味も体現しています。この諸行無常は日本の審美であります。
If I had to pick which type of bonsai I liked out of all the works on display, the pieces that really caught my eye were ones in which part of the stem was white. There was one piece of the "chokkan (straight stem)" variety that I liked a lot, and that tree was around 300 years old. At first I couldn't quite place why I liked that particular piece, but after listening to the gardener's explanation I was able to see the charm of this tree and form of expression imbued within it. According to the gardener, the white portion is actually the withered part of the trunk, and by leaving it within the piece the artist was able to convey the stark and severe face of nature. At the same time, the white portion of the trunk and the green of the fresh young leaves create a beautiful contrast, reminding us that "death" and "life" are inseparable. In short, this tree symbolizes the ebb and flow of life. That transience is the essence of the Japanese aesthetic.

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