【この夏、オオウバユリ散華へ】

　しばらく円山公園近くの散歩道には行っていませんでしたが、ふと、夏になると観察し続けているオオウバユリのことが気になって、久しぶりに円山公園周辺へ。
　そうしたら気になっていたとおり、この夏のオオウバユリの花の最盛期からやや時期が過ぎてきていた。しかし花の中には、まだ峻烈な輝きを見せてくれているものもあって、上の写真はそのなかの一輪であります。この花も茎に近い部分ではやや褐色が目立ってきて、いわば最後の「叫び声」に近い。わたしに詩心があれば、短歌でもひねり出せそうな様子なのですが、子規は遠くから尊崇しているばかりで、わたしにはそういうセンスは薄い。
　ただし、写真でとっさにその対象物と対話するようなことは、それは数寄であります。コトバではなく、ビジュアルでの「刈り取り」にはある種の熱がある。
　いのちの輝きということではオオウバユリはこの後、その土中の部分にアイヌの人たちのソウルフード成分を作り出していくのであり、たぶんもっとも重要なプロセスに突入していく。人間たちとの対話はこの花芽が担っているのだけれど、本来のかれらのいのちは、むしろ土中での活動が最重要ということでしょう。いろいろ教えられる。

　一昨日、ハトが農園レストランの庭先で、なかなかシャッターチャンスに応えてくれなかった後ろ姿の様子を撮影していましたが、昨日は、オシドリたちが営巣している水辺に久しぶりに訪ねていったら、すぐに近づいてくる個体がいた。
　まったく警戒心を持たずにわたしの足下に向かって近寄ってくる。たぶんこういった野生のイキモノに給餌するひとたちがそれだけ多いということなのでしょう。わたしがこういう自然のイキモノの様子を書くと、無分別な給餌行為について戒めを発してくれる読者の方がいらっしゃいますが、わたしも同意するところ。
　たぶん人間とかれら野生のいのちとの間には、ある距離感はあるべきだと思います。しかし、給餌することで野生のイキモノたちは「もらえるものは気にせずに食べる」という反応が常態化し、その反応が「面白い」と思ってつい繰り返して、習慣化する人間もいるのでしょう。
　しかし、野生のイキモノの世界を本当に考えれば、それはやはり罪深いことだと思える。人間と野生のイキモノの間には、守るべき結界領域がある。給餌には、それを破壊してしまう罪業が隠されているのだと思います。
　この写真に写ってくれた個体そのものはきわめて習慣的に行動したのでしょうが、見ているとそういう行動に与しない個体もまた多い。
　そういったオシドリ社会の様子からも、教えられることは多い。

English version⬇

[This summer, to the dispersal of the daylily.
I am allowed to observe a moment of the drama of reincarnation. From the drama that makes us recognize the sense of beauty, they are reincarnating toward their original “inheritance of the species”. ...

I had not been to the walking trail near Maruyama Park for a while, but I suddenly became curious about the day lilies that I keep observing in the summer, and went to the Maruyama Park area for the first time in a while.
　Then, as I had been wondering, the time had passed somewhat from the peak season of the flower buds of the day for the daylilies this summer. However, some of the flower buds are still showing us their intense brilliance, and the photo above shows one of them. These flower buds are also becoming a little brownish near the stem, and are close to their last “shout,” so to speak. If I had a poetic mind, I could have written a tanka poem about it, but I only admired Shiki from afar, and I do not have such a sense.
　However, if you are in the mood to interact with an object in a photograph, it is a sukiyomi. There is heat in “reaping” visually, not Kotoba.
　In terms of the brightness of life, the Ouba lily will later create the soul food component of the Ainu people in its subsoil, perhaps entering into the most important process of all. Although the flower buds are in charge of interacting with humans, the most important part of their life is probably their activities in the soil. We can learn a lot from them.

