月がきれいな季節です。現代では宇宙探査が進み、月に見える模様はクレーターの影だと誰もが知っていますが、それでは少々味気ないような気がします。月の模様を「餅つきウサギ」に見立てた日本人をはじめ、様々な想像をめぐらせていた昔の人々には、私たちとは違う秋の楽しみ方があったことでしょう。台風のため、明日の仲秋の名月を見られないのは残念です。
A rabbit on the moon
This is the season when the moon looks clear. With our modern
technology of space exploration, everybody knows that the patterns on the moon
are the shadows of craters, but it sounds a bit tasteless. People in the past
must have had different ways to enjoy fall with their imaginations including ancient
Japanese people who described the patterns as “a rabbit making rice-cakes.” It
is a shame if we cannot see the full moon of the season tomorrow because of an
oncoming typhoon.
