泰斗舎の本

　４月初旬、春日和の朝だった。

　青森市の青い海公園に出かけ、海辺のデッキからかつての青函連絡船「八甲田丸（はっこうだまる）」の方向を見たら、海面に小さな物体が何個か浮かんでいた。



　携えていたカメラで、ズームアップしてみると、そこには鳥の姿があった。その顔は黒く、目は黄色く、背は灰色で腹は白くて、なんとも美しかった。

　それまで野鳥には、あまり関心がなく、名前などは知るすべもない。あとで図鑑を購入して調べてみたら、スズガモであることがわかり、しかもそれはオスだと判明した。

　美しいと思い、かわいいと感じ、自然における生命の多様性に心動かされた。



　それからというものやけに野鳥の姿が、目に入るようになる。意識することで、それまで見えていなかったものが、自然に見えてくるということなのか。

　そうなると、どんどん興味は増して、野鳥観察にのめり込むことに……。

　とはいっても筆者のは、最初にスズガモを見たせいか、もっぱら海鳥の観察・撮影である。

　その理由は、ダイナミックな海原の景観に魅了され、その大自然の中に生息する海鳥が神秘的に思えたからである。

　青い海公園で、スズガモに誘われて始まった野鳥観察は、全県の海岸に及んだ。

　その中でどこがいいかと聞かれれば、津軽半島の東岸部、青森市から外ヶ浜町蟹田あたりまでの上磯（かみいそ）地域、と迷わず応えるだろう。

　筆者のような初心者には、身近に野鳥と出合える海岸なのだ。小さな川がいくつかあって、陸奥湾へと流れ込む河口付近が最適である。

　様々な海鳥に出合うその時々は、青森県の自然の素晴らしさを再認識させられる時々でもあった。






　
写真説明

�@かつての青函連絡船「八甲田丸」、手前にはスズガモの一群が（４月初旬）

�Aスズガモ。左に浮かぶ褐色がかったのはメス

�B青い海公園にある「赤い絲（あかいいと）のモニュメント」、背景は青森県観光物産館アスパム

�C青函連絡船に貨車を搭載するために使われた「可動橋」





Photo Essay: 100 Images of Aomori, Part 10

Photographs and text by Masayuki Yamauchi (editor, based in Aomori City)



Aoi Umi Park - Lured by a sea duck



　It was a sunny spring morning in early April.
　I went to Aoi Umi Park in Aomori City and looked out from the seaside deck in the direction of the Hakkodamaru, a former liaison ship between Aomori and the Pacific, and saw several small objects floating on the surface of the sea.

　When I zoomed in with my camera, I saw a bird. Its face was black, its eyes yellow, its back gray, and its belly white.

　Until then, I had not been very interested in wild birds and had no way of knowing their names. Later, I bought an illustrated book and looked it up, and found out that it was a tin duck, and a male one at that.

　I thought it was beautiful and cute, and was moved by the diversity of life in nature.

　After that, I started to see wild birds more and more. I wondered if being aware of them meant that I could naturally see things that I had not seen before.

　As this happened, my interest grew and I became more and more absorbed in bird watching. ......

　However, perhaps because I first saw a tin duck, I have been observing and photographing seabirds.

　The reason for this is that I was fascinated by the dynamic landscape of the ocean and found the seabirds that live in this natural environment to be mysterious.

　My bird-watching started with the tin duck at the Blue Sea Park, and extended to the coasts of the entire prefecture.

　If you were to ask me which area was the best, I would have no hesitation in saying the Kamiiso area, from Aomori City to Kanita, Sotoga-hama Town, on the eastern coast of the Tsugaru Peninsula.

　For a beginner like me, this is a place where I can encounter wild birds in close proximity to the shore. The best place to go is near the mouth of the river, where several small rivers flow into Mutsu Bay.

　Every now and then, I encountered a variety of seabirds, which reminded me of the beauty of nature in Aomori Prefecture.


　
Photo Description (from top to bottom)

(1) A flock of tin ducks in the foreground (early April).

(2) Tin duck. The brownish one on the left is a female.

(3) "Akai Ito Monument" in Aoiumi Park, Aomori Prefecture Tourism and Product Center ASUPAMU in the background.

(4) The movable bridge used to carry freight cars on the Seikan Bridge.

