2025.05.01
伝検通信（メルマガ）週刊メールマガジン「伝検通信」第54号
週刊メールマガジン「伝検通信」第56号をお届けします。
今週のトップ記事は五月人形に関する話題です。
「クイズで肩慣らし」は、前回クイズの答え・解説と、茶道・和菓子・日本茶分野の問題です。
新規メルマガ登録者に、伝検公式テキストを抽選で５０人に進呈す
第２回伝検は６月１日から実施します。申し込みは５月１日正午から開始しました。公式テキスト、オンライン講座を活用して、ぜひご準備ください。
伝検公式教材・参考書・サイト https://denken-test.jp/
来週５月８日の本通信はゴールデンウイークのため休載します。
目次
・ ご存じですか？ 五月人形に込められた願い
・ 「クイズで肩慣らし」 第55回＝「茶道・和菓子・日本茶」
・ 伝検協会だより
ご存じですか？ 五月人形に込められた願い
一般社団法人 日本人形協会
端午の節句に飾る五月人形
五月人形を飾る端午の節句は、家庭で行う小さなお祭りです。緑色の毛氈(もうせん)などで室内に神聖な場所をつくって、赤ちゃんを守ってくれる武者人形や鎧兜（よろいかぶと）を飾り、お供え物をして願い事をします。
「健やかに育ち、将来、立派な人間になるように」と。
５月５日の端午の節句の源流は、古代中国で季節の変わり目に健康を願って厄払いをしていたことにあります。日本でも奈良時代以前には５月５日に薬草を摘み、災いを受けないように祈る風習が生まれました。特にサトイモ科の菖蒲（しょうぶ）は剣のような葉の形と強い根の香りが邪気を祓（はら）うとされ、さらにその「菖蒲」の発音が「勝負」または「尚武」に通じることから、武家の台頭とともに一層重要な年中行事となっていきました。
江戸時代になると、武家では５月５日に男の子の誕生を祝い、武士の精神的な象徴である鎧兜や幟旗（のぼりばた）などを飾って、その子の健やかな成長と家の繁栄を祈りました。やがて民間でもこれをまねて、大きな作り物の兜や武者人形、紙の幟旗などを飾るようになりました。これらの飾り物は当初、天の神様の目印となるように屋外に飾っていましたが、江戸時代中期以降、幟旗以外は小型化したものを屋内に飾るようになりました。
鎧兜は身を守る大切な道具であり、日本伝統の武士道精神を象徴する宝物。また英雄豪傑をかたどった武者人形は男の子の成長を見守ってくれる、その子の守り神のような存在です。そして空を泳ぐ鯉（こい）のぼりには、たくましくどんな荒波をも乗り越え、人生の成功を願う気持ちが込められています。だからこそ一人一人に贈るのがよいでしょう。
五月人形は、生まれてきた男の子に対する、周りの人たちの温かな思いを形にしたもの。誕生を心から喜び、健やかな成長と将来の幸せを願う「愛情のかたち」そのものなのです。
「クイズで肩慣らし」 第55回＝「茶道・和菓子・日本茶」
～伝検公式テキスト（好評発売中）の分野ごとに出題します～
カシワの葉の香りが風味を添えるかしわ餅
第55回
問題：男の子の成長を祝う端午の節句には、関東を中心にかしわ餅を食べる風習があります。餅を包むカシワの葉が縁起物とされているのはなぜでしょうか。（答えと解説は次号で）
葛飾北斎の浮世絵「神奈川沖浪裏（かながわおきなみうら）」
【前回の問題と答え・解説】
問題：葛飾北斎の浮世絵「神奈川沖浪裏（かながわおきなみうら）」に影響を受けたといわれる交響詩「海」を作曲したのは誰でしょうか。
答え：ドビュッシー
解説：ゴッホやゴーギャンなどの画家が浮世絵から影響を受けたように、作曲家のドビュッシーも葛飾北斎の浮世絵「神奈川沖浪裏（かながわおきなみうら）」からインスピレーションを受けて交響詩「海」を作曲しました。また、同時代のラヴェルのピアノ曲集「鏡」の第３曲「洋上の小舟」も神奈川沖浪裏に着想を得たといわれています。
伝検協会だより
▼弊会の一般法人会員として、新たに富山県南砺市の地域商社「
また、同社には合格者特典もご提供いただきました。
▼第２回日本伝統文化検定（２級、３級）の受験申し込みを５月１日正午から開始しました。試験期間は６月１日（日）から８月１７日（日）までで、全国約３００カ所の試験センターで受験できます。期間中は何度でも再受験が可能です。申し込みは、終了３日前の８月１４日（木）まで受け付けます。皆さまのチャレンジをお待ちします。第２回試験の詳細はこちら（検定情報|日本伝統文化検定）をご覧ください。
▼伝検公式サイトに第１回試験（２０２４年１１月２９日～２５年１月３１日）の受験データを公開しました。併せて、第１回表彰の受賞者の言葉も掲載しました。詳細はこちら（＊あとから入ります）をご覧ください。
▼論壇誌「月刊日本」５月号で、石塚べりるさんの見開き２ページ連載コラム「オカメ八目」が伝検を取り上げてくれました。「日本を知る：伝統文化検定の意義」と題し、石塚さん自身の体験も踏まえて日本の伝統文化を学ぶ意義を強調。伝検協会の取り組みや第１回試験の結果も詳しく紹介してくれました。
【編集後記】
伝検通信第56号をお届けしました。「クイズで肩慣らし」のかしわ餅、おいしそうですね…。見るとつい食べたくなってしまいます。お昼休みにでも、協会近くにある銀座の百貨店の地下食品コーナーを周って探してみます。
【English version】
Weekly e-newsletter Denken Tsushin No. 56.
We are pleased to present the 56th issue of our weekly e-newsletter, Denken Tsushin.
This week's top article is on the topic of May dolls.
In the “Let's Practice with Quizzes” section, you will find answers and explanations to the previous quiz, as well as questions on the tea ceremony, Japanese confectionery and Japanese tea.
