みんなのエピソード集
Our memories about the trees
Open the folded text to read the English translation.
蝉取りができる園庭
朝8時に子どもを登園させ10分後には園庭を出て職場に向かいたい、そう考えているご両親は少なくないでしょう。ただ夏になるとそうは行かない保護者は過去にもいたでしょう。
園児たちが待ち構える園庭に入ると「蝉捕まえて〜」「今日は２匹な、いや３匹や」「クマゼミがいい」と園児たちに囲まれる私は、二人の息子を持つ父ではなく「みんなの蝉取りおじさん」。虫取り網を片手に耳を澄まし、ナンキンハゼ、カキ、ムク、クヌギ、ケヤキ、しっかりと根を張った木々に目を配らせ、子どもたちと一緒に探し回る。ケヤキに蝉がいることが多い、しかし、背が高く枝も入り組んでいるので見つけるだけでも一苦労、当然、捕獲難易度は高い。子どもたち以上に私が自然との駆け引きを楽しんでいるのは内緒です。
園児たちの前で捕まえることができたら仕事に行くことが出来ます、捕まえても子どもたちが見ていなければ「もう一回」、もちろん取るまで解放してくれません。気がつけば８時30分、そう言っても流石に職場に向かう時間。「また明日な」「いや夕方や」と子どもたちとの駆け引きを終えて、晴れて園庭を出る。
朱い実の園庭には子どもたちとの駆け引きに溢れています。それをあたたかく見守ってきた樹々への畏敬と先生方への謝意を忘れずに、子どもたちの卒園を迎えたいと願っています。どうもありがとう！
Chasing cicadas in the nursery garden
Many parents want to drop their children off at the nursery at 8 a.m. and leave the garden ten minutes later and be on their way to work. However, there may have been many parents who could not do so in the summer.
When I enter the nursery garden in the summer where the children are waiting for me, I find myself surrounded by them, saying, "Catch cicadas," "Today there are two, to three" and "I want black cicadas”. For them, I am not a father of two sons, but "everyone's cicadas-catching uncle”.
With an insect net in hand, I listen carefully and look around for cicadas with the children, casting my eyes over the trees that are firmly rooted in the ground, such as the nankinhaze, kaki, muku, kunugi, and zelkova trees. The cicadas are often found in the zelkova tree. However, it is tall and has intricate branches, making it a challenge just to find them, needless to say, it is very difficult to catch them. Don't tell anyone that I enjoy bargaining with nature more than the children.
If you can catch it in front of the children, you can go to work. If you catch it and the children aren't looking at you, however, you have to "try again," and of course they won't let you go until you get it. The next thing I know, it's already 8:30 and I have to be on my way to work. Exchanging, "See you tomorrow," or "No, in the evening," I leave the garden with a clear and cheerful mind.
The garden of Akaimi is full of bargaining with the children. I hope to welcome the children's graduation without forgetting the awe for the trees that have watched over them and gratitude to our nursery staff. Thank you very much!
オリーブの木の下で「行ってらっしゃい！頑張って！」毎朝の日課です。
そして柵の間から握手をして、行ってきまーす。
To smile and say, under the olive tree, "Take care, Mommy! Good luck!" is my son's morning routine.
Shaking hands with him from between the fences near the tree, I’m off.
オリーブの木は、20年ほど前に保育園を利用されていたイスラエルのご家族が、帰国のときにくれたもの。その子は、大きくなって、2年ほど前に、保育園に遊びにきてくれました。
An Israeli family who used to attend the nursery gave us this olive tree when they left Japan. The girl grew up und visited the nursery a few years ago!
わが子達は、登園後、時折ざくろの木に登って、仕事に向かう私を見送ってくれました。帰りは、冬は真っ暗な中で「早く登れるようになったよ」と木登りする姿を見せてくれました。どの日も大切な思い出です。
On arriving at the nursery, my children would climb the pomegranate tree to see me off to work. On the way home, in the dark of winter, they would climb the tree to show me how faster they could climb than before. Every one of those days is a precious memory for me.
