A story about the ears

When I was in elementary school, I loved the white bread that was served in school lunches, and I was especially fascinated by the ears of white bread. The school I went to at the time had a system where the bread got thicker as I got into higher grades, and by the time I was in 6th grade, I think it was about as thick as a light dictionary. However, most of my classmates tended to leave only the "ears" of the bread, and I often traded the "ears" they left behind for the "white, fluffy part" that is the core of my bread. It was a win-win negotiation. Both now and in the past (at least in Japan), the "white, fluffy part'' of a loaf of bread is more often recognized as a citizen than the "ears.''

Whether it is the "ears'' of bread or the "ears'' of cloth, the part called "ears'' is a part of life that tends to be left behind. Starting with the "ears'' of white bread, then the "ears'' of castella cake, the "ears'' of dough, and the "ears'' of documents. Why did Japanese people come to use "ears'' to name things in the first place? I suddenly felt doubts.

In Japan, the word "ears'' has been used to mean "the edge of something'' since the Kamakura period. The dictionary says that in addition to the "ears,'' which is an organ responsible for hearing, "ears'' also refers to the edges of textiles, paper, or bread, and the thickened edges of the edges. Similar to the position of the human ears, it seems to have been used to mean the parts attached to the left and right sides or the edge of an object, and the outer periphery, tip, and protruding part of an object are compared to the pinna and are called "ears." It seems that it has become. By the way, the "ears'' of bread is a term unique to Japan; in English-speaking countries, the "ears'' of bread is called "crust'' or "heel of bread,'' and it is also called the "heel'' of bread. In France and China, it seems to be called the "crust" of bread. Different countries have different words for the same part of bread, and I can feel the differences in each culture.

Anyway, I encountered "ears" for the first time in my life at school lunch. Several decades have passed since then, and I still live every day with the idea that there is good fortune in what is left.

耳寄りなお話

小学生の頃、私は給食に出てくる食パンが大好きで、とりわけ食パンの「耳」に目がなかった。当時通っていた学校では、高学年になるにつれ食パンの厚みが増していくシステムになっていて、小6の頃にはもう軽めの辞書くらいの厚みになっていたと思う。しかし、大抵のクラスメイトは食パンの「耳」だけを残す傾向にあって、私はみんなが残す「耳」と自分の食パンの具にあたる部分「白いふわふわのところ」とをよくトレードし合っていた。それは、お互いにウィンウィンな交渉であった。今も昔も（少なくとも日本では）、食パンは「耳」よりも「白いふわふわのところ」の部分のほうが多く市民権を得ている。

食パンの「耳」にしろ、布地の「耳」にしろ、思えば「耳」と呼ばれる部位は残されがちな人生、ならぬ耳生である。そして、食パンの「耳」を筆頭に、カステラの「耳」、生地の「耳」や、書類の「耳」を揃えるなど、そもそもなぜ日本人はものの呼び名に「耳」を使うようになったのか？、私はふと疑問に感じた。

日本では古くは鎌倉時代から、「耳」という言葉は「ものの縁」という意味で使われていたそう。広辞苑には、聴覚をつかさどる器官としての「耳」の他に、織物・紙類または食パンなどの縁、またその縁の厚くなったところを「耳」と呼ぶ、と書いてある。こんな感じで人の耳のポジション同様、ものの左右もしくは縁についている部位という意味で使われてきたようで、物の外周部、先端部、突出部を耳介に喩えて、「耳」と呼ぶようになったようだ。ちなみにパンの「耳」は日本独自の呼び方で、英語圏では、パンの耳は「クラスト」や「ヒールオブブレッド」といい、ヒールつまり、パンの「かかと」と呼ぶそう。そしてフランスや中国では、パンの「皮」と呼ぶらしい。同じパンの部位でもお国によって「耳」を例える言葉が違っていて、それぞれの文化の違いを感じることができる。

兎にも角にも、私は学校の給食で人生初めて「耳」という存在に出会った。あれから数十年経った今も、残りものには福がある的な思想の元で日々生きている。