8.Oct.2023 Suidani/Talifili Omoto/Tea ceremony
日本訪問をする外国人のゲストには、日本の伝統文化に触れる機会を作るのがあたりまえだ。しかし今回はホスト役の私が疲労困憊。最低限の訪問と面談だけで、安全に滞在し、無事に帰国できれば良いと判断した。
綾部訪問は経費削減の意味が大きかったのだが四方源太郎府議のおかげで、内容も量も濃い2日間となった。しかも綾部自民党支部から京都ー綾部間の旅費に当たる資金を援助いただいた。
綾部を語る上で欠かせないのが「大本」の存在である。その創設、弾圧された歴史などを知ると、時代の要請と共に生まれ、存続した宗教、なのだと理解した。
スイダニさんたちは敬虔なキリスト教だが、太平洋広く原始宗教とでも言えるアニミズムが存在する。
面白い話を紹介しよう。
当初スイダニさんたちは8月中旬に来日を希望していた。私はお盆でどこも対応してもらえないと話をした。そしてお盆とは「祖先の霊をあの世からこの世に呼び戻し、共に祝う伝統、習慣」と英語で説明。理解してもらえたようだ。ソロモン諸島にも精霊を信じる文化があるからだと思う。
さて広大な「大本」の敷地内を案内いただいた時、茶道の講座が終わったばかりの和室にたどり着いた。四方さんの顔で、一気に茶道のゲストとなることになった。
茶道は、太平洋島嶼国で広く行われているKavaの儀式に似ている。一杯の胡椒科の根を飲み物にしたKavaは伝統的儀式で飲まれる。日本の茶道も一杯の緑茶を細かい決まりに従っていただく。それは人々の調和や、文化、伝統、平和を望む気持ちの表れであろう。
綾部にも、遺族会があり、南の島で多くの命が散った。
Suidaniさん Talifiluさんの茶道の席は 時を超えた何か、遠くソロモン諸島で散った英霊が見守っているような気がした。
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It is usual for foreign guests visiting Japan to be given the opportunity to experience traditional Japanese culture. This time, however, I, as host, was exhausted. I decided that it would be better if they could stay safely and return home in good order, with only a minimum of visits and interviews.
The visit to Ayabe was largely meant as a cost-cutting measure, but thanks to Mr Gentaro Shikata, a member of the prefectural assembly, the two-day visit was rich in both content and quantity. Moreover, the Ayabe LDP branch provided funds to cover travel expenses between Kyoto and Ayabe.
The existence of the 'Oomoto' is indispensable when talking about Ayabe. When I learnt about its founding and the history of its suppression, I understood that it is a religion that was born in response to the needs of the times and has survived.
Suidani san and Celsus san are devout Christians, but there is also animism, which can be described as a primitive religion in the Pacific.
Here are some interesting stories.
Initially, Hon Suidani wanted to come to Japan in mid-August. I told them that no-one would be able to accommodate them during Obon. I explained in English that Obon is "the tradition and custom of calling ancestral spirits back to this world from the other world and celebrating with them". They seemed to understand. I think this is because the Solomon Islands also has a culture that believes in spirits.
Now, when we were guided around the vast 'Omoto' grounds, we arrived at a Japanese-style room where a tea ceremony course had just finished. In Shikata-san's face, we were at once to be guests of the tea ceremony.
The tea ceremony is similar to the Kava ceremony widely practised in Pacific Island countries. A cup of Kava, a drink made from the roots of the pepper family, is drunk in traditional ceremonies. The Japanese tea ceremony also involves a cup of green tea, served according to detailed rules. It is an expression of the people's desire for harmony, culture, tradition and peace.
Ayabe also has an association of bereaved families, many of whom lost their lives on the southern island.
The tea ceremony by Suidani san and Talifilu san was something beyond time, as if the spirits of the fallen in the distant Solomon Islands were watching over us.