ぞう組の頃、まだまだ朝のバイバイが中々スムースに出来ず、母も子も大変な毎日でした。ある日、先生が「ざくろ食べる？」と渡して下さりました。ぷちぷちとした食感と味が気に入り、泣き止んでくれました。今は感染症対策で食べることが出来ませんが、その日のことはとてもよく覚えています。その年は、ざくろの実が一つも残らずなくなるのではないかと心配したものです。
When my son was in the 3-year-old class, he was always unwilling to say bye-bye to me at the nursery in the morning. Those were hard days for me and for my son. One day, the teacher asked him, "Do you want to try pomegranate?" and handed it to him. He liked the puffy texture and bittersweet taste of the fruit and stopped crying. We can't eat it now because of infectious disease control, but I remember that day very well. That year I was always worried that all the pomegranate fruits would be eaten up.
ざくろのお花
A flower of the pomegranate tree.
ざくろの花で作ったたこさんウィンナー
"Octopus sausages" made of zakuro flowers
たこさんの次に宇宙人現る！
Following octopus showed aliens !
宇宙人のお布団だよ。
I've made a futon for my aliens.
ざくろの木。ある日、お迎えにいったら「ねー、今日めっちゃ高くまで登れたんやで！見せてあげよーか？（半強制）」と報告してくれた次男坊。「ええ？そうなん！すごいやん、見せてみせて！」とリュックを持って園庭へ。「いくでー」と嬉しそうな息子は上手に枝の分岐しているところに足をかけ、「え、ちょっと、あぶなくない？大丈夫なの？」と母が心配になるくらいの高さまであれよあれよと登っていきました。
可愛いねー可愛いねーと毎日言っていたら、あっという間に5歳になって、ずっと過保護気味に育てていたのに、いつの間にか虫もへっちゃら、木登りまでできちゃって・・と嬉しさと驚きのたくさん混じった感動を与えてくれたその日の木登りでした。
One day, when I went to pick up my son, he reported, "Hey, Mom, I was able to climb really high today!” "Want me to show you?" He enthusiastically asked."What? Really? That's amazing, let me see!” I said, grabbing his backpack, and went to the yard. My son happily said, "Here we go!", skillfully put his feet on the branch of the pomegranate tree and climbed up higher and higher. It was so high that I asked worried, "Isn't it a little dangerous? Are you okay?”.
Every day I would say, "My little boy, you’re so cute," but my son is already five years old. I had always been overprotective of him all his life, but before I knew it, he was able to climb trees and even catch insects. Watching him climb the tree that day brought me a lot of joy and surprise.
くぬぎ。大きなコロンとしたどんぐりで、なんとなく特別感のあるどんぐり。ゲットすると「やったー！」と思うようです。でも朱い実には1本しかないので、「京都 御所 くぬぎ」で調べて京都御所でクヌギが植えられているところを探し、山のようにクヌギの実を集めました。それでも、やっぱり朱い実でみつけると、「あった！！」と嬉しくなるのは変わらないようです。
The acorn with a big crown of sawtooth oak, something special to children. If my son gets one, he feels exceptionally happy. However, there is only one sawtooth oak tree in the Akaimi's garden. So I found a place where a lot of oaks are planted by searching for the keywords "Kyoto Imperial Palace & sawtooth oaks", and we collected lots of sawtooth oak acorns. Even after that, when he finds an oak acorn at Akaimi, he is still happy, "I got it!!".
息子は「ねむのき」という名前は知りませんが、ねむの木の花の写真をみると、「保育園にあった」と言います。
My son, who doesn't know the word "Nemunoki", can identify the silk tree flowers in the picture, saying "I saw it in the nursery."
エノキの木にはよくアオスジアゲハがくるよ。
Many bluebottles come to the celtis tree.
モッコウバラ（右）の隣にある木は、吉田山で子どもたちが拾ってきたどんぐりが芽を出したもの。この木、何の木？
The acorn that the children picked up at Mt. Yoshida sprouted and became the tree on the left side.
乳児さんたちが大好きなレンギョウのトンネル。
Small children love tunnels made of forsythia.
