【空海は平安期仏教界の大谷翔平か？ 「青龍寺奥の院」-2】

　遣唐使という先進文化移植が日本国家の喫緊の課題だった時代。日本国家として世界での地位を確立していくためには、大陸中国国家から先進の技術や文化の導入が不可欠だったことでしょう。
　建築では最新の仏教寺院建築が聖徳太子によって四天王寺や飛鳥寺、そして法隆寺など建立されていった。現代にまで朝鮮半島からの大工技術集団、日本最古の工務店・金剛組というカタチで生き残って存続している。仏教という宗教建築の仕様詳細が技術伝達され、在来の木造技術とフュージョンが巻き起こった。畿内地域でのこの先進技術が全国各地に「国分寺・国分尼寺」建設事業として推進され全国隅々まで重層的に技術文化拡散していった。
　そういうなかで平安初期・大同元年（806）帰朝した遣唐使最大の「成功者」空海は未曾有の存在。当時の最先端仏教宗派、長安の青龍寺で師匠・恵果和尚から密教のコア秘法を習得し授かって「真言第八祖」となって帰朝した。そのことに日本社会は大きくどよめいたのだと思う。天才的な語学力と人間力で世界の文化中心のコアを鷲づかみして帰ってきたということだったのだろう。
　現代でアナロジーするとすれば野球文化での大谷翔平君がいちばん似つかわしい。野球文化の最先端・大リーグを揺り動かすコアが日本人から生まれたという感覚。そういう存在が平安初期、国を挙げて文化導入に取り組んできた仏教界での空海という存在だったのではないか。


　国を挙げてこの空海さんの快挙に対してそれを寿ぎ、賛同する空気が充満したのだろう。天皇もそのムーブメントを称揚し、中央政治も追随した。
　当然、かれの出身地域・四国でも盛大なブームが起こり、いまに至る「八十八箇所」という文化が生成した。そういうなかで空海自身の体験、多少バイアスのかかった認知が、むしろ地域としては大きなアナウンス材料に変換されていったのではないか。
　この青龍寺奥の院には空海が長安で投げた独鈷杵（とっこしょ）がこの地まで飛来したという伝承が伝わる。空海自身に放り投げ記憶があり「この思い、故郷に届け」というこころの叫びがこの地でフラッシュバックして、それが実際の風景に刻印された。青龍寺奥の院の崖地の老松に独鈷杵が「見えた」と感受したのでしょうか。本殿建築の奥の断崖から太平洋を見れば、樹間から朝日が昇っていくときの「キラキラ」がそのような体験を想起させることは自然にあり得るでしょう。
　地元の人びとにとってはこういう空海さんの心中での「フラッシュバック」は恰好の「縁起」として説得力を持って受け入れられたことだろう。宗教が科学的認知に優先する時代であれば、理解できると思う。


English version⬇

Is Kukai the Shohei Otani of Heian Buddhism? Seiryu-ji Temple, the Inner Sanctuary of Seiryu-ji Temple-2
Ancient Japan was full of eagerness to introduce cutting-edge technology and culture. Kukai, a very successful man who appeared at the place where he studied abroad. This is a flashback. ...

This was a time when the urgent task of the Japanese nation was to transplant advanced culture in the form of Japanese envoys to the Tang Dynasty. In order for Japan to establish its position in the world, the introduction of advanced technology and culture from mainland China would have been essential.
　In architecture, the latest Buddhist temple buildings were erected by Prince Shotoku, including Shitennoji Temple, Asukadera Temple, and Horyuji Temple. Even to the present day, a group of carpenters from the Korean peninsula, the oldest construction company in Japan, survived and continues to exist in the form of the Kongo-gumi. The details of the specifications of the religious architecture of Buddhism were transmitted, and fusion with native wooden construction techniques took place. This advanced technology in the Kinai region was promoted throughout Japan in the construction of Kokubunji and Kokubun nunnery temples, and the technology and culture spread in layers to every corner of the country.
　In this context, Kukai, the most "successful" Japanese envoy to the Tang Dynasty, who returned to Japan in 806, the first year of the Daido Period in the early Heian period, was an unprecedented figure. He returned to Japan as the "Eighth Patriarch of Shingon," having learned and received the core secrets of esoteric Buddhism from his master, monk Keika, at Seiryuji Temple in Chang'an, the most advanced Buddhist sect at that time. I believe that Japanese society was greatly moved by this fact. He must have returned home with the core of the world's cultural center in his prodigious linguistic and human skills.
　If we were to make an analogy today, Shohei Otani would be the most appropriate person to represent baseball culture. The core of the baseball culture, the core that shakes the big leagues, is born from a Japanese person. In the early Heian period, Kukai, a Buddhist monk, was probably the one who was involved in the national effort to introduce Buddhism to Japan.

