Anecdotes of Oyasama 14

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Anecdotes of Oyasama
Anecdotes of Oyasama.jpg
Author: Various authors
Date Published: 1976
Pages: 159 (English ed.)

Anecdotes Index

Anecdotes of Oyasama 14 presents the contents of "Dyeing," a selection from Anecdotes of Oyasama, published by Tenrikyo Church Headquarters in 1976. The content below appears between page 9 and 10 of the print edition.

Text: English translation and original Japanese

14. Dyeing One day Oyasama instructed:

"Do the dyeing tomorrow morning."

Kokan immediately began to make preparations. Just that evening, Chushichi Yamanaka in Mamekoshi learned of it through the Invocation of the Fan. His wife, Sono, immediately made preparations, woke up early the next morning before daybreak, and returned to the Residence with some earth[1] and pieces of cloth in a bundle over her back. She greeted Oyasama and told Her the reason for returning.

"Ah! That's marvelous! Just last night my daughter, Kokan, and I were talking about the same thing,"

Oyasama said, and was delighted. Similar incidents occurred several times. The dyeing was done with water from the well northeast of the very place which was later determined as the Jiba, where the Kanrodai was to be erected.

"Draw water from the well,"

Oyasama said. So water was drawn from the well. The earth was rubbed on the cloth and the cloth was soaked in water. It was soaked and dried, and dried and soaked two or three times until the dyed material became a beautiful binroji[2] color. The water from the well had a metallic taste.[3]

  1. When Oyasama visited the home of Chushichi Yamanaka in August 1865, She noticed that the earth from the bank of the stream which ran along the east side of the house would be suitable for dyeing. She therefore expressed a desire to have some of it. Thereafter, that earth was brought to the Residence many times. It is said that the earth was from a compost of bamboo leaves in the bamboo forest.
  2. Binroji refers to the nut of the betel palm tree which grows in India and Malaysia. In Japan, the meat of the nut was dried and used for dyeing, and produced a dark black color which was called 'the binroji color.'
  3. In Yamato Province there were many wells with water that had a metallic taste. However, water from other wells did not produce as beautiful a dye as that from the Residence.

一四 染物  

ある時、教祖が、  

「明朝、染物をせよ。」

と、仰せになって、こかんが、早速、その用意に取りかかっていた。 すると、ちょうど同じ夜、大豆越でも、山中忠七が、扇の伺によってこのことを知ったので、早速、妻女のそのがその用意をして、翌朝未明に起き、泥や布地を背負うてお屋敷へ帰って来た。そして、その趣きを申し上げると、教祖は、  

「ああそうか。不思議な事やな。ゆうべ、こかんと話をしていたところやった。」

と、言って、お喜び下された。こういう事が度々あった。

染物は、後にかんろだいのぢばと定められた場所の艮(註、東北)にあった井戸の水で、お染めになった。教祖が、  

「井戸水を汲み置け。」

と、仰せになると、井戸水を汲んで置く。そして、布に泥土を塗って、その水に浸し、浸しては乾かし、乾かしては浸す。二、三回そうしているうちに、綺麗なビンロージ色に染まった。この井戸の水は、金気 水であった。


註一 大和には、金気井戸が多いが、他の井戸では、このように綺麗には染まらなかった。泥は、教祖が、慶応元年八月、山中家にお入り込みの時、家の東側を流れている小川に、染物によい泥がある、とお気付きになり、所望なさったので、その後、度々お屋敷へ運ばせて頂 いた。この泥は、竹の葉が、竹薮などで堆積して出来たもの、という。

二  ビンロージ色 ビンローは、インド、マライシア等に育つ植物で、ヤシの一種である。その実をビンロージ(檳榔子)と言い、鶏卵大で、黄赤色に熟する。原産地では、口中でかんで嗜好品とするが、日本では、その乾かしたものを染料に使って、暗黒色を染めた。それから、暗黒色をビンロージ色という。(平凡社「世界大百科辞典」)

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