木に囲まれた神社
上多古の一番奥にある階段を登る時、最初に小さな竹林を通った。2月上旬の朝に階段の段と石垣に生えてきた苔が鮮やかで生き生きしていた。階段の半分ほどを登ったら、柚子の木の近くの台で休憩をしながら、上多古地区とゆっくり流れる川を見下ろした。
長い階段の上の近くに、まるで僕を歓迎していたように、梅の花はピンク色を見せびらかしていた。大年神社の境内まで登ったら、倉庫の裏にもう一本の白い梅の花はこっそり咲いていた。境内の石垣の上から杉林が大きく広がった。その林から境内に落ちた葉っぱは、新鮮な緑、濃い茶色、白に近い淡い茶色の自然な色彩を見せてくれた。本殿の近くに上多古の一人はすでに数え切れない杉の落ち葉を手で拾っていた。僕は本殿の前に参拝してから、おばちゃんと同じようにしゃがんで、杉の落ち葉を集めた。神社を掃除するメンバーは次々境内に着いた。「あー、ごめん、布団でゆっくりしとったわ!」と一人は告白して、みんなを笑わせた。僕らは竹箒を倉庫から出し、境内を分担した。落ち葉を何回も両手で錆色のドラム缶まで運び、中に放り込んだ。大きな松の木は本殿の横から斜めにそびえ立っていた。その木の細い針葉は本殿の石の間に落ち、掴みにくかった。一緒に掃除していた一人はその松の木について教えてくれた。彼は子供のころ、この土地がまだお寺の境内であった時、この松の木をよく登った。当時、登れるほど木が大きかったため、もう百年に近いと思われる。
神社を掃除する時間はいつもしんとした感覚で流れる。落ち葉を拾っては運び、拾っては運びの作業を黙々としながら、朝の空気がさらに静かになり、自分の思いも静かになる。しかも、健康的な汗をかく。神社の掃除が終わったら、僕らはお茶とお菓子をいただきながら、立ち話をする習慣もある。そのため、自分の心とつながる時間でありながら、近所の人にも会って、社交的な要素もある。杉の落ち葉、梅の花、百年生の松の木は季節の移り変わりや時間の経過をささやいてくれても、この二時間があっという間に過ぎてしまう。
A Shrine Surrounded by Trees
When I climbed up the steps in the deepest part of Kodako, I first passed a small bamboo grove. The moss that had grown on the steps and the stone wall was vibrant and alive on this early February morning. Climbing nearly halfway up the steps, I took a break on a flat near a yuzu tree and looked down onto the Kodako ward and slow-flowing river.
Near the top of the steps, plum flowers had their pink color on full display, as if they were welcoming me. Climbing up to the Otoshi Shrine grounds, another tree of white plum flowers behind the storage building was quietly in bloom. From the top of the shrine’s stone wall spread a vast cedar forest. The leaves that fell from that forest onto these grounds showed me their natural shades of fresh green, deep brown, and a faded brown that was nearly white. Near the main shrine, a resident of Kodako was already picking up the countless fallen cedar leaves by hand. After saying a prayer at the main shrine, I squatted down and started gathering the fallen cedar leaves just like the older woman. Other shrine cleaning members arrived on the grounds one after another. “Ahh, sorry about that, I was relaxing in my futon!,” one admitted, eliciting a laugh from everyone. We took the bamboo brooms out of the storage room and divided up the grounds. Over and over again, we used both hands to carry the fallen leaves to the rust-colored drum can. A large pine tree grew tall and slanted from the side of the main shrine. The fine needles from that tree fell into the spaces between the shrine stones, and were difficult to get a grab. Someone who was cleaning with us told me about this pine tree. He said that he often climbed up this tree when he was a child, and these were still grounds of a temple. Since the tree was big enough to climb at the time, it must be near 100 years-old.
The time we spend cleaning the shrine always flows in a still way. Silently picking up and carrying the fallen leaves over and over again, the air becomes even more quiet, so do my thoughts. Plus, I break a healthy sweat. When the shrine cleaning is finished, we have a custom of standing and chatting over tea and snacks. So while this is a time to re-connect with ourselves, meeting our neighbors also adds a social element to it. Even if the fallen cedar leaves, the plum blossoms, and the 100-year-old pine tree whisper to us about the changing of the seasons or the passage of time, these two hours seem to go by before we know it.