あんずの木が好き！おうちごっこに使ったり、ロケットのつもりにして遊ぶのが楽しい。
I love the apricot tree! It's fun to use its fruits to play house or to play with them as rockets.
お迎えに行ったとき作っていたアベリアの花のスープがキレイで、思わずパシャリ。こんな素敵な料理ごっこができるのも園庭ならではですよね。
When I picked her up at the nursery, my daughter was cooking Abelian flower soup in the garden. It was so beautiful that I took this picture. I am grateful for the garden where children can play such a wonderful house.
降園の際、同じ木に木登りする我が子の様子が、日々逞しいものとなっていくのは成長を実感する貴重な機会です。
When we leave the nursery in the evening together, my son always shows me climbing the same tree. I notice that he is getting better little by little every day, which makes me feel joy in his growth.
とら組の終わり頃、迎えに行くと毎日の様に、「一回登ってから帰る。」と言っていたサンシュユの木。華奢なのに折れずに子ども達を支え続けて、樹皮がツルツルになっています。
それまであまり気にかけていなかった木でしたが、春には可愛い花がいっぱい咲き始め、木登りの木の美しさに驚きました。
It was at the end of the 4-year-old class. Every day when I went to pick him up, my son said, "I’ll climb up the tree once and then go home.” It was a slender tree looking very delicate, but it continued to support the children without breaking, whereas its bark became slippery.
I hadn't paid much attention to the tree before. But one year in spring, I notice that a lot of cute flowers began to bloom, was amazed at the beauty of this Tree for Climbing.
サンシュユの木。4歳年上の兄と登園していた頃、兄がスルスルっと登るのを見て、自分も登る！とよく木に張り付いていました。母はうさぎ組の娘を抱きあげて、鉄棒のように木にブラブラさせてみたものです。今ではそんな事も忘れ、女子トークに夢中ですね、笑
That was when my daughter was in the 1-year-old class and attending the nursery with her brother, four years older than her. Whenever she saw him climbing the Japanese cornel tree, she stuck to the tree, saying “I’ll climb it, too!”. I lifted her up and let her hang on the tree like hanging on a horizontal bar. She doesn't remember those old days now, and is busy having girl’s talk with her friends.^^
保育園に迎えに行くといつも登っていたサンシュユの木。下の子が生まれて新しい生活が始まった中でしたが、この木はいつも変わらず子どもの傍にいてくれているようでした。
When I went to pick up my daughter from nursery school, she was always climbing up the Japanese cornel tree. At that time she had just got a new sister and a new life, but this tree always seemed to support her, standing by.
春の終わりのある日、お迎えにいくと「さくらんぼがある！」とさわぐ我が子。園庭に桜、しかも食べられるさくらんぼが？？と思いつつ手を引かれるままついて行くと、本当だ、あった〜。
父に抱き上げてもらい、プチっと収穫した真っ赤なさくらんぼを水道で洗って、パクリ！
「採れたてのさくらんぼ、最高〜ッ」と可愛い笑顔を見せてくれました。
One day at the end of spring, when we went to the nursery to pick him up, my son was excited and said, "There are cherries!”. “A cherry tree in the nursery garden, and cherries that can be eaten?” He took us by the and we followed him, and sure enough, there they were!
Lifted up by his father, he harvested a bright red cherry, washed it in the tap, and popped it into his mouth.
He then gave us a cute smile and said, "Freshly picked cherries are the best!”
楽しいお弁当タイム
A happy lunch time
お手製の鯉のぼり
Handmade carp streamers
子どもたちも好きな夏みかんのマーマレード。給食でも出ますが、私は「給食祭り」ではじめて食べました。京都市内の保育園の給食が、三条商店街で食べられるというイベントでした。休みの日にも関わらず多くの先生が出ておられ、いつもと同じように温かく家族を迎えてくれました。とても楽しい思い出です。レシピもいただきました。園庭の夏みかんもわけていただき家でも作ってみますが、給食室のあの味には中々ならないものですね。
Summer orange marmalade is a favorite of the children at the nursery school. It is also served at nursery school lunch, but I had my first taste of it at the "Nursery School Lunch Festival". It was an event where school lunches served at nursery schools in Kyoto City were offered for tasting in the Sanjo shopping street. Even though it was a holiday, many Akaimi staff were present and welcomed my family as warmly as usual. It was a very pleasant memory. We also received a recipe and some summer oranges from the nursery garden, and I tried to make it at home, but it didn't quite have the same taste as the marmalade made by our nursery’s lunchroom staff.