The day before yesterday, I had photographed the back view of pigeons in the garden of a farm restaurant that did not readily respond to my shutterbugs, and yesterday, when I visited the waterside where mandarin ducks were nesting for the first time in a long time, I saw one of them approach me immediately.
　It approached my feet without any caution at all. Perhaps it is because there are so many people feeding these wild creatures. When I write about these wild creatures, some readers warn me about indiscriminate feeding, and I agree with them.
　Perhaps there should be a certain distance between humans and these wild creatures. However, by feeding, the wild creatures will always respond by “eating what they can get without worrying about it,” and some people may find this response “interesting” and repeat it, and it may become a habit.
　However, if we really think about the world of the wild ikimono, it still seems sinful. There is a boundary area between humans and wild ikimono that must be protected. I believe that feeding hides a sinful deed that destroys it.
　The individual in this photo may have acted out of habit, but there are many other individuals who do not engage in such behavior.
　There are many lessons to be learned from this kind of mandarin duck society.

【加齢と「イキモノ賛歌」気分の増進 】

　あ、この写真は「剥製」ですのでご安心ください。倶知安町の郷土資料館でみかけたもの。まるで生きているようなクマの表情なんですが、剥製というのはどのように作るにせよ、表情自体はそのイキモノとしての生きているときのものがピンナップされるもの。
　どうも最近、加齢とともにイキモノへの感じ方がずいぶんと変化してきているのを感じる。このクマさんは子どものときにいのちが尽きたものとみえて、表情がまことに幼く、かわいい。まぁ成獣になったヒグマであれば、ここまで可愛らしい表情ではないだろう。
　下の写真は支笏湖畔のレストランの自然な庭で、ほぼ「家畜」のように人間に対しての危険視を忘却しているハトの後ろ姿。なかなか前は向いてくれなかった（泣）。20-30分ほど席待ちしていたときに、ボーッと庭の様子を見ていたら、まるで傍若無人な自然さで、闊歩していた。
　とくだん「餌付け」をしている様子は見られなかったけれど、農園レストランとしては、なるべく自然のイキモノとの調和を目指してはいると思える様子。
　どんなイキモノに対しても、最近は感情が同期するように思える。
　まぁもちろん人間のとくに子どもたちがいちばん同期しやすいのだけれど、だんだんとどんなイキモノでも、境目がなく遠近両用（笑）になって来ている。
　加齢とは自分のいのちとの対話というものがすこしづつ深まっていくことなのでしょうか。じっと観察することにすこし「熱」が籠もってくる自分がいる。かれらはかれらで自らのいのちに対してまっすぐに向き合って余念なく、そのままに生きている。本能なのでしょう。そうするとこちらも、襟を正して、まっすぐに見つめたいという気分が強くなってくるのです。
　円山公園のオオウバユリは植物だけれど、その生態をまっすぐに見ていると、やはり強くイキモノというメッセージ性を感じさせられる。べつに話が出来るわけではないけれど、こっち側で勝手に「想像力」が強くなっていって、ある部分で「同期」が感じられるのでしょう。
　いちどそういう「堰」が開通すると、非常にスムーズに意識変換が始まっていくのではないだろうか。
　最近、官庁許認可事業当局とのストレスの溜まるコミュニケーションに疲れ果てることも多いのですが、いっとき、かれらからのまっとうな反応に深く癒されております。


English version⬇

Aging and the Growing Mood for “Iki-mono Hymn”
Recently, I have been having an increasing number of interactions with licensing authorities. I wonder if it is because I am seeking solace in nature every time I am forced to pay attention to the “corner of a heavy box. .......

