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留学先で、または日本にいる外国人と話していて、日本の文化について尋ねられることはよくある。そんなとき、日本語でしっかり頭に入れることはもちろん、英語できちんと説明できるようにしよう。
（出典：英文日本絵とき事典 JTBパブリッシング発行）
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| 日本の家族 Japanese Family & Culture |
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 法要〜周期からお彼岸まで〜 |
[Memorial
Services] |
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After the funeral, relatives
and friends come together for periodic memorial
services for the departed.
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Buddhist tradition has established
a ritual series of memorial services. As mentioned,
the urn is kept in the home for 49 days. Every
seven days during this period rites are held
at the household altar. Other services are
held 100 days after the death, then on anniversaries
(hoyo) afterward: the 1st, 2nd, 6th, 12th
and 16th anniversaries, and even after that. |
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The memorial
service is naturally quite formal: the priest
chants sutras, participants burn incense,
then they all visit the tomb, In urban areas,
with dense populations, cemeteries are often
quite far away. You may see a priest on a
train traveling to a distant cemetery for
the hoyo. |
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Sotoba
During each anniversary, a long wooden tablet
(sotoba) with a sutra written on it is set
up behind the tombstone. |
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The hoyo ends with a get-together.
Perhaps these gatherings have a formal purpose,
but with alcohol flowing and the natural good
spirits of the Japanese, the dinner can turn
into a party where a good time is had by all. |
Higan
Higan is a seven-day Buddhist ceremony to honor the dead, during the spring and fall equinoxes. Higan, literally "the other shore," refers to the world of eternal stability awaiting us on the other bank of the river dividing the living from the dead.
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Tombs are visited during this time too.
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At the beginning
of the Higan festival, the household Buddhist
altar is cleaned and graced with flowers.
Food, such as o-hagi (rice cake covered with
sweet bean paste), and things the departed
liked (perhaps sake or fruit) is placed at
the altar also.
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| Urns
of those placed in the family tomb: |
Urns
of those not placed in the family tomb: |
father
mother
unmarried children
the child who carries on as head of
the family, his spouse, their child
who carries on as head of the family,
etc. |
Those
who form their own families (i.e., other
married children, their spouses, etc.)
will establish their own family tombs.
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The tomb
Most Japanese have a family tomb behind their own
temple, where for generations the family's funerals
and memorial services have been held. The grave,
then, is a link with one's distant past. and so
has much significance in the Japanese psyche. |
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ボキャブラリー
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| urn |
骨つぼ |
| altar |
祭壇、供物台 |
| chant |
唱える、詠唱する |
| incense |
香 |
| tomb |
墓穴、墓、墓石 |
| tablet |
平板 |
| equinoxe |
春分、秋分 |
| psyche |
精神、魂 |
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『欧文日本絵とき事典』（JTBパブリッシング発行 定価968〜1,050円）
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日本の文化について英語で話したい人に最適の英文イラストブック。ポケットサイズなので、持ち運びも便利！ |
| 1：文化・風俗編 |
10：自然・社会編 |
| 2：生活編 |
11：自然・社会編 |
| 3：飲食編 |
12：仏文 生活編 |
| 4：日本のまつり |
13：仏文 文化・風俗編 |
| 5：京都編 |
14：日本の旅館 |
| 6：日光編 |
15：日本語会話編 |
| 7：東京編 |
16：日本の武道 |
| 8：サラリーマン編 |
17：日本の家族 |
| 9：人物日本史 |
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→購入はこちら |
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『絵ときシリーズ 見てわかる日本』（JTBパブリッシング発行 定価1,050円）
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日本の伝統、文化や、年中行事、生活の基本を日本語併記でイラストとともに紹介。留学や日本で外国人を案内する際に役立つ一冊。 |
| 1：伝統・文化編［英語版］ |
| 2：生活・社会編［英語版］ |
| ※それぞれ、中国語版、韓国語版もあり |
| →購入はこちら |
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