A campaign is under way to give 50 new newsletter subscribers the chance to win an official DENKEN textbook. The period covered is from 10 March to 18 May. The remaining period is getting shorter. Please encourage everyone you know to register for the newsletter.
The second biennial test will take place from 1 June. Registration opens today at noon. Please use the official textbooks and online courses to prepare yourself.
Official Denken teaching materials, reference books and website https://denken-test.jp/official_text/
This newsletter will not be published next week on 8 May due to Golden Week.
Contents
・ Did you know? Wishes behind the May Dolls
・ “Let's Practice with Quizzes” ” No.55 = “Tea Ceremony, Wagashi, and Japanese Tea”
・ From Denken Kyokai
Did you know? The wishes behind the May dolls.
The Association of Japanese Dolls
May dolls for the oy's Day celebration (May 5th)
The Tango-no Sekku is a small festival held in the home, during which May dolls are decorated. A green carpet is used to create a sacred space inside the house, where warrior dolls and helmets of armour are displayed to protect the baby, offerings are made and wishes are made.
They make a wish that the baby will grow up healthy and become a fine human being in the future.
The origin of Tango-no Sekku on 5 May can be traced back to ancient China, where people used to wish for good health and drive away evil spirits at the turn of the season. In Japan, too, a custom arose before the Nara period (710-794) of picking medicinal herbs on 5 May and praying that they would not bring misfortune. In particular, iris, a member of the taro family, was believed to ward off evil spirits due to its sword-like leaf shape and the strong fragrance of its roots, and the pronunciation of the word “iris”, which is related to “victory” or “strength”, made it an even more important annual event with the rise of the samurai class.
In the Edo period (1603-1867), samurai families celebrated the birth of a boy on 5 May, decorating him with a helmet and banner, the spiritual symbols of the samurai, and praying for his healthy growth and family prosperity. The folk also began to imitate this tradition, decorating their children with large, made-up helmets, warrior dolls, paper banners and other decorations. These decorations were initially displayed outdoors to serve as landmarks for the heavenly deities, but from the mid-Edo period onwards, smaller versions of these decorations, with the exception of banner flags, were displayed indoors.