The whole country must have celebrated Kukai's accomplishment, and an atmosphere of approval must have filled the air. The emperor also praised the movement, and the central government followed suit.
　Naturally, Shikoku, Kukai's birthplace, also experienced a great boom, giving rise to the culture of "88 temples" that has continued to this day. In this context, Kukai's own experience and somewhat biased perception may have been converted into a major publicity material for the region.
　The legend tells that the Tokkosho, or pestle, that Kukai threw in Chang'an flew to this place in the inner sanctuary of Seiryu-ji Temple. Kukai himself had a memory of throwing the pestle, and the cry of his heart, "Deliver this thought to my hometown," flashed back to him here, and it was imprinted on the actual landscape. He may have "seen" the Tokko pestle in an old pine tree on the cliff at the inner sanctuary of Seiryu-ji Temple. If you look at the Pacific Ocean from the cliff behind the main temple building, it is natural that the "sparkle" of the morning sun as it rises through the trees would evoke such an experience.
　For the local people, this kind of "flashback" in Kukai's mind would have been convincingly accepted as a fitting "omen. In an age when religion takes precedence over scientific cognition, this would be understandable.

【空海が見た豊穣の海 四国36番札所「青龍寺奥の院」-1】

　加齢とともに素朴に旅を愛するようになってきた。最近のブログシリーズはことしの正月休暇で訪れた四国への旅が主なテーマになっています。実際に体験してきてその場所の空気感に触れた上で、そのあと、こういうブログ記録を書き進めておくと、追体験もできて個人的に記憶が豊かになる。人間一個のいのちの時間は限りがあるけれど、それを記録しておくことは意味があると思います。ブログって、正直に記録するという意味で、他者以上に自分自身に対してまっすぐ向き合う感じがある。
　期せずして四国八十八箇所の霊場のうちすでに数カ所訪問していることになる。四国・佐伯氏の出自と伝えられる空海さんはまさに日本史上の「巨人」と呼ぶにふさわしい。その空海さんが、中国長安での仏教修行を終えて身に持っていた仏教法具「独鈷杵〜とっこしょ」を日本の方角に向かって投げたという。独鈷杵というのは本来古代インドの武器で、密教では煩悩を打ち砕く意味で用いられる。

その長安から投げた独鈷杵が飛来した地が、この四国土佐市の「青龍寺奥の院」なのだという伝説。現実としてはありえないことだけれど、宗教的な意味合いが込められているのでしょう。そういえば「空海」という名前は、四国の土佐国の太平洋を見晴らす洞窟で宗教的な悟りに至って開眼したときに、空と海だけがそこにあった、ということから自ら名付けたのだと伝承される。どうも空海さんは海が好きだったのではないか。
　というような情報記憶があって、カミさんを駐車場の車内に置いたままひとり奥の院まで参詣した折、礼拝堂のさらに奥の森を辿りたくなったのです。いちばん上の写真は、東の方向を向いて木立の間から木漏れ日として登っていた朝日を写し撮ってみた次第。
　そもそもこの奥の院は目的地ではなく「あ、こんなとこにあるんだ」と偶然遭遇した次第。土佐市の海岸添いのホテルから見上げたときに山上にイタリアンリゾート風の面白いホテル建築があり、そこに向かったら偶然発見したという経緯。生来、好奇心旺盛で、多少は真言宗徒としての自覚もあるので、一瞬で空海さんに関係していると直感したのです。

　やはり奥の院なので、こころで感受させていただくのがいちばんいいのではと思った。たしかに「空と海」という悟りの空気感はほんの少し伝わってきた（笑）。　
ということでさっぱり宗教施設空間の写真掲載スペースがなくなったのであした、写真とともに記事掲載させていただきます。悪しからず。


English version⬇

The Sea of Abundance as Seiryu-ji Temple, Shikoku's 36th temple, is located in the inner sanctuary of Seiryu-ji Temple.
When he became enlightened and opened his eyes, there was only the sky and the sea. I stood on a cliff further inside the inner sanctuary, knowing that the name "Kukai" is said to have such a legend. ...

