すずめの学校 ♬ / Sparrows' School ♩

スズメのがっこう🎶




庭に建てた小さな塾が、文字通り、雀の学校となりました。



野外コンサート

すずめが軒の隙間から屋根裏に巣を作ったようで、夜遅く静かになると、天井からかすかな足音が、トコトコトコッ、と聞こえることがあります。庇から逆さになって外を覗いている小さな顔に出くわした時の喜び！　 そして餌をくわえて親鳥が頻繁に巣を訪れ、一帯がさえずりに覆われて、いつも野外コンサートを楽しませてくれます。

先日雀の写真集を見ていて、親鳥は餌を運ぶだけでなく、雛の糞を運び出していると知って、ますます感激。人知の及ばない自然の営みにはいつも脱帽です。

巣立つまで

もう1つ感心するのが、ツバメの巣作りの見事さ。毎日人通りの多い公民館の入り口の壁に全く天然の素材でしっかりと作られたツバメの巣。おずおずと首を伸ばした雛のその顔は口が妙に大きくて思わず笑わされます。

やがて巣立っていくのはとてつもなく危険ながら自由に満ちた世界です。その時までこの巣の中での平安が壊されることなく、旅立ちの準備が無事なされるように祈らずにはいられない毎日が続きます。


指揮棒対ムチ

ところで今回久しぶりに思い出した「すずめの学校」の唱歌。改めて調べてみて色々な解釈があることにびっくり。

戦前に作られたこの歌を戦意昂揚のための歌詞と解釈する人もいたようです。ムチを振る先生と口を揃える生徒の関係を軍国教育になぞらえる見方もあれば、コーラスの指揮棒の様なもので、ガヤガヤする生徒を1つにまとめたと考える人もいたようです。

俳句と同様、単純化すればするほど解釈も多様になるのは当然と思われます。戦後にもう1つの子供の愛唱歌「めだかの学校」が作られて「🎼誰が生徒か先生か、みんなで楽しく遊んでる^^♪」の部分から「雀の学校」の先生が軍服を着て、生徒を鞭打っているかのように見えてしまったという考え方もあるようです。


考える材料

日常目にする雀や燕、そして懐かしい唱歌が、思わぬ考える材料を提供してくれました。






                      　　　　　 ⇐⇐⇐⇐⇐⇐⇐⇐⇐⇐⇐⇒



Sparrows'  School　♬

A little school built in our garden has literally become ”a sparrows' school”.

Open-Air Concert

The sparrows seem to have nested in our school's attic, entering throuh a crevice of the eaves.  From time to time late in the quiet evening I hear the faint footsteps from the ceiling, 'tap,tap,tap...'.

The joy of encountering a tiny face peeping upside down out
of the eaves!  Then the parents frequent the nest to feed their young birds. Surounded by chirpings night and day, I feel as if
I were sitting in the open-air concerts.

I was even more touched by reading in a photo collection of sparrows that sparrows not only bring in food but also take out the chicks' droppings. Natural function beyond human intellect never ceases to amaze me.

Till Departure

Also  I can't but admire the spectacular nest making of swallows.

The nests are firmly made of all natural materials on the wall of the entrance to the community center, which has a heavy traffic of people every day.

The fledgelings' necks timidly stretch out of the nests and their faces with strangely big mouth parts make me smile.

The world they are soon going to leave their nests for is full of danger and yet abounds with freedom.  Until then, I can't help praying every moment, that the preperation for their departure will be safely made while their peace within the nest is maintained.

Baton or Whip?

By the way I remebered the song "Sparrows' School" for the first time in many years. After going over the lines once again on the web, I was surprised to find many explanations on them.

Some seemed to recognize the song made before WWII as the one to whip up war sentiment. They compared the relation of a teacher with a whip in his hand and his pupils following him in chorus to the militaristic education, while others thought just the teacher with his baton guided his clattering pupils into one union.

 Like haiku, the simpler the song is, the more varied its interpretation may well be. When another popular children's song "Killifish's School" was made after the War, it also seemed that one of its lines,

            "🎼Who is a teacher and who are his pupils?
　　　They are enjoying all together.^^♪”

made the teacher in "Sparrows' School" look as if he were in military uniform whipping his pupils.

Food for Thought
Unexpectedly such daily scenes as sparrows or swallows and beloved childrens' songs offered me food for thought.