今年は旧暦の日にと思っていた。
毎年、夜空を見上げようにも雨のことが多い。
もともとの七夕の日のほうが
空はきれいなんじゃないかしら
ところが、早々と梅雨が空け
７月７日は猛暑、太陽がぎらぎらと照っている。
ものすごい夕立にみまわれ、都内から帰ってみると
こっちは雨もふらなかったらしい。
空も晴れ上がり、これなら天の川も見られるかもしれない
急遽、近くの公園で丈のちいさい笹をつんで来て
かんたんに飾り付けた。
部屋のなかは、むっとするほど暑い。
風がそよとも吹かない。
そとで夕飯たべよう
と子どもがいいだす。
七夕だから、夜も遅いから
簡単にうどんをゆでて
ベランダに布をしき
そこで冷やしうどんを食べよう
外は少し涼しかった。
都会の明るい夜空に
天の川を見つけるのはむつかしかったけれど
明るい星がひとつ、ふたつ...
見上げるうちに目がなれてきた
そして
旧暦の７月７日、つまり８月１３日
長野の山のうえの村で 夜空を見上げた
おりしもペルセウス座流星群のピークである
しかも晴天にめぐまれて
夏の大三角形（ベガ、アルタイル、デネブ）
そのむこうにうっすら、しろくあわ立つような天の川
なるほど、こうして織り姫と彦星を白鳥が渡しているのね
七夕にこうして二人がめぐり逢えたのを見るのは
わたしは初めてだったかもしれない
やはり七夕というのは夏まっさかりの夜に祝ったのだ
屋根のうしろには北斗七星の柄杓とカシオペイヤのWもはっきり見える
こんなにしっかり見れたのもひさしぶり
だんだん首がいたくなってきて
敷物をしいて草の上に寝転び
目を凝らして さらに夜空を凝視（！）しつづける
流れ星ひとつ、のがしてなるものかと...
しかし、まてど暮らせど、流れ星はながれない
見れば見るほど、星空が薄くなっていくよう
そして目がいいかげん疲れたころ、すー...
すうーーっではなく、すっ、ほとんど一瞬なのだった
しかも視野のはじっこのほうで...
でも、他でも歓声があがっている
やっぱり今のは錯覚ではなかった... !
いっかいめのはけっこう尾が長かった
にかいめのは、ほとんど点が動いたに近い
さんかいめは、もう少し長かった
と、三回見るのに１時間以上かかったろうか
山の上はけっこう冷える
都会の熱帯夜がうそのよう
だんだん鳥肌がたってきた
目もいたくなってきた
あきらめて家に入って
遅い夕ご飯の続きを食べた
わすれられない七夕となった
tanabata (star festival) was celebrated on the 7th of july in old calendar
that means 13th of august this year on western calendar.
nowadays it's mainly held on 7th of july which still in the rainy season in tokyo.
so i thought i would celebrate it on 13th of august, the original day of the festival.
it may be easier to see the stars in august.
but this year the rainy season went away earlier, even in the end of june
it almost gone. and around the beginning of july, it became so hot.
on the very day, 7th of july, it was also so hot and sunny, too sunny,
it must be so clear at night, i thought, it's a chance to celebrate it tonight.
so i went to a park in neighborhood and picked some short grass bamboo up
to decorate some tanabata paper ornaments.
actually this year they were a paper fishing net and silk threads in 5 lucky colors
very simple but it was beautiful.
it was still so hot and humid
and no wind in the room, my kids said
let's have the supper outside at balcony!
ok, it's tanabata night, so have wheat noodle (udon),
boil it and cool it in the water, have some cold vegetable,
cover the deck with a cloth, and have a small picnic!
out, it was a bit cooler and dark
it was hard to find milky way
in the light night sky in town,
but we found some bright stars, one, two, three...
and my eyes got easier to see them a bit better.
and on the 13th of august i was in nagano
at the mountain village we visit often in summer
i remembered it's the real tanabata day.
and it was the high season to see the falling stars of perseids in japan!
and it was so clear at the sky that day, too!
we came out to look up the sky carefully
or easily we found summer triangle of vega, altair, deneb and the milkyway far beyond.
well, my father found them and taught us so.
in the ancient legend, swan (cygnus) lie over the milkyway river
for the weaving woman (vega) and the cowherd (altair)
to meet each other. i was thinking that it was first time for me
to see them so clear and how the legend came.
we also see the big dipper and the cassiopeia in the north sky over the roof.
and we still looked up the sky so carefully not to miss any shooting stars.
it hurt our eyes and necks, so we lay down on the ground with some blankets
we waited and waited until it came.
it was like the stars went so fragile and unclear
with looking so hard with eyes wide open.
at last it came like, shoo !
not shoooot, but just like a moment.
i saw one in the edge of my eye sight, thought, was it real or my illusion?
and realized it with hearing other ones' cheer.
the first one was long (but in a moment),
the other one was like a dot just moving,
and the last one, a bit longer
only three i caught, in some one hour or so?
it's so cool at night in mountain area
not like tropically sultry night in tokyo
soon we felt cold, got eyes tired, gave up and went inside.
continued eating the late dinner...
but sure it was the most memorable star festival in my life.