As I age, I have come to love traveling in a simple way. The main theme of my recent blog series has been a trip to Shikoku, which I visited during my New Year's vacation this year. After actually experiencing and feeling the atmosphere of the place, writing this kind of blog record afterwards will allow me to relive the experience and enrich my personal memory. The time of a human being's life is limited, but I think it is meaningful to record it. Blogging is a way of honestly recording things, and I feel that I am facing myself more directly than others.
　Unexpectedly, I have already visited several of the 88 sacred places in Shikoku. Kukai, who is said to have come from the Saeki clan in Shikoku, is truly a "giant" of Japanese history. It is said that Kukai, after completing his Buddhist training in Chang'an, China, threw his Buddhist tool "Tokkosho," or tokko pestle, toward the direction of Japan. The dokko, originally a weapon from ancient India, is used in esoteric Buddhism to destroy vexations.

The legend says that the place where the Tokko-kogane (a pestle and pestle) was thrown from Cho-an flew to is the "inner sanctuary of Seiryu-ji Temple" in Tosa City, Shikoku. Although it is impossible in reality, it must have religious connotations. Speaking of which, the name "Kukai" is said to have come from a legend that he named himself after a cave overlooking the Pacific Ocean in the Tosa Province of Shikoku, where he attained religious enlightenment and opened his eyes to the sky and the sea, which was all there was. Kukai must have loved the sea.
　I left my wife in the car in the parking lot and went to the inner sanctuary by myself, and I felt like going further into the forest behind the chapel. The photo above is a shot of the morning sun rising through the trees, looking toward the east.
　This inner sanctuary was not my destination in the first place, but rather a place I stumbled upon by accident. When I looked up from my hotel on the coast of Tosa City, I saw an interesting Italian resort-style hotel building on the mountain, and when I headed for it, I found it by chance. Being curious by nature and somewhat aware of being a Shingon sect member, I instantly had a hunch that it was related to Mr. Kukai.

Since this is an inner sanctuary, I thought it would be best to let my heart perceive it. Indeed, I could feel a little bit of the atmosphere of enlightenment, "the sky and the sea" (laugh).　
I have run out of space to post pictures of the religious facilities, so I will post an article with pictures in the morning. I apologize for the inconvenience.

【えっ？ あの「イタドリ」がソウルフード in 南国土佐】

　　「ええーっ、イタドリ、土佐の人みんな食べるの？」「え、美味しいしょ」「へーっ、そんなら北海道から無尽蔵に送るよ、航空便ですぐに満載だわ。」「ほー、さすが北海道。でもホント食べないんだ？」
　まさにところ変われば、であります。上の写真はWEB上にあった高知でのイタドリ食紹介からピンナップしてみた。基本的には北海道でのアスパラとよく似た食べ方で、油炒めなどに使うようですが、嵌め込み写真のように高知の地元食「田舎寿司」ネタとしても食されている。３枚目の写真はわたし撮影の札幌での自生の様子。
　２番目の写真は売られていた魚抜きの「田舎寿司」。みょうがやコンニャクなどが定番で、野菜としてイタドリも使われるそうです。写真の緑のものはイタドリではなく「りゅうきゅう」のようでした。これはサトイモ科の野菜で茎部分をたべるのだそうです。これはこれで北海道では見たことない。

　イタドリは上の分布図のように東アジア地域の在来種野草。明治初期に来日したイギリス人が持ち帰って栽培したところ、瞬く間に繁茂してしまって嫌われ野草の代表格になったと言われる。わたしのブログでも過去に「イギリスでは以前の女性首相が政敵世論から攻撃されるとき「イタドリ」と蔑称されていたというほどの嫌われぶり。まぁあのときは、支持率が下がっているのにしぶとく居座っている、その様子に対して、嫌われ者のイタドリがアナロジーされていた」と書きました。
　そのイタドリですが、南国土佐では地域のソウルフードなのだと高知市内の休日市場で初めて知った（！）。と言っても実際の売られている姿はお目にかかれなかった。すぐ「売り切れ」とのこと。高知とはいえ１月だったので出荷が多くはなかったのでしょう。で、売り子の女性に情報を聞かせてもらった次第。