毎年、夏みかんの白い花が咲くと、しばし立ち止まってその香りに浸り、季節を感じていました。慌ただしさを忘れることができました。
Every year, when the white flowers of the summer oranges bloomed, I would often stop for a while to soak in their fragrance and feel the season. It helped me forget the rush of everyday life.
卒園式の時、給食の先生方がその年３つだけ実った貴重な夏みかんでマーマレードケーキを作って下さいました！美味しかった〜。
At my daughter's graduation ceremony, the school lunchroom staff made a marmalade cake. They used the only three summer oranges they had that year to bake it! It was really delicious.
夏みかん。朱い実では、ほんとうに素晴らしい給食とお菓子が出ます。お迎えに行って、まず給食やおやつのことを報告してくれることもしばしばです。
「今日な、みかんのジャムやってん。家でも作って」という難題をふっかけられ、うーむと思っていたら、なんと、ある日、朱い実の園庭の夏みかんを先生方が袋詰めにしてジャムの作り方とともにくださったのです。これは（ジャム、作ったことないけど）作るしかない、と、土曜だったか日曜だったかに、次男と一緒に夏みかんの皮をむき、薄皮をむき、一緒にジャムを作りました。それはそれは楽しくて、ほろ苦でしたが次男は大満足で、朱い実でそうしたようにクラッカーに載せてたくさん食べました。
Akaimi offers a really great lunch and mid-afternoon snack. When I pick up my second son, he often tells me what they had for lunch and snacks.
One day, I was struck by his difficult request, "Today, we had summer orange marmalade at snack time. Can you make it for me at home? " Hmm…I was thinking. To my surprise, the nursery teacher packed some summer oranges from Akaimi’s garden and gave them to me with the marmalade recipe. I had no choice but to make it at home, though I had never made it. On a weekend day, we peeled the summer oranges and made the marmalade together. We enjoyed it very much. Although the jam was a little bitter sweet, my son was very satisfied. We ate a lot, putting the jam on the crackers as he did in the nursery.
園庭のマーマレード
２年に一度たくさんの実をつける夏ミカンの木。子どもたちは一生懸命手を伸ばしたり、木に登って実をとるのを楽しみにしています。毎年この夏ミカンでジャム作りをします。皮をむいて湯でこぼし柔らかくなったら薄く切ると給食室が夏ミカンの香りに包まれます。お砂糖を入れて鍋でくつくつ炊いていると今度はお昼寝起きのホール中に香りが広がります。
出来上がったジャムはクラッカーにつけて年長さんにおやつで味見してもらいます。皮を少し長めに切ってオレンジピールをつくることも出来ます。（給食室より）
Marmalade from our garden
The summer orange tree bears a lot of fruit every two years. The children look forward to climbing the tree and reaching out to get the fruit. Every year, we make marmalade from these summer oranges. We peel them, boil the peel, and cut it into thin slices when it is soft. Then the lunchroom is filled with the sweet smell of summer oranges. As we cook its marmalade in a pot with sugar, the aroma spreads throughout the hall as the children come in from their naps.
The children in the final year class taste the finished marmalade on crackers. You can also make candied orange peel by cutting the peel a little longer. (From the lunchroom staff)
保育園でくわの実を食べたというので、どんな実なのと見に行きました。葉っぱの形も素敵なので一緒にパシャリ。「きれいに撮れたね。」といった瞬間、ぱくり！と我が子のお口の中に入っていきました。
My daughter told me that she had eaten some mulberries in the nursery, so I went with her to see what kind of fruit it was. The shape of the leaves was so nice that I took a picture of one with a berry. Just as I said, "We have taken a beautiful picture!”, the berry was already in her mouth.