Oh, don't worry, this photo is “stuffed”. I saw this bear at the Kutchan-cho Museum of History and Culture. The bear's expression looks as if it were alive, but no matter how you make a stuffed bear, the expression itself is always a pin-up of the bear as it was when it was alive as a creature.
　Recently, as I age, I feel that my feelings toward animals have changed considerably. This bear's expression is very young and cute, as if its life ended when it was a child. I guess a grown-up brown bear would not have such a cute expression.
　The photo below shows the back view of a pigeon in the natural garden of a restaurant by Lake Shikotsu, almost as if it were a “domestic animal” and oblivious to the danger it posed to humans.
　I didn't see any signs of “feeding,” but it seemed to me that the farm restaurant is trying to be in harmony with nature's creatures as much as possible.
　It seems as if they are in synch with the emotions of any living creature these days.
　Of course, humans, especially children, are the easiest to synchronize with, but gradually, all things are becoming more and more bifocal (laugh), with no boundaries.
　I wonder if aging is the process of deepening the dialogue with one's own life. I find myself becoming a little more “enthusiastic” in observing them closely. They are facing their own lives straightforwardly, and they are living as they are. It must be an instinct. This makes me want to straighten up and look straight at them.
　The day lilies in Maruyama Park are a plant, but looking straight at their ecology, you can feel the strong message that they are a living thing. It is not that I can talk about it, but my “imagination” becomes stronger on my own side, and I can feel a certain “synchronization” with it.
　Once such a “weir” is opened, the transformation of consciousness will begin very smoothly.
　Recently, I have often been exhausted by stressful communication with government licensing authorities, but for a while, I have been deeply healed by their honest responses.

【支笏湖畔の温泉浴とガーデンレストランランチ 】

　思いがけない３連休。って、要するにボーッと生きているだけの話ですが、カミさんのリクエストで支笏湖周辺で最後の１日を。
　丸駒温泉に久しぶりに浸かってきましたが、連休と言うこともあってか大変な混みよう。日帰りですが、帰り際には駐車場への入場待ちのクルマが5-6台という盛況ぶり。きっとわたしのように連休というのに予定を組むようなことをしなかったみなさんが多いのでしょう。ふらり、と来るには札幌からの距離感はちょうどいいかも。
　数年前に運営会社が変わっているのですが、もちろんお湯自体は相変わらずの泉質で迎えてくれていました。こちらは弱食塩泉ということで、効能としてはわたしの健康面にも効果があるとされています。
　こちらは支笏湖の湖水に面していて、湖面の水位と屋外の露天風呂の水位が同じ。きのう、入っていたらアメンボが多数、水面を活発に動き回っている。カミさんは女性風呂で「キャッ、気持ち悪い」と早々に避難したのだそうですが、わたしの場合、どうも最近、イキモノへの親近感がハンパなく強まってきていまして、かれらといっしょに楽しく長湯しておりました。
　こちらの外湯は足下に砂利が敷き込まれていて、すこし歩行に難渋するほどなのですが、やはり野趣はたっぷりで、支笏湖の景観と同期しながらの湯浴みはまことに楽しい。
　そこから高速道路までの帰り道にあるイングリッシュガーデンレストラン「MEON」でランチ。連休ということで心配していましたが、案外すんなりと30分ほどの待ち時間で席に着けた次第。わたしは特段のお好みはないので、なにやらシーフード系のスープを、カミさんはパリパリの生地の上に生ハムなどが乗っかったピザ風料理。
　ちょっと前までなら、こんな程度ではとてもハラが追いつかなかったのですが、最近はダイエット奏効なのか、この程度の料理でも「満腹感」に満たされておりました。

　店舗の設計は知人の建築家なのですが、季節変化ごとに草木などが自然のうつろいを感じさせてくれて、楽しい。
　一応セミリタイヤみたいなことなので、本当は連休以外でも自由に行動はできるハズなのですが、やはりいまのところは、この程度の過ごし方が適当なようであります。


English version⬇

A hot spring bath by Lake Shikotsu and lunch at a garden restaurant.
I was in a daze when I found out last minute that Monday was also a national holiday. In search of a relaxing and peaceful vacation, we went to the lakeside of Lake Shikotsu. A hot spring bath and a lunch at a natural restaurant. ...

