不感症・無国籍
今年も、もう、１２月です。加齢とともに月日の流れが速くなるのは、頭の回転、身体の動きが遅くなるからだそうです。つまり、一日にする事・考えたり、感じたりすることの量が減って、毎日が単調になるから、結局は、一週間が・ひと月が・一年がアッという間に過ぎ去ってしまうということですね。
どういうわけか、この頃は、１２月の意味が薄れてきたような気がします。本来、江戸時代のように、日常の買い物がほとんど「付け」で、大晦日が全ての清算日だった頃にはさぞやせわしなく、一年を締めくくっていたのでしょう。大晦日が一日では足らないという論議もあったということです。もっとも、当時の大晦日は、１２月３０日で、３１日という日付は暦に無かったそうです。
現代の１２月は、年末調整・確定申告など、実質上の申告・締め切りが３月のせいかキリッとしません。「紅白歌合戦」・「宝くじ売り出し」・「お歳暮」、今や日本の年末は薄ら寒い、お粗末なものばかりとなりました。特に大掃除もせず。餅つきは勿論しない。おせち料理を自宅で準備する家庭は、ほぼ姿を消しました。
輸入物の、クリスマスも、怪しげなハロウィンに先行され、影が薄くなりました。マスコミを手先にした流行操作に乗って押し出された、（バレンタインのチョコと全く同じパターン）。そのハロウィンですが、悪趣味で、下品な冗談、私には気持ちの悪いお祭りとしか思えません。
ヨーロッパの万聖節は、日本の「お盆」に本当に良く似て落ち着いた家族での墓参、夕食会の日です。緯度の高い国々では、１１月初頭ともなると、日没が早く３時を過ぎればすっかり暗くなります。お墓参りをする人々が灯していく蝋燭の灯が点点と、墓地は暗くなく、怖くなく、静かでロマンチックなところとなります。
昔、夜が暗かった頃、月光はどれほど生活に役立ち意味を持っていたことでしょう。暦として、太陰暦が長く用いられたのは当然です。月光・雪明り・蛍雪・美しい満天の星、夜の暗さを敬い、畏れてこそ、心に沁みる自然の美です。
科学的にも我々の眼は明暗の対比（コントラスト）を感じ取り、明るさを感じ取るのではありません。良く見せる、見て頂くためには、お料理でも、商品でも、照りを出さねばならないのです。レストランは、高級になるにつれ暗くなり、料理・食器・グラス・ワインに照りが出て来ます。
昼夜を取り違えた明るさ追求の照明、家庭内にまで持ち込まれた蛍光灯多用の平面的な影の無い部屋。季節感に富んだ日本の住まいは何処に行ってしまったのでしょう。 ライトアップが横行しています。街なかの巨大建造物から夜桜・紅葉までもライトアップしているのは、愚かなことです。資源の無駄であり、生活を乱すことです。桜も紅葉も、城も橋も、朝・昼・夕それぞれの自然光に映えてこそ美しいことをなぜ忘れるのでしょうか。日本人を、無感覚な無国籍民の集団にしようという国際的陰謀かも。
No delicacy. No identity.
Now it is December, already the last month of the year. Older you become faster time elapses. There is an explanation of this phenomenon. Both your physical and intellectual alertness and also sensitiveness deteriorate with the aging. Therefore you do less, feel less. A day passes aimlessly. A week, a month and a year runs away.
I feel the dignity of December disappearing. In the Edo period, people lived in the real credit life, nearly cashless life. By the last days of the year the credits had to be settled. Some people were busy to collect money and some were busy to pay. It is said there was a suggestion to add one extra day, as only one last day of the year was not sufficient. By the way the date of the last day in their lunar calendar was the 30th, not the 31st.
"Pop singers' competition." "Big public lottery." "Gift-sales." It seems December of today's Japan is not so ponderous as old days. Perhaps the end of the calendar year as the date of bookkeeping settlement such as the tax declaration has no physical meaning since the dead line is in March. Very few families prepare for Japanese traditional New Year fest that was once the most important festivity.
Christmas, imported event, used to be considered a big feast, is loosing its' profile. Halloween took the position. Japanese mass media drummed Halloween and the manipulated Japanese people danced after as usual, as expected. It was exactly the same pattern of the manipulation when St. Valentine's Day with the obligatory gift of chocolate for Japanese men was introduced. For me, Halloween is a grotesque tasteless feast.
All Saints' Day in Europe is a calm and a serious day very similar to Japanese "O Bon". Families visit their graves and have dinner after the visit. The sunset of the countries in high latitude zone comes early afternoon. At 3 o'clock it is dark. People come to the graves and leave candles light on. The graveyard with candlelight is not dark, not frightening but calm and romantic.
I can see how useful and meaningful moonlight was, when nights were dark in old days. To walk, to work, to meet, to fight, to avoid robbery, it is quite understandable the lunar calendar was used so long time. We Japanese valued highly moonlight, snow light, full sky stars and even glow of fireflies. We sensed their beauty since we respected, and were afraid of, the night's darkness.
Scientifically, our eyes distinguish and evaluate the contrast, the difference of the light value, to identify the object. We can't see an object better only if it had higher luminous intensity. If you want to show things clearer and better, the dishes or the goods, you must give them highlight spots and deep shadow. It is well known that the more exclusive restaurant you go, the room gets darker, and ends with a candle-illuminated room.
Today Japanese houses have rooms without character. The rooms are always applied with fluorescent tubes to pursue the evenly spread higher intensity of the illumination, consequentially the lighting effect is weak little shadow, flat. The traditional Japanese rooms, the space with delicate nuances, disappeared.
It is popular to illuminate buildings and bridges, especially big scale structures. The precious natural scenery is infested with this silly fashion. Cherry blossoms and autumn colored leafs are illuminated. The disturbance. The waste. The idiocy.
Dawn, morning, noon, twilight, and moon light, the nature illuminates best and superb. There might be an international conspiracy making Japanese people to lose their delicacy, own character and dignity.