May is finally here. May, a month of refreshing breezes and pleasant weather.
In addition to enjoying nature’s flowers and plants, “amateur gardening” has become increasingly popular in recent years.
You often see people browsing and buying flower and vegetable seeds and seedlings at home improvement stores, don’t you?
Indeed, the current high prices are abnormal, and not only fish and meat, but also vegetables continue to rise considerably. It’s only natural to want to grow even something as simple as a single radish or carrot yourself if possible.
In times like these, I’ve been pondering whether it’s necessary to learn something from Seigetsu’s way of life and find ways to live…
However, I suspect that everyone has their own purer reasons for gardening, not just financial ones.
“Karakuri,” or mechanical devices, are said to have become popular and developed as a form of entertainment during the Edo period.
These are puppets or mechanisms (devices) that move automatically using springs, strings, gears, etc. Well-known examples include the “tea-serving doll” and the eye-catching “festival floats.”
Seigetsu must have seen a karakuri float at a festival somewhere, or perhaps seen one at a sideshow.
【Enten’s interpretation】 Watching the transparent, thin, and beautiful kanten jelly being smoothly pushed out while coated in water, Seigetsu must have been reminded of a “mechanical contraption.”
“It’s just like a water contraption!”
“And what’s more, while you have to pay to see a theatrical contraption, this kanten jelly is free to watch. How wonderful!
“It’s so interesting!”
篶囀の思い描く『井月像』 Enten’s vision of Seigetsu
「これは”からくり”、水からくり！」じゃ！ (ｲﾒｰｼﾞ) “This is ‘Karakuri,’ it’s Water Karakuri!” 【画像は生成AIを使用して作成しています】
This time, I’ve chosen a haiku about “kanten jelly,” a dish that can be considered a symbol of summer.
He had no home, no possessions, no clothes to wear, and no money to drink his favorite alcohol.
It was precisely because Seigetsu had nothing that he acquired the wisdom and physical strength to survive, and above all, he possessed a spirit of enjoyment…
Enten wants to learn from his unwavering determination and resilience.
