桑原 政則の「合 縁 奇 縁」

Kawagoe Festival。  川越まつり   ★　★　★　★　★　★　★　★ The Kawagoe Festival is a famous and traditional festival held in Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture, every October. The festival has a long history of  370 years, starting back in the early Edo period. It began when Matsudaira Nobutsuna, the lord of Kawagoe Castle, donated religious items to Hikawa Shrine. The biggest highlight is the parade of tall, beautifully decorated festival floats called dashi . These dashi are two stories high, carrying large dolls of historical heroes or gods on top. When floats meet at intersections, they perform Hikkawase , facing each other to compete with lively music and traditional dancing. Musicians play traditional festival music called hayashi with flutes, drums, and bells, accompanied by dancers wearing fox and lion masks. At night, the floats are lit up with bright paper lanterns, making the old town look magical and exciting. The festival is registered on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural ...

Kasuga no Tsubone。春日局（かすがのつぼね）。3代 家光の乳母で大奥を整える。Kasuga no Tsubone。10月26日没 春日局 ・1579年 ～1643年10月26日没。65歳。 ★　★　★　★　★　★　★　★ Kasuga no Tsubone was a famous Japanese woman who lived from 1579 to 1643. Her father was Saito Toshimitsu, the top chief retainer of Akechi Mitsuhide. She served as the wet nurse ( uba ) for Tokugawa Iemitsu, who became the third shogun of the Edo shogunate. When Iemitsu was a child, his parents favored his younger brother, so Iemitsu was almost removed from becoming the next shogun. She secretly went to Sunpu by pretending to visit Ise Grand Shrine, which is known as "Kasuga no Tsubone no Nukemairi". She met Tokugawa Ieyasu and asked him directly to make Iemitsu the next shogun. Ieyasu accepted her plea in front of everyone, successfully making Iemitsu the official successor. She loved Iemitsu deeply, and he relied on her just like his own mother. She organized and managed the Ooku (the inner palace of Edo Castle), which had about 3,000 women. She raise...

Ito Hirobumi。伊藤博文（ひろぶみ）。明治政府の最大の指導者。長州藩の農民出身。日本初の総理大臣。 10月26日没 伊藤博文（前列左端）。右に大隈重信、井上馨 ・1841年10月16日〜1909年10月26日没。68歳 ★　★　★　★　★　★　★　★ English  Ito Hirobumi was an important politician who helped build modern Japan. He was born into a farmer's family in Choshu ( Yamaguchi Prefecture) . In his youth, he studied under Yoshida Shoin at Shoka Sonjuku with other young leaders. He secretly traveled to England to study Western technology, culture, and government systems. In 1885, he established Japan's cabinet system and became the first Prime Minister of Japan. He served as Prime Minister four times and led major reforms in Japan. He traveled to Europe, especially Germany, to study constitutions and draft one for Japan. In 1889, he played a central role in creating the Constitution of the Empire of Japan (Meiji Constitution). His portrait was used on the Japanese 1,000-yen banknote from 1963 to 1984. 日本語 伊藤博文（いとう ひろぶみ）は、近代日本の基礎を築いた重要な政治家です。 長州藩（山口県）の農家に生まれました。 若い頃は松下村塾で吉田松陰に学び、他の若き指導者たちと...