2011-12-02

St.Mary's Cathedral

My niece is 3 years old.
The other day, she invited the Seven-Five-Three Festival
at St.Mary's Cathedral TOKYO.
Excellent! It was a design by Mr.Kenzo Tange.
Please imagine a feeling of this magnificent scale.
We human being can make such a non-daily holy space...
I am surprised at the human ability.
It is unusual for a kimono figure to equal an altar,
At all without sense of incongruity,
I was very heartwarming .It was a wonderful scene.

東京カテドラル・聖マリア大聖堂です。
先日、姪の七五三がありました。
この壮大なスケール感!
さすがは巨匠・丹下健三氏による設計です。
このようなすばらしい非日常的で神聖な空間を作った人がいるとは。
人間の持つ想像力は計り知れません。
祭壇に和服姿が並ぶのは珍しいことですが、
全く違和感無く、素敵な光景でした。

ひとが成長していく姿を皆で喜ぶこと、
それは西洋も東洋も関係なく、
素晴らしいことですね。




▶St.Mary's Cathedral / CATHOLIC SEKIGUCHI PARISH
From JR Mejiro Station: Turn right after exit and cross over the pedestrian overpass.
Take a bus bound for Chinzan-so or Shinjuku Station West Exit (Shinjuku Eki Nishiguchi),
and get off at Chinzanso-mae.

▶東京カテドラル 関口教会 聖マリア大聖堂
JR山手線目白駅より⑤乗り場「新宿駅西口」行き都営バス、
「椿山荘(関口三丁目)」下車すぐ(椿山荘の向かいです)

師走に入りました。街もいよいよクリスマスカラーに。
今年の聖夜はこの大聖堂で、静かな時を過ごしてみるのも良いかもしれません。



※The Shichi-go-san (Seven-five-three) festival invites children of these ages, considered risky years, to pray for good health and luck. Many children dressed up for it.
As it is a custom to visit shrines and temples at Shichi-go-san, the Catholic Church in Japan takes this tradition into consideration and includes this celebration and prayer of Shichi-go-san in a mass practiced around that time.