鳴き龍：2024年6月17日（月）

日本では，今年の2024年は辰（甲辰（きのえたつ））の年である。龍の年である。

　京都市内には多くの寺社に龍図がある。大徳寺山門天井と仏殿障壁画に雲龍図，北野天満宮宝物殿屏風の雲龍図，建仁寺本坊軸装の雲龍図，相国寺（しょうこくじ）法堂（はっとう）天井の蟠龍図（狩野光信作），妙心寺法堂天井の雲龍図（狩野探幽作），泉涌寺仏殿天井の雲龍図（狩野探幽作）と舎利殿天井の龍の図（狩野山雪作），金地院（南禅寺）東照宮拝殿天井の雲龍図（狩野探幽作）を含めて24ヵ所の寺社に龍図がある。すべてが公開されているわけではなく，非公開のものもある。

　ここに挙げた龍図のなかでは，相国寺法堂天井の蟠龍図，泉涌寺舎利殿天井の龍の図，金地院（南禅寺）東照宮拝殿天井の雲龍図は「鳴き龍」でも有名である。鳴き龍とは，堂内で手を叩くと，往復反射によって，龍が鳴き声を上げたような音として聴こえるものである。不思議である。一度は拝観すべきだろう。

　ところで，寺社ではないが，京都産業大学キャンパス内でも同様の「鳴き龍」に似た現象が起きる場所があり，昨日（日曜日）であるが，キャンパス内に学生がいないなかで，偶然にも，その場所を見つけてしまった。それは，サギタリウス館と12号館の前にある小広場で，大学の学章の石碑の近くのベンチで，手を叩くと，「鳴き龍」ではないだろうが，吹き抜けの建物に反響音として何某かの音が聴こえるのである。一度，試してみてもらいたい。

Singing Dragons：June 17th(Monday)

In Japan, the year 2024 is the Year of the Dragon (Kinoetatsu). It is the year of the dragon.

There are many temples and shrines in Kyoto that feature dragon paintings(Ryu no zu). These include the cloud dragon(Unryuzu) on the ceiling of the main gate and the wall paintings of the Buddha hall at Daitokuji Temple, the cloud dragon on the screen at Kitano Tenmangu Shrine's Treasure Hall, the cloud dragon on the scroll at Kenninji Temple, the coiled dragon on the ceiling of the Dharma Hall at Shokokuji Temple (painted by Kano Mitsunobu), the cloud dragon on the ceiling of the Dharma Hall at Myoshinji Temple (painted by Kano Tanyu), the cloud dragon on the ceiling of the Buddha Hall and the dragon on the ceiling of the Shariden at Sennyuji Temple (painted by Kano Tanyu and Kano Sansetsu, respectively), and the cloud dragon on the ceiling of the worship hall at Toshogu Shrine in Konchiin (Nanzenji Temple) (painted by Kano Tanyu). There are dragon paintings in 24 temples and shrines in total. Not all of these are open to the public, as some remain private.

Among the dragon paintings listed here, the coiled dragon on the ceiling of the Dharma Hall at Shokokuji Temple, the dragon on the ceiling of the Shariden at Sennyuji Temple, and the cloud dragon on the ceiling of the worship hall at Toshogu Shrine in Konchiin are famous for being "singing dragons." A singing dragon is one where, if you clap your hands inside the hall, the reverberating echoes make it sound as if the dragon is roaring. It’s a mysterious phenomenon and worth experiencing at least once.

Incidentally, although not a temple or shrine, there is a similar phenomenon on the campus of Kyoto Sangyo University. Yesterday (Sunday), while there were no students on campus, I happened to discover this spot. It is a small plaza in front of the Sagittarius Building and Building 12, near the stone monument of the university crest. If you clap your hands there, although it may not be exactly a "singing dragon," you can hear some kind of echoing sound from the open buildings. I encourage you to try it out for yourself.