Armour helmets are important tools for protecting oneself and are treasures that symbolise the traditional Japanese spirit of bushido. Samurai dolls in the shape of heroes and heroic characters are like guardian deities that watch over the boy's growth. Koi Noboris (carp streamers) swimming in the sky symbolise the wish that the boy will be strong and overcome any stormy seas and succeed in life. That is why it is a good idea to give them to each and every one of them.
May dolls give form to the warm feelings of the people around you for the newborn boy. They are a form of affection itself, a way to rejoice in the birth of a boy and wish him healthy growth and happiness in the future.
“Let's Practice with Quizzes” No. 55 = “Tea ceremony, Japanese sweets and Japanese tea”
- Questions will be asked in each field of the official Denken textbook (now on sale).
Kashiwa rice cakes with the flavour of kashiwa leaves adding flavour.
No. 55
Question: on Dragon Boat Festival, which celebrates the growth of boys, there is a custom, mainly in the Kanto region, of eating kashiwa mochi (rice cakes made from kashiwa). Why are the leaves of the kashiwa plant that wrap the rice cakes considered a good luck charm? (Answer and explanation in next issue)
Ukiyoe “Kanagawa Okinamiura” by Katsushika Hokusai.
[Previous question, answer and explanation]
Question: who composed the symphonic poem “The Sea”, which is said to have been influenced by Katsushika Hokusai's ukiyoe painting “Kanagawa Okinamiura”?
Answer: Debussy.
explanation Just as painters such as Van Gogh and Gauguin were influenced by Ukiyo-e, the composer Debussy was inspired by Katsushika Hokusai's Ukiyo-e “Kanagawa Okinamiura” to compose his symphonic poem “The Sea”. It is also said that Ravel's third piece, “The Little Boat on the Ocean”, from his contemporary piano collection Kagami, was also inspired by Kanagawa Okinamiura.
From DENKEN KYOKAI
▼ The regional trading company INAMI base (https://inami-base.com/) from Nanto City, Toyama Prefecture, has newly joined the Association as a general corporate member. Established in April 2023, the company is involved in the planning, development and sale of products and support for business succession, with the aim of bringing the traditional craft of “Iwa sculpture”, which has been handed down for more than 250 years in the Iwa area of the city, into the future. The association will deepen its cooperation with the company and contribute to the development of traditional crafts and industries, including Iwa sculpture.
The company has also offered special benefits to successful applicants. This is a discount on the rental service of Iba Sculpture. For more details, please click here (benefits for successful applicants).
Applications for the 2nd Japanese Traditional Culture Test (Levels 2 and 3) will open at noon on 1 May. The examination period runs from Sunday 1 June to Sunday 17 August and can be taken at approximately 300 examination centres nationwide. You can retake the test as many times as you like during the period. Applications will be accepted until Thursday 14 August, three days before the end of the test. We look forward to welcoming you to the challenge. For more information on the 2nd examination, please click here (Test Information|Japanese Traditional Culture Certificate).
▼ Examination data from the 1st examination (29 November 2024 - 31 January 2013) is now available on the official website of the Denken. In addition, the words of the winners of the first awards have also been published. For more information, please visit https://denken-test.jp/examination/archive/.
▼ In the May issue of the editorial magazine ‘Monthly Japan’, Ishizuka Beru's double-page spread column ‘Okame Hachime’ featured the Denken. Entitled “Knowing Japan: the significance of traditional culture examinations”, the column emphasised the significance of learning about traditional Japanese culture, based on Ishizuka's own experiences. She also introduced in detail the efforts of the DENKEN Association and the results of the first examination.
Editor's Postscript
Denken Tsushin No. 56 was delivered. The Kashiwa rice cakes in the “Quiz to familiarise yourself” section look delicious… I just want to eat them when I see them. I will try to find some in the basement food corner of a department store in Ginza, near our association, during my lunch break.
カテゴリー: 伝検通信（メルマガ）