英語で紹介する日本文化Ⅰ
Lesson 10
Leisure―将棋と囲碁、盆栽
将棋とは何か
Japanese chess[将棋] is a board game involving two players and 40 pieces. The object of the game is to checkmate the opponent's King. There are many similarities to chess in the way the pieces move, but what is different is that a captured piece can be used again as one's own piece. There are an estimated 20 million shogi players in Japan. The present-day Japan Shogi Federation[日本将棋連盟] was founded in 1947.
The prototype of shogi is believed to have originated in India. From there it made its way to Europe via Persia, becoming what is known today as Western chess. It also moved east to China. Shogi may have been introduced to Japan in the Nara period (710-794) by Japanese envoys who were sent to Tang dynasty[唐王朝] (618-907) China. In the Heian period (794-1185) several forms of shogi were popular among the nobility, but by the Muromachi period (1333-1568) the rules of the game had been modified, and the game had become very much like present-day shogi.
In 1607 the Tokugawa shogunate established an office for shogi and go, under the jurisdiction of the commissioner of shrines and temples[寺社奉行]; a monk named Honimbo Sansa[本因坊算砂] (1558-1623) was made its head. Later the office was turned over to Ohashi Sokei[大橋宗桂](1555-1634), who was installed as its first lifetime master[名人]. The master rank was inherited within a shogi “family”; a master remained one for life, with no alteration of status despite any change in his actual ability. The lifetime master system[終身名人制] was abolished in 1935, and annual contests for the title of master were begun. Kimura Yoshio[木村義雄] (1905-86) was the first to win the title. Championship matches, usually sponsored by newspaper companies, are held regularly, and game moves in such matches are featured daily in newspaper columns.
囲碁とは何か
Go is also called igo[囲碁]. Two players alternately place black and white stones at the intersections of lines on a board with the object of capturing the opponent's stones and securing control over open spaces on the board.
Some historical accounts place the origin of go in ancient China, while others trace the game to India, where early forms of chess were also played more than 4,000 years ago. Whereas chess spread widely throughout the West and the East, go was until recently played only in China, Korea, and Japan. It is somewhat hard to understand why the game did not spread further in early times, for some have called it the world's most intellectual game, and many aficionados in Japan consider it a true art. Its rules are simple and few, yet the number of possible play sequences is staggering.
盆栽とは何か
The art of dwarfing trees or plants by growing and training them in containers according to prescribed techniques. The word bonsai also refers to the miniature potted trees themselves. Bonsai, which first appeared in China more than 1,000 years ago, was introduced to Japan in the Kamakura period (1185-1333) on the wave of cultural borrowing that included Zen Buddhism. In Japan the art was refined to an extent never approached in China.
Bonsai can be developed from seeds or cuttings, from young trees or from naturally occurring stunted trees transplanted into containers. Most bonsai range in height from 5 centimeters to 1 meter. Bonsai are kept small and trained by pruning branches and roots, by periodic repotting, by pinching off new growth, and by wiring the branches and trunk so that they grow into the desired shape.
Grown in special containers, bonsai are usually kept outdoors although they are often displayed on special occasions in the alcove[床の間] in traditional Japanese rooms designed for the display of artistic objects. An unglazed, dark-colored container is usually chosen for a classical bonsai or to impart a look of age, but glazed containers are often used for flowering trees. As a rule, oval containers complement deciduous trees; rectangular ones, evergreens.
The bonsai with its container and soil, physically independent of the earth since its roots are not planted in it, is a separate entity, complete in itself, yet part of nature. This is what is meant by the expression “heaven and earth in one container.” A bonsai tree should always be positioned off-center in its container, for not only is asymmetry vital to the visual effect, but the center point is symbolically where heaven and earth meet, and nothing should occupy this place. Another aesthetic principle is the triangular pattern necessary for visual balance and for expression of the relationship shared by a universal principle, the artist, and the tree itself. Tradition holds that three basic virtues are necessary to create a bonsai: truth, goodness, and beauty[真善美].
温泉とは何か
Hot springs are numerous in Japan, and for centuries the Japanese people have enjoyed hot spring bathing. Visits to hot spring resorts were hailed not only as a means of relaxation but also for the beneficial medicinal properties attributed to thermal spring water. Hot springs are still major attractions for vacationing Japanese, and many have been modernized and developed into large-scale resort complexes. Under the 1948 Hot Spring Law[温泉法], the Japanese government recognizes as onsen only those hot springs that reach certain standards regarding temperature and mineral composition; the number of these as of 1990 was about 2,300. Since 1954 the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has accorded special recognition to 64 hot spring resorts capable of providing medical treatment.
Dogo Hot Spring[道後温泉] in Ehime prefecture is reputedly the oldest hot spring in Japan. It was the site, according to tradition, of therapeutic bathing by several legendary or early historical emperors. Buddhist monks developed hot springs for medicinal purposes and used hot springs for the bathing that is part of the Buddhist purification ritual. Farmers and fishermen engaged in ritualistic baths at various times of the year.
Goto Konzan[後藤艮山], a doctor in Edo, noticed the effectiveness of hot spring bathing as a cure for certain disorders and in 1709 initiated the first medical study of hot springs, advocating the use of baths as therapy for various ailments. In 1874 the Japanese government undertook the chemical analysis of mineral springs. After the founding of the Balneotherapy Institute[温泉治療学研究所] (now called the Medical Institute of Bioregulation[生体防医学研究所]) at Beppu Hot Spring[別府温泉] in Oita prefecture by Kyushu University in 1931, the medical study of hot springs began to be systematized, with many universities establishing research facilities at springs. After World War II, national hot spring hospitals were created, making hot springs for medical treatment available around the country. Hot springs are utilized in the treatment of various chronic disorders. They are also used for treating external injuries and for postoperative treatment and rehabilitation.
麻雀とは何か
Mah-jong[麻雀] is a very popular indoor game introduced to Japan from China early in the 20th century. It is played by four players with 136 pieces shaped like small tiles, called Pai. Each Pai is inscribed with a symbolic picture or a Chinese character on its face.
Each player has 13 Pai at hand, while the rest of the Pai are placed face down in the center of the table. The players pick up a Pai from the center pool by turns, and discard an unnecessary one from their hand in order to build up various combinations. The first to complete a combination wins the game, and the game is repeated several times at least, in some cases through the night.
パチンコとは何か
Pachinko originated as a marble game for children, but now millions of adults enjoy pachinko as a practical combination of pastime and a way to make profit.
A player buys a handful of small steel balls, puts them onto the loading tray attached to the vertical pinball-table and flips a ball. If the flipped ball falls into one of the several winning holes, the machine lights up and a dozen additional balls flow onto the tray to the jingling of a bell. The balls won may be exchanged for non-cash prizes such as cigarettes, chocolate, or candy. Some pachinko parlors keep a rich selection of goods as prizes.
カラオケとは何か
Kara stands for empty and Oke is an abbreviation of orchestra, hence Karaoke means orchestral music without songs. Any person can sing a song accompanied by a Karaoke orchestra and feel like a professional singer. Almost all popular songs have Karaoke tapes.
Some elderly people seem to prefer Enka[演歌], or sad and melancholic Japanese songs, for Karaoke singing. Most drinking establishments have Karaoke singing equipment, and some of them are so sophisticated as to be almost professional. Karaoke has begun to be popular in America and Britain recently.
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