　イタドリって言われて、それが野草だと気付けるのはそこそこ自然豊かな地域の住民に限られると思います。関東とか関西圏とかの人口密集地域では、ほとんどまったく目にすることがないでしょう。札幌の都会っ子育ちが素性であるわたしも高齢化して早朝散歩が習慣化してから、はじめてそれが厄介な野草で、札幌に大量に自生していることを知った。
　イタドリっていう名前の由来は「痛みを取る」というもので、漢方的な民間療法の一種として利用されてきたということも知識を得た。しかしその生命力・繁殖力はハンパなく、道路管理者のみなさんは苦労されている様子を日頃から見ています。
　高知県地元の食生活の一端を知ることができて、この青空市場、たいへん勉強になった次第。ますます高知大好きになっていく・・・。

English version⬇

What? That "Japanese knotweed" is soul food in Tosa, Tropical Japan
Tosa, a southern island of Japan, has been vigorously eating Japanese knotweed, which is synonymous with annoying wildflowers. We would like to send it from Hokkaido to Kochi as a representative product to deepen friendly exchanges between the regions (laughs). ...

"Wow, do people in Tosa eat itadori?" "Yes, it's delicious!" "Well, if that's the case, we'll send an inexhaustible supply from Hokkaido. If so, I'll send you an inexhaustible supply of itadori from Hokkaido. "Wow, that's Hokkaido. But you really don't eat it?
　It is true that things change from place to place. The photo above was taken from a web page that introduced itadori (Japanese bitter melon) in Kochi. Basically, it is eaten in a similar way to asparagus in Hokkaido, and is used for frying in oil, etc. However, as shown in the photo above, it is also eaten as a local dish in Kochi called "inaka-zushi" (country-style sushi).
　The second photo shows "inaka-zushi" without fish. Myoga (myoga) and konnyaku (konjak) are the standard ingredients, and itadori (bitter gourd) is also used as a vegetable. The green one in the photo is not itadori but "ryukyu," a vegetable of the taro family. This vegetable belongs to the taro family, and the stem part is eaten. I have never seen this kind of vegetable in Hokkaido.

Japanese knotweed is a native wildflower of East Asia, as shown in the illustration. It is said that when an Englishman who came to Japan in the early Meiji period (1868-1912) brought it back to Japan and cultivated it, it quickly flourished and became a representative of the hated wildflowers. In my blog, I have written in the past, "In England, when a female prime minister was attacked by her political rivals, she was derogatorily called 'itadori' (Japanese knotweed), which is so detestable. Well, at that time, I wrote that the hated weasel was analogized to the way she stubbornly stayed in office despite her declining approval rating.
　I learned for the first time at a holiday market in Kochi City that itadori is a local soul food in Tosa, a southern island of Japan (!). I was surprised to find out that itadori is a local food in Tosa, a southern country. However, I did not see it actually being sold. I was told that they were sold out immediately. Even though it was in Kochi, it was January, so there must not have been many shipments. So, I asked the woman selling them to give me some information.

I think that only residents in areas with abundant nature would recognize it as a wildflower when told that it is a Japanese knotweed. In densely populated areas such as the Kanto and Kansai regions, you will hardly see it at all. I, who grew up as a city kid in Sapporo, learned that it was a troublesome wild plant and that it grows wild in large quantities in Sapporo only after I became a habitual early morning walker in my old age.
　The name "itadori" comes from the Japanese word "itadori" meaning "to take away pain," and I learned that it has been used as a kind of folk medicine in Chinese medicine. However, its vitality and reproductive power are not strong, and I have seen road administrators struggling with it on a daily basis.
　I learned a lot from this open-air market, and I learned a lot about the dietary habits of the common people. I am becoming more and more fond of Kochi.

【南国土佐の子育て応援「親子狛犬」 竹林寺探訪-8】

　この竹林寺には境内に「日枝神社」があってその門番として、この「親子狛犬」はある。
　通常は雌雄・阿吽一対であるところ、これは親子になっている。右の狛犬は親がこどもを守る姿。左の狛犬はこどもを戒める姿。子を守る慈しみと、しっかりきびしく育てる様が表現されている。
　獅子はこどもを千尋の谷に突き落とし、それを這い上がってきたものだけを育てるといわれるけれど、そういった優しさときびしさの両面を表している。
　そういう説明書きに沿って見ていたけれど、首に掛かった赤い布に隠れて、こども狛犬の様子がよくわからなかった。上の写真では辛うじてこどもの狛犬がわかる。
　スフィンクスは狛犬の原初ではないかと言われているけれど、たぶんいま世界で存続してきているのは日本の宗教施設だけということになるのだろう。神域に対してそれを守護する存在という概念は、人類に普遍的にあったのだろうけれど、いまの日本が特殊に受容している。島国だから文化のガラパゴスになりやすいことを表しているのかも知れない。このことは良い面もあるけれど悪い面もあるだろう。

