このページはフレーム対応ブラウザ用に作成されています。下のリンクは非フレーム使用ページですのでそちらをご覧ください。
この記事をプリントする
世を去りし者を迎えた夏の日
9歳の息子が興味を示したお盆の風習。
筆者一家には、お盆に迎えたい亡き友がいる。
難病と戦う子供の夢をかなえるボランティア団体が
引き合わせてくれた4歳の少女だ。
脳腫瘍で世を去る間際に少女はある夢を語り、
筆者たちはそれを実現した…。
Entertaining the dead
This summer our boys have been very interested in ghosts coming to visit the living for Obon. Even though they found the idea a little scary they thought it thrilling too.
"Mom, will any of your dead relatives visit us this summer?" asked my 9-year-old son. "No, honey, they will most likely go to my parents' home instead," said his mother.
"Dad, will any of your dead relatives visit us here in Japan?" he went on to ask. "No, I don't think so. They most likely don't know about Obon," I said.
Feeling a little disappointed at not having ghosts as guests, he then phoned his Japanese grandfather to learn more about Obon and was ecstatic when he got off the phone.
"Grandpa says that Obon is for showing our appreciation to people who passed away and that I could try and invite a special ghost of someone we loved, or knew, to our home," he said. "If they knew the way, they probably would come!"
This was a real twist. Little did I know that inviting a ghost for a visit would become a family project. Who to invite - now that was a real challenge.
Then one day it hit us like a brick : we should invite Hibi-chan. A few years back, the Make a Wish Foundation contacted us to help them fulfill the wish of a 4-year-old girl with terminal brain cancer. The little girl had only a few weeks to live and wanted to meet Totoro from the famous Japanese animated film.
The foundation needed a forest and the help of many volunteers to create a huge Totoro that Hibi-chan could sit on and talk with. Our family, with the help of many others and the direction of the Make a Wish Foundation, dedicated two weeks full-time to preparing our treehouse and forest and creating a talking Totoro. This labor of love resulted in a perfect Totoro, which was so real that Hibi-chan was firmly convinced that she was meeting the real thing.
I was chosen to be the voice for Totoro. Hibi-chan told Totoro about her fear of her disease and asked that her parents not be sad. She told Totoro that she would get better now that she had talked to him and she left full of smiles and faith.
Hibi-chan did actually get better for a little while, but on a rainy summer night, she told her mother and father to smile while she flew with Totoro, closed her eyes, and left this earth. Being part of Hibi-chan's dream has been very special for our family and preparing for her ghost to visit this summer became a wonderful experience.
We went through old pictures. We watched the Totoro video again as a family and talked about the importance of dreams and wishes. We shed tears as we remembered the joy that Hibi-chan showed us and how grateful her parents were. In all honesty she probably visited us this summer. I know that she was in our hearts.
I am not Buddhist, but I appreciate the custom of showing respect and appreciation toward the ghosts of loved ones. One of the joys of a multi-cultural family is the joy and depth of incorporating new and different traditions, beliefs and ideas into our own and unique lifestyle. A new tradition has been born in our family. I already look forward to next year and our Obon special guest ghost.
Shukan ST: Sept. 5, 2003
(C) All rights reserved
- the living
- 生きている人たち
- scary
- 怖い
- relatives
- 肉親
- most likely
- 十中八、九
- not having ghosts as guests
- お迎えすべき霊がいないこと
- was ecstatic
- 夢中になった
- got off the phone
- 電話を切った
- appreciation
- 感謝の気持ち
- passed away
- 亡くなった
- twist
- 予想外の展開
- Little did I know that 〜
- 〜だとは知るよしもなかった
- Who to invite
- だれを招待すべきか
- challenge
- 難問
- it hit us like a brick
- はっと思い当たった
- Make a Wish Foundation
- 難病と戦っている3歳から18 歳未満の子供たちの夢をかなえ、生きる力を持ってもらうことを願ってアメリカで設立された、非営利の国際ボランティア団体
- contacted
- 連絡してきた
- fulfill
- 実現させる
- terminal brain cancer
- 末期の脳腫瘍
- had only a few weeks to live
- あと数週間の命しかなかった
- Totoro
- トトロ。アニメ映画の主人公
- forest
- 森
- huge
- 巨大な
- direction
- 指示
- dedicated 〜 to 〜
- 〜するために〜を費やした
- two weeks full-time
- まるまる2週間
- treehouse
- 筆者一家が住む、ミソだるで樹上に作った家
- labor of love
- 愛情を持ってやる仕事
- was so real that 〜
- とても真に迫っていたので、〜だった
- was firmly convinced that 〜
- 固く〜だと信じた
- get better
- 快方に向かう
- faith
- 信じること
- went through 〜
- 〜を一枚一枚見た
- shed tears
- 涙を流した
- In all honesty
- 本当の話
- Buddhist
- 仏教徒
- appreciate
- 高く評価する
- multi-cultural
- 多文化が内在する
- incorporating 〜 into 〜
- 〜を〜に取り入れること
- look forward to 〜
- 〜を心待ちにしている