An unexpected three-day weekend. My wife requested that we spend one last day around Lake Shikotsu.
　We took a dip in Marukoma Onsen for the first time in a while, but it was very crowded, probably because it was a consecutive holiday weekend. Although it was a one-day trip, there were 5-6 cars waiting to enter the parking lot when I left. I guess there were many people like me who did not make any plans for the consecutive holidays. The distance from Sapporo may be just right for a casual visit.
　The management company changed a few years ago, but of course the water itself was as good as ever. This is a weakly saline spring, which is said to be beneficial to my health.
　This one faces the waters of Lake Shikotsu, and the water level of the lake is the same as that of the outdoor open-air bath. When I was in there yesterday, I saw a large number of water striders actively moving around on the surface of the water. My wife said, "Oh my God, that's disgusting," and she quickly evacuated the women's bath, but in my case, my affinity for these creatures has been growing tremendously recently, and I enjoyed taking a long bath with them.
　The outside bathhouse has gravel underfoot, making it a little difficult to walk around, but it is full of wildness, and it was really enjoyable to take a bath while synchronizing with the view of Lake Shikotsu.
　On the way back to the highway, we had lunch at MEON, an English garden restaurant. I was worried about the restaurant because of the consecutive holidays, but surprisingly, I was able to be seated with only a 30-minute wait. I had some kind of seafood soup because I don't have a particular preference, and my wife had a pizza-like dish with a crispy dough topped with prosciutto ham and other ingredients.
　Until recently, this kind of food would have been too much for my stomach to handle, but recently, perhaps due to my diet, even this kind of food has been enough to fill me up.

The store was designed by an architect friend of mine, and it is fun to see how the plants and trees change with the seasons, reminding me of the changing nature.
　Since I am semi-retired, I should be able to do whatever I want outside of the holidays, but for now, this seems to be the appropriate way to spend my time.
　

【浜松の人「北海道は暑い・・・」証言 in ニセコ大湯沼】

きのうは久しぶりに「硫黄の匂いプンプン」のニセコ大湯沼の温泉に。カミさんはどうしてもこの硫黄の匂いへの拒絶反応が強く、夫婦別々の温泉浴。わたしは日帰り温泉の「雪秩父」へ。こちらは隣に大湯沼が写真のようにグラグラと「煮立って」おりまして、まことに野趣豊かな温泉。
　泉質に硫黄がたっぷりと含まれているようで、わたしなど湯を浴びていると目がすこしショボショボと痛くなってきたりする。きっと日頃からのパソコン目疲れが反映しているのでしょう。
　しかしだんだんと慣れていってそのうち気にならなくなっている。本当は風呂上がり後、清水で顔をあらった方がいいのでしょうが、・・・。でもいかにも北海道らしい、火山噴火口のすぐ横の野性味あふれる温泉で大好きであります。最近はこんな奥深い温泉にまで海外観光客の姿があって、驚く。
　で、ふろから上がってクルマに乗ろうとしたら、なんとなく駐車場で隣に駐車されていた方と会話。なんでも静岡県の浜松から、ワゴン車で寝泊まりしながら、１ヶ月近く北海道周遊の夫婦旅とのこと。開口一番のあいさつが「北海道は暑い・・・」（笑）。
　ついこのあいだ、40度越えが話題になっていた静岡市の話題を振って反論したら、もう10年ほど北海道夫婦ツアーをしてきているそうで、ここ２−３年、顕著に暑くなってきたとのこと。もう80才越えのかたたちで10年間の経験知から間違いなく実感されているようです。
　「でもまぁ朝晩は内地とは違うでしょう」と寒冷地自慢をしようとしても、実感には敵わない。
　浜松から北上して長野県を抜けて新潟港からのフェリーで北海道に来られるルートだそうで、引退後のワゴン車北海道ツアーが無上の楽しみだそうですが、さすがに奥さまはお疲れのご様子。ホテルなどを利用して外食もいいところで食べたりすると、あっという間におカネは羽が生えて飛んでいく。ということで、基本的にワゴン車を改造した車中泊で、食事はもっぱら「コンビニ食」とのこと。
　わたしなどは、そういった過ごし方で十分に楽しいタイプですが、わが家の場合にはカミさんは同意してくれない（泣）。立派なホテル「いい料理」志向。このあたりは考え方の相違なので、なんとも言えないのですが、旅は楽しいけれどやはり疲れ・ストレスも溜まっては来る。リタイヤ後の過ごし方というのは、ひとつの面白い選択問題だとも思われますね。
　結局人間、最後までなんらかの活動とか、仕事とかに没頭していた方がシアワセというタイプの人も多いのではないでしょうか。ふとした会話で「取材」できた次第。


English version⬇

A Hamamatsu man testifies that "Hokkaido is hot..." in Niseko Oyunuma.
The couple was looking for a refreshing summer in subarctic Hokkaido, but the temperature was mercilessly high. They said they had a hard time staying in the car. What's the happiest thing after you retire? by ...

