Late in March, I was told by a client company to go on a business trip to Mie prefecture. It was a three-day trip beginning from April 8. The next morning, while I was performing a shinto ritual, my Kenzoku-shin informed me that this business trip would be very important, and ordered that I should bring all the kami-fuda（神札）, a kind of talisman issued by shinto shrines, in my house with me.
- client 顧客
- prefecture 県
- ritual 儀式
- inform 知らせる
- issue 発行する
Luckily, I happened to have nothing to do on April 9, so a local person, who lived in Ise and was related to the client company, offered to be a guide to show me around great spots in the nature of Ise that only local people knew.
- happen to~ たまたま〜する
- show A around B AにBを案内する
On the first day, April 8, I left my house before dawn and arrived at the company in Mie prefecture around 9:00. I finished almost all the work by noon, so I headed for Geku（外宮） of Ise Grand Shrine（伊勢神宮）.
- dawn 夜明け
- almost ほとんど
- head for A Aに向かう
Getting to the main entrance of Geku, I was surprised to see a lot of trucks and heavy machines in the precincts. They were for Shikinen-sengu ceremony（式年遷宮）, where the buildings in Ise Grand Shrine are all rebuilt every twenty years. The water in front of the main building was being drained. I went to the front of the main building to pray, with heavy machines making a lot of noise. Unusually, I didn’t feel anything special while praying. I just dedicated my gratitude to God for all people, including me, being kept alive.
- heavy machine 重機
- precinct 境内
- rebuild 改築する
- drain 排水する
- pray 祈る
- gratitude 感謝の気持ち
Then I went to another building called Taka-no-miya（多賀宮）in Geku, where I perceived the same symbol of Polaris with strange color that I felt every time I go to the main building. I wondered if the deity moved there because of the construction. The local person I met the next day told me that the name Taka-no-miya is derived from the fact that it was at a higher place than the main building. (“Taka” means “high” in Japanese)
- perceive 知覚する
- Polaris 北極星
- construction 工事
- be derived 由来する
After visiting Geku, I walked to Tsukiyomi-no-miya（月夜見宮）. There was an elementary school on the way. It was break time of the school, so I heard a joyful, energetic voice of the children playing on the schoolyard.
- elementary school 小学校
- on the way 途中で
- schoolyard 校庭
Hardly had I reached Tsukiyomi-no-miya when I perceived figurines in the shape of a fox and an altar, which were in front of a hole of a big tree in the left side of the main building, emitting spiritual magnetism. I had an interest in it. The local person said to me “Neighbors must’ve put those things without permission. Jingu side seems to be overlooking it in deference to the faith they have.” The figurines and altar, I felt, were not put for such a simple reason. The people in the neighborhood have had an indigenous faith so firmly since a long time ago that Jingu side cannot help but admit it.
- figurine 像
- altar 祭壇
- emit 放出する
- magnetsim 磁気
- permission 許可
- overlook 大目に見る
- indigenous 土着の
Having visited Tsukiyomi-no-miya, I felt like eating Ise-udon, so I went to a famous restaurant near Uji-Yamada station. The Ise-udon served there was much more delicious than that in other restaurants for tourists and it was quite reasonable in price and amount. A lot of local people were coming into the restaurant one after another. The restaurant is a good restaurant loved by the local people, I thought.
To be continued.
- feel like ~ing 〜したい気がする
- one after another 次から次へと
- to be continued 続く
生かして頂いて ありがとう御座位ます
I Ka Shi Te I Ta Da I Te A Ri Ga To U Go Za I Ma Su
I AM GRATEFUL FOR BEING KEPT ALIVE