　数年前の大寒の時期、青森市の西北部に位置する油川（あぶらかわ）漁港を訪ねた。

　時刻は朝７時ごろ、気温は氷点下５℃。寒中には珍しく風がない冬晴れの朝で、海面は薄氷で覆われていた。もちろん波もないので、鏡のような水面には、彩り鮮やかな朝焼けの空が映り込み、そこに八甲田も逆さにぼんやりと浮かぶ。遠くには小さく１羽の白鳥が、茜色した水面を滑るように泳いでいた。

　油川漁港には、それまでも野鳥観察のために何度か足を運んでいたが、このような叙情的な光景を目にしたのは、後にも先にもこの時限りである。

　油川は、このような自然景観もさることながら、歴史的にもなかなか興味深い土地柄である。

　やはり港の存在が、強みであったようだ。江戸時代には、近江商人が移り住み、酒造業などを営んで、豪商も多数輩出したとか。今では、『田酒』（でんしゅ）で有名な西田酒造１軒のみだが、その建物は木造のこみせ構えで、歴史と風格を漂わせている。



　そのそばに建つ石碑も歴史を物語る。ここはかつて、羽州街道（福島県桑折─油川間約500�q）の終点であり、松前街道（油川─三厩間約60�q）の起点。かの石碑は、そのことを今に伝えているのである。

　飛行場まであったというのだから驚かされる。旧青森飛行場は、昭和８（1933）年に民間飛行場として開港、同20年に閉鎖されている。現在は、油川市民センターの敷地内に、当時の門標などが展示されている。



　ついこの間までは、大正期にイタリア人の実業家が建てた赤レンガの洋館もあった。

　地区には、けっこうな数の神社仏閣もある。小洒落たイタリアンの店や寿司店もある。夏には町内のねぶた祭も──散策すれば、今に昔にと、出合いは多い。



写真説明（上から順に）

�@ 油川漁港、寒中の朝焼け

�A かつての羽州街道と松前街道の合流地点を示す石碑と解説板

�B 旧油川飛行場の門標を使用した記念碑



Photo Essay: 100 Images of Aomori, Part 9

(Photo and text by Masayuki Yamauchi, editor, based in Aomori City)



Aburaｋawa, Aomori City: Landscape of the past and present



　Several years ago, during the cold season, I visited the fishing port of Aburakawa, located in the northwest part of Aomori City.

　It was around 7:00 in the morning, and the temperature was 5 degrees below zero. It was a sunny winter morning with no wind, which is rare in the cold season, and the surface of the sea was covered with thin ice. There were no waves, of course, so the mirror-like surface of the water reflected the colorful morning glow of the sky, with Hakkoda floating vaguely in the background. In the distance, a small swan swam as if gliding on the surface of the water.

　I had been to Aburaｋawa fishing port several times before to observe wild birds, but this was the only time I ever saw such a lyrical scene.
　Aburaｋawa is not only interesting for its natural scenery, but also for its history.

　It seems that the presence of a port was one of its strengths. In the Edo period (1603-1868), Omi merchants moved to the area and engaged in the sake brewing business, which produced many wealthy merchants. Today, there is only one sake brewery, Nishita Shuzo, famous for its "Denshu" (rice wine), but its wooden building is full of history and character.

　The stone monument standing beside it also tells of its history. This was once the end point of the Ushu Highway (about 500 km between Koori and Aburakawa in Fukushima Prefecture) and the starting point of the Matsumae Highway (about 60 km between Aburakawa and Minmaya). The stone monument tells us that this is the case today.

　It is surprising to know that there was even an airfield. The former Aomori Aerodrome opened as a civilian airfield in 1933, and closed in 1933. Currently, the gate markers from those days are on display in the grounds of the Aburakawa Civic Center.

　Until recently, there was also a red brick Western-style building built by an Italian businessman in the Taisho era.

　There are also quite a few shrines and temples in the area. There are also fashionable Italian restaurants and sushi bars. In the summer, there is also the Nebuta Festival in the town... If you take a stroll, you will encounter many things from the past and present.



Photo Description (from top to bottom)

1) Aburakawa fishing port, morning glow in the cold

2) A stone monument and an explanatory board showing the confluence point of the former Ushu Kaido and Matsumae Kaido.

3) A monument made from the gate markers of the former Aburakawa Airfield.

