かつて日本という国には、旅人の黄金時代があった。
Miura, Kanagawa
White in the light, blue in the shade. They bloom with the faint morning dew at the beginning of summer.
They will brighten their face while waiting for the fruition. With an anxious look on it, they would cower down in the shade.
Rejoice at a joy, grieve at a grief. There is no contradiction between the feeling and the deed, see things as they are, live naturally.
Miura, Kanagawa
The sun sets in, the moon runs after. As the sky darkens, the light of moon grows more bright.
Wandering around on the earth, I am blown by the wind, lapped by the waves. Changed the shape of the mind and the body, I lose something and would be polished.
The time passes, the people get old. While the lives are running out of their time, what is the thing that shines more brightly?
なんて爽やかなのだろうか。窓から風と陽射しを取り込むと、あまりの心地良さに頬が緩んだ。
ガラスの小さなボウルにはドライオレンジやビスケットやクッキー。木肌のカウンターで、
Izu, Shizuoka
The clouds which cover the moon do glimmer, the waves which are ruffled by the wind also reflect the dim light. Even the things that cover lights or rage on the water compose the place where the light should be.
Human’s brilliance is raised in hardships. As long as we seek the light, even the dark clouds and the rough waves do not conduct us to the disappointment.
The beings that perceive light and pursue light must have the same characteristic as light.
窓を伝う雨だれを
Hamamatsu, Shizuoka
On the dunes, there is a route which was stroked by the wind. The tracks of a man are the tracks of the heart’s motion.
As there is one grain of sand, there is one drop of wind. As there is a man who is alone, there is a heart which is solitary.
Gathering together, the sands swell up and engrave the wind on itself. Getting together in a place, we project our hearts on the insides of each other.
Ise, Mie
The Ise Shrine — the greatest, and the newest sacred place all the time in this country. Even though we can not look at the main shrine directly because of the curtains in front of it, all the worshippers would be deeply impressed with its presence.
Shikinen-Sengu — every 20 years installation of the sacred symbol of a deity in a new shrine — has been done 62 times in 1300 years so far. 65 main buildings of shrine have been reconstructed as same in every detail taking 8 years each time.
Imposing challenges on themselves, they have been overcoming the “degeneration” that nominally is “completion” for centuries. Significance would not be found neither in tradition nor in novelty. It must be always formed in our spirit by devoting our heart and soul.
安住を捨て
青い蜻蛉が蝶のような羽使いで舞って来て、腕を差し出すと止まった。
Kushimoto, Wakayama
The color of the water, the color of the sky. The deeper, the bluer, the higher, the bluer. On the boundary between those, the light reflects the colors as those are.
The wave can not be calmed down by a wave, the wind can not be suppressed by the wind and the light can not be drowned by the light itself.
Emotions, difficulties, and sufferings. Those would be never neutralized by the contrasts that are equal but would be dissolved by greater existence.
海のまだ低いところに、銀河の形がはっきりと現れて観える。濃い紫の天の川
Kushimoto, Wakayama
Although the distance is only 300 miles, it is said that Wakayama is the farthest prefecture from the capital of Japan. By “farthest” here, it means that it takes the longest time to get there using today’s means of transportation.
The evolution of the traffic system is removing the difficulties of movement and travels, and our hometowns as well. To continue living in the place of birth has turned into a mare one option of choosing a city to live from many of those.
We can foster our attachment by concentrating our awareness. Attachments would bring about emotion, arouse the traveler’s sentiment, and shape hometowns.
横一線、一八〇度の水平線に、白い灯台。西寄りは特に開けて、海と空だけが見えるかのようだった。心なしか、地球の丸みが水平線に表れている。
Muroto, Kochi
One boat, two layers of water color. The lighthouse, looking down on it from this rise shines for 30 miles ahead. The biggest lighthouse in this country has been the landmark for more than 100 years, shining in 30,000 nights.
On the surface of it, there are 4 bullet wounds. Those scars of the world war linger even now. As it shines, it would be aimed while it benefits our life.
No matter how far guns are able to shoot bullets, those are not able to save our life. Lights that can not even be touched would guide us in the dark, without leaving any wounds.
Muroto, Kochi
There was a view of two coastlines that stretch far into the northeast and into the northwest from the top of the hill of the cape. The city lights along each of those lighted up low-hanging clouds dimly.
The ocean produces the rain, then the rain falls on mountains. People get products from the land, from the sea along the border between the land and the sea. Even if those each are different in form, they never deviate from the category of ”life”.