今日もお仕事おつかれさま
Thank you for your work today, Mommy, Daddy.
柿の葉のサンシェード
Sunshade made of kaki branches
あんずジャムもおいしいよ
The apricot jam is also delicious.
夏のなんきんはぜ
nankinhaze in the summer
おやまのとなりにあったコナラは、子どもたちの木登り、相撲の相手をしてくれ、役目を終えて、昇天されました。ありがとう。
The jolcham oak used to stand next to the hill. Children would often climb it and play sumo wrestling with it until it at last fell down to the ground.
秋ですね。
It's autumn.
柿と夏ミカン
Kaki fruits and Sommer Oranges
プリペットの植え込みの下にはダンゴムシがいっぱい！息子がくま組のころ、お迎えに行くといつもバケツにダンゴムシを山ほど集めて嬉しそうに見せてくれたのを思い出します。
青いまま落ちてしまった小さな夏みかんも子どもたちにとっては宝物！まずはロッカーの引き出しにしまって、大事にお家に持って帰ってました。
There's a whole bunch of pill-bugs underneath the bushes of privets! When my son was in the 2-year-old class, he would always collect a bucket full of them and happily show them to me when I went to pick him up.
Even the little blue summer oranges that fell before they were ripe were treasures for the children! My son also kept them in his drawer at the classroom and brought them home with him.
玄関のスロープ沿いのプリペット。よちよち歩きの乳児さんたちが、土遊びをするのにちょうどよい高さで、子どもたちの大好きなコーナー。掘りすぎて根っこを痛めてしまわないよう、 子どもたちが掘ったところを、先生たちが、ニコニコしながら、こっそり、せっせと埋め直します。掘ったらダメよ、とは決して言わずに。
Privet bushes along the entrance slope. This is a favorite spot for infants who are just waddling along as it is just the right height for them to play in the dirt. To prevent the children from digging too deep and damaging the roots of privets, the nursery staff secretly and smilingly re-bury the soil where the children have dug, without telling them not to dig.
西日が差す門に向かいながら、「今日はどうだった？」「楽しかった。」とそっけない返事。「今日は何したん？ 園庭では遊んだ？」「知らん。」きりん組になっても、そんなやりとりだけ。縄跳びして、木登りして、泥だらけで泥団子を作って、楽しいのが当たり前の毎日。明日も、そんな日でありますように。
As I walked with my son to the gate in the setting sun, I asked him, "How was it today?" "It was fun”, he answered curtly. "What did you do today? Did you play in the garden?” "I don't remember”. He is already in the highest class of the nursery, but we have no more than this kind of simple exchange every day. Playing with jump ropes, climbing trees, and making mud dumplings and so on. For him, it is an unquestionable fact that everyday life at the nursery is full of fun. I hope tomorrow will be the same as today.
何度も何度もくぐったアーチ。
ぎゅっと抱きかかえて。よちよちの手を引いて。走る我が子を追いかけて。
今日も一日頑張ろうと気合を入れながら。泣いてバイバイできない時は、後ろ髪を引かれながら。朝から叱ってしまった時は、落ち込みながら。
待ってるかな？早く会いたいと急いでくぐり。今日はどんな1日だった？と話を聴きながら。
子どもは毎日どんなことを感じながらここを通ったんだろう。
当たり前のようにくぐった、この場所。
そして、くぐって卒園する日がやってくる。
The gate arch that I went through many many times
Hugging my newborn daughter tightly,
Pulling the hand of my toddler softly,
Chasing after my running girl cheerfully,
Encouraging myself to do my best today,
Feeling the regret leaving my child sobbing at the classroom's door,
Depressed by having scolded her emotionally in the morning,
Is she waiting for me ?, hurrying to see her as soon as possible, and
Talking with her, how it was today.
What is my daughter thinking about, when she goes through this arch every morning and evening ?
The gate arch, you have always been such an essential part of our life.
Going through you out for the last time, we will soon leave this lovely place for ever