　歌人・石川啄木（いしかわたくぼく）の青森県内にある文学碑を訪ね歩いたことがある。きっかけは、大間町在住の御仁から依頼された、啄木に関する本づくりだった。



　啄木の文学碑は、県内に５基存在する。野辺地町、十和田市、八戸市、大間町、そして青森市の合浦公園である。

　同公園のは、海辺の砂浜に建ち、松の木陰に趣深く佇む。

　船に醉ひて

　やさしくなれるいもうとの

　眼見ゆ津軽の海を思へば



　この歌は、啄木が明治40（１９０７）年５月４日、妹の光子とともに青森港から船で北海道に渡った際に、詠まれたものである。

　啄木は明治19年、岩手県に生まれ、同45年に東京で没した。わずか26年間の人生ではあったが、一家離散、借金、恋愛、漂白など、逸話には事欠かない人物である。

　啄木は青森県との縁もそこそこあって、特に野辺地町とはゆかりが深く、３度訪れている。僧侶の伯父・葛原対月（かつらはらたいげつ）が町内の常光寺（じょうこうじ）の住職であったからである。啄木の父・一貞（いってい）も一時、この寺に身を寄せたことがある。文学碑は町内の愛宕山（あたごやま）公園に建ち、

　潮かをる

　北の浜辺のかの浜薔薇よ

　今年も咲けるや

　と、刻まれている。



　十和田市の文学碑は、十和田湖休屋のホテル十和田荘に、八戸市のはJR八戸駅近くにある。

　残りの大間町の文学碑については、本づくりの話もあるので、稿を改めて紹介したい。

　ちなみに、啄木の墓は、函館市の立待岬近くの高台にあって、筆者も訪ねたことがある。そこは岬へと続く道路沿いなのだが、前を歩く観光客は誰も墓で足を止めようとしない。かつてあれだけ函館観光の方便に用いられた啄木も、今は昔なのだと感じないわけにはいかなかった。






写真説明（上から順に）

�@ 青森市・合浦公園にある石川啄木の文学碑

�A 合浦公園の文学碑の碑文

�B 野辺地町・愛宕公園にある文啄木学碑

�C 函館市にある「石川啄木一族の墓」




Photo Essay: 100 Images of Aomori, Part 8

(Photo and text by Masayuki Yamauchi, editor, based in Aomori City)



Gapo Park - II: Takuboku's Literary Monument



　I once visited the monument of Takuboku Ishikawa in Aomori Prefecture. The reason for this was to write a book about Takuboku, which was requested by a person living in Oma Town.

　There are five literary monuments to Takuboku in Aomori Prefecture. There are five literary monuments to Takuboku in Aomori Prefecture: Noheji Town, Towada City, Hachinohe City, Oma Town, and Gapo Park in Aomori City.

　The monument in Gapo Park stands on the sandy beach by the sea, in the shade of pine trees.

　Drinking in a Boat

　The eyes of a woman who can be kind to others

　When I think of the sea of Tsugaru

　This poem was written by Takuboku on May 4, 1907, when he and his sister Mitsuko went to Hokkaido by ship from Aomori Port. The poem was written on May 4, 1907 when Takuboku and his sister Mitsuko left Aomori Port for Hokkaido by ship.

　Takuboku was born in Iwate Prefecture in 1881 and died in Tokyo in 1923. Although he lived for only 26 years, there is no shortage of anecdotes about his life, such as his family separation, debt, love life, and drifting away.

　Takuboku had some connection with Aomori Prefecture, especially with the town ofNoheji, which he visited three times. He visited the town three times because his uncle, Taigetsu Katurahara, who was a Buddhist priest, was the head priest of Jokoji Temple in the town. Takuboku's father, Ittei, also lived at this temple for a while. The monument is located in Atago-yama Park in the town.

　The tide is breaking

　A rose on the northern shore of the beach

　Will it bloom again this year?

　is inscribed on it.

　Towada City's monument is located at the Hotel Towadaso in Lake Towada's Yasumiya district, and Hachinohe City's is near JR Hachinohe Station.
　The rest of the monuments in Oma Town will be introduced in another article as there is a story about the making of the book.

　Incidentally, Takuboku's grave is located on a hill near Tachimachi Misaki in Hakodate City, which I have visited. It is located along the road leading to the cape, but none of the tourists walking in front of me stopped at the grave. I couldn't help but feel that Takuboku, who was once used as a tourist attraction in Hakodate, is now a thing of the past.



Photo Description (from top to bottom)

(1) Ishikawa Takuboku's monument in Goura Park, Aomori City

(2) Inscription on the monument in Gapo Park

(3) Monument to Takuboku in Atago Park, Noheji Town

(4) Tomb of the Ishikawa Takuboku Family in Hakodate