Matter carries mind, and mind drives body. We are the product of heaven and earth, on the border between heaven and earth. Even if we are different from one another, we never leave the group of the existence of ”perception”.
波際までの残り一〇数歩がどうにも恐ろしく、足がすくんだ。
心地よい陽射しと風の中を、四万十川の流れに沿って進む。山と川だけの穏やかな風景が続く。川が大きく弧を描いた一画に差し掛かると
Shimanto, Kochi
The river flowing through the valleys, the road along the stream, plants grow along the road. Looking at those, the roofed boat sails upstream leisurely.
People go fishing, flock to cool themselves. Their life depending on the river lasts as long as there is the stream. The water rages from time to time, leaves us awe, and yet it remains our inexhaustible benefit.
Fear and blessings are inseparable like the two side of an object. The plane bridge sinks in water to let a rainstorm go past. Polished itself up in hardships, it can be quenched more than ever.
強い風に、金色の穂波が大きくなびいている。大気の形をはっきりと表すかのように、大きな風の手が一撫で一撫で麦穂を倒して去る。しなやかに起きあがってはまた次の風に揺れる穂。擦れ合う音、勢いを増す風。
Ikata, Ehime
Along both sides of the ridge, there was absolutely no city lights. It would seem that this peninsula between night sea does not have its end.
All the thing that can be seen was starlight in the far distance in the dark along the way of 25 miles to the cape. As if it led us into even outer space where is absolutely alone.
The Milky Way came into the sight beyond the windy cape. Here is the family of stars without number, including us, where each existence lights and is lighted mutually, to recognize one another.
ーーーー…読者よ、いまありありと思い出し給え。
Sakaide, Kagawa
As if the earth had disappeared, the flow of the water was overflowing the color of the sunset glow becoming a mirror which was framed in the riverbanks.
In a small town that is getting dark toward the night, the stream remains exceptionally glisten. Since it does not have any colors at all, it is capable of reflecting any colors. Since it does not have any shapes at all, it is able to change it into any shapes.
The calm, clear surface of the water reflects natural beauty. What do we reflect on our heart when it finally gets to quietness and purity.
大塚国際美術館に行かねばならない。「いつか行こう」が早一〇年経っている。たぶんそのままだと二〇年になってしまうだろう。そしてそのまま行かずに一生を終える。
Naruto, Tokushima
After going over the Naruto Strait which always has huge eddying currents, the cityscape would change to quiet natural beauty with calm waves and rich greens. However, there would be a long line of cars that are looking for parking spaces.
That would be the line of people who are visiting the Otsuka International Museum, one of the largest museums in this country. This museum exhibits over 10,000 life-size replicas of masterpieces from ancient times up to the present ages. All of those has each reproduction of the original picture frames as well.
This overwhelming scale’s exhibition and the highly developed technology of facsimiles of pictures on ceramic ware were realized by a sublime purpose of cultivation of aesthetic sentiments. The fact that the exact life-size replicas are right in front of us is fascinating, makes the people who would be deeply impressed pay a visit to the original pictures all over the world.
Kobe, Hyogo
The City of Kobe is representative of port cities of Japan. Thanks to the enough depth, the bay has been developing as a natural harbor from many years ago and today it is being an international port which is lively with 35,000 ships a year coming and going.
In 1995, this city suffered severely from the Great Hanshin earthquake. However, it was reconstructed rapidly and in 2012, Kobe was elected as the most comfortable city in this country and also the fifth best city to live in in the world by Swiss-ECA international.
Ports are the wide gateway to relations with other cities and foreign nations. The people who get together, come and go, would cultivate the land, bring riches there and would be the motive power of revival as well.
どこか聞き覚えのある、迫力のある女性の男声。きらびやかな衣装とあの独特の抑揚。
もう結論は出ていて、それを追認してゆくようなものだった。
Kyoto, Kyoto
Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine is located at the base of Mt. Inari in Kyoto, an ancient capital, and still attracts many worshippers. The whole mountain that commands a view of Kyoto city and has many Japanese ciders and brooks is considered to be a sacred place.
There are 10,000 of torii gates in the precincts of this shrine, particularly the approach comprised of 1,000 toriis built-up close together is called “Senbon Torii” and is regarded as the passage to the world of the God.
The omnipresence of the world which is beyond our comprehension. Each time you pass through a torii, your mind might be passing through the spirit would.