　ほかにも竹林寺には「子安地蔵」も置かれているので、寺院全体として子育てを応援しようとする姿勢を表現していると思える。昨日、岸田首相の会見があって国策として子育て支援、人口減少対策を発表していたけれど、この「親子狛犬」はそんなシンボルにもなり得る。長い人類史の中で子育ては最重要な課題であったことは疑いがない。　
　一方で土佐高知といえば「はりまや橋」の歌で「坊さんかんざし、買うを見た」。この坊さんは竹林寺の学僧だったと言われる。かれが寺で行われていた信心学習機会に参加していた信者女性に恋をしたが、彼女をめぐって僧侶２名が微妙な三角関係に陥ってしまった。移ろいゆく彼女の歓心を得たい一心で、繁華街のはりまや橋で、かんざしを購入してプレゼントしたのだという。
　ところが彼女はもう一方の年上の教師役の僧侶に強く惹かれ、この求愛を振り切って駆け落ちした。なんとか土佐の国境を越えようとしたが捕縛され公衆に「面さらし」されて僧侶は土佐から国外追放された。仲を裂かれた女性も高知からは追放されたが、土佐国内の鄙で子だからにも恵まれ人生をまっとうしたのだという。その僧侶も伊予国で寺子屋の教師として生き長らえて妻帯もしたと言われる。
　親子狛犬の像からは親子愛と男女愛という人間の根源が強く絡まり合う。


English version⬇

A pair of guardian dogs symbolizing child-rearing in Tosa, Tropical Japan.
A pair of guardian dogs symbolizing child-rearing. They are the incarnation of love and education. On the other hand, there is the tragic love story of "Bossan Kanzashi" on Harimaya Bridge. It is truly the true nature of human beings. The true nature of human beings.

The Chikurin-ji Temple has the Hie Shrine within its precincts, and this "Oyako Komainu" is the gatekeeper of the shrine.
　Normally, there is a male and female A-Un pair, but this pair is a parent and child. The right guardian dog on the right is a parent protecting a child. The left guardians are guarding their children. The left guardians on the left are guarding their children, and the right guardians on the right are protecting their children, and the left guardians are strictly nurturing their children.
　It is said that the lion pushes the children down into the valley of a thousand questions and raises only those who crawl out of the valley.
　I was looking at the lionesses according to the explanation, but the red cloth around their necks obscured the child guardian dogs. In the photo above, you can barely make out the child guardian dogs.
　The sphinx is said to be the original guardian dog, but it is probably the only religious site in Japan that has survived in the world today. The concept of a guardian deity for a Shinto shrine may have existed universally among humans, but Japan is the only country in the world that has accepted it. This may be an indication of the fact that Japan is an island nation, which tends to be a cultural Galapagos. This may be a good thing in some respects, but it may also be a bad thing.

The Chikurin-ji temple also has a "Ko-yasu Jizo" (a guardian deity of children), which seems to express the temple's overall attitude of support for child-rearing. Yesterday, Prime Minister Kishida held a press conference in which he announced a national policy of supporting child-rearing and countermeasures against population decline, and this "parent-child guardian dog" could be a symbol of such support. There is no doubt that child-rearing has been the most important issue in the long history of mankind.　
　On the other hand, speaking of Tosa-Kochi, it is said that the monk who sang "Harimaya-bashi" in the song "Harimaya-bashi" (Harimaya Bridge) was a Buddhist monk at Chikurin-ji Temple. He fell in love with a female believer who was participating in a religious study program held at the temple, and two monks fell into a delicate love triangle over her. In a single-minded effort to win her shifting affections, they bought her a kanzashi (hairpin) and gave it to her as a gift at Harimayabashi in downtown Tokyo.
　However, she was strongly attracted to the other, an older Buddhist monk who served as her teacher, and she eloped with him, shrugging off his courtship. She managed to cross the border into Tosa, but was captured and publicly "humiliated," and the monk was deported from Tosa. The woman with whom he had a falling out was also expelled from Kochi, but she lived out her life in the countryside of Tosa. The monk is said to have survived as a teacher at a temple in Iyo Province and even married.
　The two statues of the father-and-child guardian dogs strongly suggest the human roots of love between father and son and between man and woman.