Yesterday, for the first time in a long time, we went to a hot spring in Niseko Oyunuma, which has a "sulfur smell. My wife was very sensitive to the smell of sulfur, so we bathed in the hot spring separately. I went to "Yukichichichibu," a day-trip hot spring. The Oyunuma swamp next to this hot spring was "boiling" as you can see in the photo, and the hot spring was truly rich in natural beauty.
　The spring water seems to be rich in sulfur, and my eyes began to ache a little when I was bathing in the hot water. I am sure this is a reflection of my daily computer eye strain.
　However, I am gradually getting used to it and eventually it does not bother me anymore. In fact, it would be better to wash my face with fresh water after taking a bath, but.... However, it is a hot spring full of the wildness that is typical of Hokkaido and right next to a volcanic crater, and I love it. Recently, I was surprised to see foreign tourists even in such a deep hot spring.
　After getting out of the bath and getting into the car, I had a conversation with a person who was parked next to me in the parking lot. He told me that he and his wife were traveling from Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, to Hokkaido for a month while sleeping in their van. The first thing he said was, "Hokkaido is hot..." (laugh).
　I countered by mentioning Shizuoka City, where the temperature had recently exceeded 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), but the couple had been touring Hokkaido for about 10 years, and said it had become noticeably hotter in the past 2-3 years. They are over 80 years old and have been touring in Hokkaido for about 10 years.
　They are over 80 years old and have been experiencing the heat for the past 10 years.
　They say that the route from Hamamatsu northward through Nagano Prefecture to Hokkaido by ferry from Niigata Port is the best way to come to Hokkaido, and they are looking forward to a wagon tour of Hokkaido after their retirement, but as expected, their wives seem to be tired. If they use hotels, etc., and eat out at nice places, their money will fly under their wings in no time. So, she basically stays overnight in a converted van and eats only "convenience store meals.
　I am the type of person who enjoys such a way of spending time, but in our case, my wife does not agree with me (tears). She is more interested in "good food" at a nice hotel. This is a difference of opinion, so I can't really say anything about it. Traveling is fun, but it is also tiring and stressful. It seems to me that how to spend one's time after retirement is an interesting choice to make.
　After all, there are probably many people who would be happier if they were immersed in some kind of activity or work until the end of their lives. I was able to "interview" them through a casual conversation.

