Japanese with anime voice: episode41
Hello, I’m Sachi.
Today, April 29, is Showa Day, a well-known national holiday in Japan! It was established as a national holiday to reflect on the Showa Era, a period of reconstruction after turbulent days, and to think about the future of the country. It is also the birthday of Emperor Showa.
I did not know that Emperor Showa was a biologist and a great lover of nature. The name of this Showa Day was originally named “みどりの日 (Midori no Hi: Greenery Day)” as a day for people to appreciate nature, be thankful for its blessings, and nurture a rich spirit. However, the name was changed in response to requests from many citizens who felt that the name did not include 偲ぶ (shinobu) of Emperor Showa.
The word “偲ぶ (shinobu)” means to recall with nostalgia things that have passed away or people or places that are far away. It also means to be fascinated by, to ponder over, to yearn for, or to admire and appreciate the beauty of something.
In Japan, we often say “○○を偲ぶ会 (○○ wo shinobu kai),” which means that we should all think back once again on people and events, and reminisce.
Incidentally, みどりの日 (Midori no Hi: Greenery Day) was established on a different day, May 4, following the renaming. This is also a national holiday. Anyway, Emperor Showa was really loved by the people of Japan, wasn’t he?
Lately, I have come to really like nature. But at the same time, I hate insects. I wonder to myself why I dislike insects so much.
I once had someone tell me that I couldn’t live in the countryside because I didn’t like insects, but insects is not necessarily proportional to living in the countryside. There are people who dislike insects but love country life. Please don’t make assumptions about people based on your own image.
I really like the smell of soil and moss. Or the smell of cedar trees. The other day, I picked sugina and yomogi together in front of my friend’s house. Sugina and yomogi are weeds that grow around the house, and both can be dried to make tea. The smell of the weeds was really good. It smelled like an aroma. It is a natural aroma. The scent of nature is calming, really.
And, as I mentioned earlier, you can make tea from weeds that grow all around you. Isn’t that great? There is no need to buy tea. And it’s good for you.
In the case of Sugina, it’s rich in sodium and calcium. That is said to help balance the autonomic nervous system. And it also maintains the health of your nails, teeth, and hair, and it also has the ability to soften damage.
In the case of Yomogi, it contains chlorophyll and iron, which help keep the blood clean. That means it improves blood circulation. Also, it is rich in dietary fiber, which helps relieve constipation.
Also, it seems that dried sugina can be used not only for tea, but also for furikake (sprinkled on rice) if you grind it and mix it with salt. It looks delicious, and I would like to try it.
Yomogi is not only used for tea. It can be eaten, used as medicine, put in baths, made into cosmetics, and has a wide range of other uses. Isn’t it great that such things are so easily available around the corner?
In cities, transportation is well developed and convenient for daily life, but in the countryside, there is the charm of the great outdoors. People tend to think that there is nothing but mountains, but in fact, there is food in season, and you can make tea and skin care products from the weeds that grow wild around there. I think this is truly a wonderful thing.
In this day and age, I think it would be quite difficult to seriously try to become self-sufficient. I want to use things that I think are convenient. But, for example, I would like to grow my own vegetables without pesticides, or make my own clothes from the very materials I use. For example, if I were to use cotton, I would grow it from the plant, spin the thread, weave it, and make it into clothing. That kind of thing. I think that kind of lifestyle is great. It’s like living in harmony with nature. To do that, I think I need to become familiar with weeds and native plants. Despite growing up in the countryside, I am not familiar with such things. Right now, I am still in the process of laying the foundation for my ideal life, but I will continue to work hard so that someday this ideal will become a reality.