【一気に雪融け、一直線の北国の春】

本州各地からは桜の開花、満開の話題が増えてきていますね。WBCの日本代表の戦いもあって、ことしの春の躍動感が高まっている。まことに喜ばしい。がんばれニッポン、がんばれヌートバー！
　遅ればせながら札幌でも融雪が一気に進んできて、ちょっと前までメイン道路でも１車線ノロノロだったのが快適３車線に復元してきています。
　そんなことから冬の間のひたすら「除雪」限定運動から本格的に早朝の散歩が復活してきております。力仕事と地道な忍耐力レースの縛りから抜け出して、開放的なリズムに乗ってきています。ほぼ日常的なコース選択で、北海道神宮参拝から周辺の円山公園、円山登山道入口の慈母を思わせる観音さんへの参拝などが日課のコースになってきています。
　道中ではさまざまなスポットを巡っていくのですが、なかでも円山公園のメム（アイヌ語での水辺・沼）に棲息するカモやオシドリたちの様子も楽しみであります。冬の間はメムも結氷していて、かれらの姿は確認できませんでした。どうやら無事に越冬できたようで、まだ寒さに耐えているような様子ですが、元気そう。
　２枚目の写真は冬の終わり2/28のわが家近辺の公園の様子ですが、いかにも「光の春」っぽい。陽光が増してきて雪原にそれが反射してまばゆいのですが、ことしはこの期間がごく短くあっという間に通り過ぎた。ちょっとさみしい部分もあった。梅やサクラの開花もすばらしいのですが、この雪国の乱反射する陽光は、体奥にまで染み込んでくる感覚がある。雪の本当の美しさというようにも言える。


　こちらはわが家周辺、発寒川公園の様子。3/13ころの様子と2/28の様子の対比であります。上流での融雪があきらかに水量となって現れている。
　自然のリズム感はこれでもかと重奏してきています。仕事面でも１年半以上取り組んできた案件が、本日おおむね着地点に到達できた。さてこれからさらに頑張るぞと。WBCでも、頑張れニッポン！


English version⬇

Spring in the North with a straight line of snow melting at once
This year, the period of "spring of light" was very short, and the snow melted all at once. It is a little disappointing to see the spring of light. The early morning walk in the woods is also starting the symphony of the woodpeckers. ...

From all over Honshu, we are hearing more and more about the blooming and full-blooming of the cherry blossoms, and with the Japanese national team in the WBC, the spring of this year is becoming more vibrant. I am truly delighted. Go Nippon, go Nutbah!
　Although it is a little late, the melting of snow has been progressing at a rapid pace in Sapporo, and what used to be one slow lane on the main road just a short while ago has been restored to a comfortable three lanes.
　This has led to a resurgence in my early morning walks, which had been limited to "clearing snow" during the winter months. We are getting out of the shackles of hard work and steady patience racing and getting into a more open rhythm. Almost daily course selections have become routine, from a visit to the Hokkaido Shrine to the nearby Maruyama Park and a visit to the Kannon (Goddess of Mercy)-reminiscent of Jibo at the entrance to the Maruyama Trail.
　On the way, we visit various spots, but we especially enjoy watching the ducks and mandarin ducks living in the memu (waterfront or swamp in the Ainu language) of Maruyama Park. During the winter, the memu is frozen over, so we could not see them. They seem to have wintered over safely, and although they still seem to be enduring the cold, they look healthy.
　The second photo shows the park near our house at the end of winter on February 28, and it looks like "spring of light. It was like a "spring of light." The sunlight was increasing and the reflections on the snowfield were dazzling, but this time this period was very short and passed in a blink of an eye. It was a bit lonely in some parts. The blooming of plum and cherry blossoms is wonderful, but the diffuse reflection of sunlight in this snowy country gives me a sensation that penetrates deep into my body. It can be said that this is the true beauty of snow.

This is a comparison between the scene around 3/13 and 2/28. The melting of snow upstream is clearly visible as the volume of water.
　The sense of rhythm of nature has been playing again and again. In terms of work, the project that I have been working on for more than a year and a half has almost reached its conclusion today. Now, let's work even harder...even in the WBC, go Nippon!