2014.11.09
ウイリアムに想う3
佐藤賢太郎

   ウイリアムさんが来て体験２日目となった。彼は私の生活スタイルを日本人より、賛同し理解しているように思える。滞在期間が２週間と短いものだが、お城や、自然、アートなどコスモ夢舞台などのいろんな活動を見せてあげたい。

   薪割を体験させて解ったのだが、勤勉で動きが早い。そして気を使うところが素晴らしい。食べ物についても、とても喜んでいる。私は片言の英語を使い、彼は日本語で努力して話している。お互いに英語で何というの、日本語で何と言うのと言い合うのである。

　我が家はイギリス人がいることで片言英語を使うことが多い。そしてどうしてここを選んだのかをブルックさんの時と同じように聞いてみた。やはりホストの中で農業だけでなくアートやその他の活動をしているところが興味あると言っていた。

　猿しかいないようなこんな田舎でも外国人が集まる要素がここにあることは確かである。

　まき割り終わって見晴らしの素晴らし山の頂に登り、食事をすることになった。そこで何とんと自然なめこ発見、朝の味噌汁に頂くことになった。帰りの道々この木は何というのかと質問があったが私は答えることができなかった。

Day 3 - Down by the riverside

The first thing I saw this morning when I stepped out of Fukuroukan (Sato-san's art gallery, where I'm sleeping) was a monkey! I only caught a glimpse of it as it quickly hid behind a shed, but looking round the corner I saw it sitting nearby, at the edge of the neighbours' garden, before it noticed me and ran behind a house and out of sight. I've seen many interesting animals in Japan so far, but this was a first for me, and a very exciting experience.

At breakfast, Sato-san kindly volunteered to explain the small portions of food he and Makiko-san were preparing on a little tray. He told me that they were an offering to his ancestors, and that many Japanese homes have two shrines; one for their ancestors and one for the Shinto gods. It was fascinating to see this tradition continued in a modern home.

It was another fine day in Funato, and once more I got to spend most of it outside, this time collecting fallen cedar branches that the wind had blown onto Sato-san's rice fields. This took all day, but it was fairly easy work and I loved being next to the river, watching cars and the occasional train pass by. I also got to meet Sato-san's publishers, who visited for lunch to deliver the first copy of his latest book. We discussed the weather in London, and the difference between Europe and Japan's young generations. Sato-san says it's much less common for people my age to travel abroad, which surprised me because most of my friends in London have either done a lot of travelling or plan to in the future.

In the evening, Sato-san talked about the traditional Japanese philosophy of light and dark; how there should always be a balance between the two, but in modern Japan everything is bright. The simple yet rich life that Sato-san leads seems to perfectly demonstrate this balance.