Menu & Greetings献立・ご挨拶

炎天、陽の光のもとに立つとその圧倒的な強さになす術を失ってしまう。

「大暑」とはよく言いえたものと思います。新暦７月２３日頃からの約１５日間は、まさに暑さの峠になります。古の人々は「大暑」の次を「立秋」とし、まだまだ厳しい暑さではあるが、これより先は暑さも徐々に緩み始めます。今も気温の頂点はこの時期にあたりますが、この折り返し点をもって秋の起点としたところに古の人と今の人の季節の捉え方の違いが見えてくるように思います。

秋立つ日よめる
秋来ぬと目にはさやかに見えねど
風の音にぞおどろかれぬる
藤原敏行朝臣

秋が来たと目にははっきり見えないけれど
風の音ではっとその到来にきづきました

　今日「七夕」は夏を代表する行事の一つのようになりました。しかし本来「七夕」は旧暦七月七日、ちょうど立秋のころに行われていましたので、夏と秋の夊合(ゆきあい)の行事です。特に今年は閏六月が入りましたので七月以降がずっと後ろになります。今年の七夕は、８月２９日。十五夜は１０月６日になります。

　今回立秋を挟む献立は、王朝の「七夕」に倣いご用意いたします。途中料理に梶の葉、五色の糸に見立てた飾りを添えます。暑さの峠に秋の訪れを喜んだ王朝人の雅を感じていただければ幸いに思います。

When I stand under the scorching sun, I find myself powerless against its overwhelming force.

How fitting the ancient term Taisho — “Great Heat” — seems. From around July 23rd by the modern calendar, these fifteen days mark the very peak of summer’s severity.

In days long past, the season that followed Taisho was named Risshu — the “Start of Autumn.” Though the heat still bears down, from here onward, the air will gradually begin to cool.  Even now, the heat reaches its peak around this time — but in ages past, people saw this turning point, when the heat began to fade, as the beginning of autumn.  It strikes me how differently they perceived the rhythms of the seasons, compared to us now.

Aki tatsu hi yomeru
Aki konu to     Me ni hasayakani     Mie ne domo
Kaze no oto nizo     Odorokare nuru
written by Fujiwara no Toshiyuki Ason on Risshu

 Meaning: Though autumn’s arrival cannot clearly be seen with the eyes, It is in the sound of the wind that I find myself startled to its presence.

Today, Tanabata feels like one of summer’s signature festivals. Yet originally, Tanabata took place on the seventh day of the seventh month by the old calendar — around the time of Risshu, the threshold between summer and autumn.

This year, with the addition of an intercalary sixth month in the old calendar, everything has shifted later. Thus, Tanabata will fall on August 29th, and the harvest moon on October 6th.

The cuisine we have prepared around Risshu draws inspiration from the Tanabata traditions of the Heian court.  Along the way, you will find dishes adorned with leaves of the kaji tree and threads of decoration in five colors.

As you journey through the course, may you feel the graceful spirit of the Heian nobility, who took delight in the subtle presence of autumn that lies within the peak of summer’s heat.

*Taisho, Risshu, Shosho: The traditional East Asian calendars divide a year into 24 solar terms. “Taisho (Great heat)” is the 12th solar term and starts on July 22th. “Risshu (Start of Autumn)” is the 13th solar term and starts on August 7th.  “Shosho (The end of heat)” is the 14th solar term and starts on August 23th