【やっぱり北海道の味、ホッケの開き】

　日本全国、海に囲まれた列島各地で「おいしいお魚」は各種ありますが、北海道でいちばん庶民的な味わいはやはりホッケにトドメを刺される。
　全国のほっけ漁獲量は、以下のように北海道が圧倒的なシェアを誇っています。
　 1位：北海道　32,799 (t)
2位：青森県　633 (t)
3位：山形県　218 (t)　〜データ引用：2019年 食品データ館
　高校まで北海道に居て大学から東京で暮らすようになって、どこをどう探しても「ホッケの開き」を買うことが出来なくて、つくづくと望郷の念に駆られたことがあります。わたしの場合、北海道で生きていきたいと考えたいちばんの理由かも知れない。・・・なワケはないのですが（笑）、しかし深層心理では、この魚の味覚へのこだわりは強いモノがある。
　のちに東京で就職して銀座に支店のあった北海道新聞と取引もしていたので、その社員の方に連れられて「銀座の北海道料理店」で会食したことがあります。季節もちょうど良かったので迷わず「ホッケの開き」一択で注文した。ところが出てきたヤツは、本当に「干からびて」いて、身まで固くて、深い涙とともにかじっていた。ダメだこりゃ、でありました。いまは物流も整備されて、銀座の一流店ではおいしいものも食べられるかも、ですがわたしはたぶん遠慮しそう（泣）。
　ここんところシーズンということで、安価で大ぶり（写真では分かりにくいかもですが、全長で35-40cmくらいはある）なので、食品店店頭でも、ひときわ目を引かされる。これくらいの大きさでも１枚300円内外。まことに庶民の大好物なのですね。
　ホッケの食べ方でいちばんウレシイのは、新鮮なアブラの乗ったヤツでは、シッポ側を掴んで真ん中の「骨」を一気にアタマ側まで引き剥がす瞬間。これが一気に行けるヤツは確実にウマい。
　数寄な方は、骨に絡まっていて皮のようになったヤツをしゃぶり食うのが楽しいともいわれる。当然、たくさんの小骨が抵抗してくるのですが、それに丹念に応えて、上手に剥がしていくのも醍醐味。そして、身の部分を取り上げて、たっぷりの大根おろしに漬けて頬張る。
　写真の１枚を夫婦で、口数すくなく黙々と平らげていく快感。
　ちょっと前までだったら、こういう大型でも１人で平らげていたと思うのですが、ダイエットにも取り組み続けているので、これで十分。でもアタマの硬い部分や、皮の部分もたのしく食べられる。いかにも「一物全体食」的に食べられるのであります。う〜む、また食うぞ！


English version⬇

Hokkaido's specialty, hokke (hokke).
Local fish for the masses. It is a local fish for the masses, and the harmony with plenty of grated daikon (Japanese radish) is outstanding. This is the biggest culprit that made me make a U-turn to Hokkaido (laugh). Laughs

　There are various kinds of "delicious fish" throughout Japan and throughout the archipelago surrounded by the sea, but the most common taste in Hokkaido is still topped by Hokke.
　Hokkaido boasts the overwhelming share of the nation's hokke catch, as shown below.
　 No. 1: Hokkaido 32,799 (t)
No. 2: Aomori Prefecture 633 (t)
No. 3: Yamagata Prefecture 218 (t) - Data citation: 2019 Food Data Center
　I lived in Hokkaido until high school, and then moved to Tokyo for college. I was very nostalgic because I could not buy hokke no matter where I looked. In my case, this may have been the main reason why I wanted to live in Hokkaido. I was not really a fish lover (laugh), but in my deepest psyche, I have a strong attachment to the taste of fish.
　Later, when I was working in Tokyo and doing business with the Hokkaido Shimbun, which had a branch in Ginza, one of its employees once took me to dinner at a "Hokkaido restaurant in Ginza. The season was just right, so I had no hesitation in ordering "hokke (hokke open fish)" as my first choice. However, the one that came out was really "dried out" and even the meat was hard, and I was gnawing on it with deep tears. It was a disaster. Now that the distribution system has been improved, you may be able to eat delicious food at first-class restaurants in Ginza, but I probably won't (I'm crying).
　Since it has been the season recently, they are inexpensive and large (the picture may not show it well, but the total length is about 35-40 cm), so they are very eye-catching even in food stores. Even at this size, each piece costs around 300 yen. It is truly a favorite food of the common people.
　The most exciting part of eating hokke is the moment when you grab the tail side of a fresh hokke with a lot of fat on it and pull off the center "bone" all the way to the head side at once. The ones that can do this all at once are surely good.
　For those who are a bit more adventurous, it is said that it is fun to suck and eat the skin-like pieces that have become entangled in the bone. Naturally, many small bones resist, but it is a real pleasure to carefully respond to them and skillfully peel them off. Then, the meat is taken away, marinated in a generous amount of grated daikon, and eaten.
　It was a pleasant sensation to eat the piece in the photo together with the couple, silently and without saying a word.
　Until recently, I would have finished a large piece like this by myself, but since I continue to work on my diet, this is enough for me. But I can also enjoy eating the hard part of the head and the skin. I can eat them in a "whole food" way. Hmmm... I will eat it again!