7/2-12/2
After one night in Nishinomiya we have left for Kyushu. Although there are only a few utamakura in Kyushu itself we plan to return to Kansai in short steps to cover sites on the island of Shikoku and along the south coast of Honshu. We first visit Uminonakamichi, a small peninsula north of Fukuoka which is generally known for its beaches and a large amusement park. We are looking for two utamakura on a small island at the end of the peninsula, Shikanoshima.
At Shiga, the fisherwomen
Cutting seaweed, burning salt
Too busy even to pass a comb
Through their hair
Ishikawa. Man'yoshu Vol.3 #278
A few hundred metres further on we find the second utamakura stone on a curve in the road, behind it is a mixture of rubbish and rock pools,
In Shiga, fishermen burning salt -
The smoke does not rise
Into space with the wind
But flows crooked into the mountain.
Anon. Man'yoshu Vol.7 #1246
At Dazaifu we visit the site of the Governor's palace. The main area is being excavated and covered by the kind of large blue vinyl sheet that can always be found where there is any building work being done. It is here that Otomo no Tabito was posted, far from his beloved Nara, and in nostalgia, some conjecture that it was on hearing of the death of his wife, wrote:
In realisation
Of the emptiness of the world
Deeper and deeper
Is my sorrow
Man'yoshu Vol.9 #723
At the busy shrine of Tenmangu on the other side of the town is a plum tree, which, legend has it, willed itself to Dazaifu from the Kyoto garden of courtier Sugawara no Michizane; hence its name Tobiume, 'flying plumtree'. Today in full bloom, the tree is the centre of attention for all the visitors.
When the east wind blows
Dear plum flower send your scent
And remember the spring
Even though I am not with you
Before going to Karatsuwan, a bay to the north east of Kyushu we spend one night in Fukuoka. I am able to sleep only after we check that there is no Buddhist mantra written on the back of the picture frame in our room to ward off evil spirits. A friend has told us that the hotel we are staying in is said to be haunted by numerous salarymen who have committed suicide by jumping out the window.
12/2
Karatsu is a small town at the end of a long, quiet branch line and at the mouth of the Matsura river. We reach it on a very cold cloudy day, the strong wind is sending the clouds speeding across the sky at an almost unnatural speed. Soon after checking in we go out to take a picture of the bay and hand our key over to the clerk at the front desk, who is slightly incredulous as to why anyone should want to go walking in such bad weather. It is indeed freezing outside, and my hands almost stick to the cold metal of the tripod. However, the view is dramatic,
Not a hundred days away -
The road to Matsura.
I can reach there today
And return the morrow -
So then, what stops me here?
Okura. Man'yoshu. Vol.5 #870
In the evening over dinner we are lucky enough to be able to steal a glimpse of a nearby hotel's firework display. The staff are as surprised as we are and dim the lights so that we can watch the falling orange embers extinguish as they drop into the sea outside the window.
13/2
Overlooking the bay and the Matsura river is Mt Kagami, which for us is only reachable by taxi. The taxi driver is clearly proud of his home town and relates all the local history on the way up including the legend of Princess Sayo, who waved goodbye to her lover from the top of the mountain as a boat took him away on an Imperial mission. The story caused the place to be named Hirefurumine ﾐscar waving peak. At the top we walk around and admire the panorama from the observatory, before we find a strange junk shop which is named after princess. The shop is home to numerous cats who insist on posing in front of the seemingly deserted shop, however after a few minutes the shutters rattle and the owner of the shop starts putting out his wares on hangers by the window, plastic dolls, wooden carvings and Buddhist talismans. He notices me taking pictures and when I am finished asks if I would like to have a coffee. It turns out that he is a bit of a snapper himself, and during his 38 years living on the top of the hill he has taken photos of the view in all kinds of weather. The shop is a collection of odds and ends, which he says he hardly ever sells; he makes his living mostly from a part-time teaching job and through my imperfect Japanese I understand that he dislikes the rote learning that is such a major part of the education system. I can only mumble an inarticulate agreement, which, although it is completely sincere, comes out rather half-heartedly as I do not want to appear too eager to criticise. It is with some regret that I say goodbye, since I have not been able to really say anything sensible, and have understood very little of a rather one-sided conversation which was potentially of some interest.
When Princess Sayo waved
Her scarf upon this peak
Did she mean the mountain's name
To speak of her sorrow
For years to come
Anon. Man'yoshu Vol.5 #872
In the intervening thousand years since the writing of the Man'yoshu the name of Matsuragawa has moved to the broad tidal river that runs through the centre of Katsura. The original Matsura river is now named Tamashimagawa, a much less conspicuous ribbon of water to the east of Katsura; the taxi driver that takes us there informs us that it is most beautiful near it source, up in the mountains, where, it seems, there are quite a few spa resorts. He is a little perplexed when we ask him to let us off opposite a petrol station, where the river is lined with green houses and building work.
Standing in the river -
Maiden catching sweetfish,
The hem of your robe is wet
In the glittering shallows
Of the Matsura river
Anon. Man'yoshu. Vol. 5 #855
Returning to Fukuoka we plan to leave on the evening ferry to Matsuyama, and in the intervening hours have a late lunch and I take some time to browse through the photography section of a large book shop. It is well-stocked and to see so many photographers together - Ansel Adams next to Bernd and Hilla Becher and Ryuji Miyamoto, Cartier -Bresson next to Matt Mahurin and Sebastiao Salgado - is a feast for a gourmand. I come away blinking, my head in Kowloon, Yellowstone, Baton Rouge and Paris all at the same time. Too late we realise that the banks are closed and we are stranded in Fukuoka with only two thousand yen, but with some relief we find a hotel that accepts my credit card, dinner is a few snacks from a nearby convenience store.
14/2
Next to the five days that the rain kept us in Takaoka this has been our only other major delay, and it feels unnatural to have had spare time. Tamiko, however, is pleased to have the opportunity to spend a few hours walking around her old hometown, Kokura, before we leave for Matsuyama, and we have lunch in a cafe that she used to go to when she was at school here. She tells me that the neither the decor nor the menu have changed in the fifteen years she's been away.
We arrive in Matsuyama just after the sun has set, and go to meet an English friend of mine who is putting us up. Tamiko elects to stay in this evening and Richard and I go out for the drink, pool playing and political arguments that are the staple of our friendship. In the first bar we go to the tone of the evening is set by us happening upon 90% proof Polish Spirit and a wild-eyed American friend of Richard's who claims, and is largely disbelieved by the rest of the bar, to be a veteran of the war in Vietnam. Coming from two Vietnamese families who were both active in the war in various ways, and with a tendency towards argumentativeness, discussing the war with American veterans is a perverse pleasure of mine. So, with perhaps an over-determined curiosity, I ask him a few probing questions, and it seems to me that this off-kilter but strangely gentle man in front of me either was there during the war, or at least knows far more about it than most people generally would. His face lights up when I tell him that some of my family worked for the South Vietnamese government, and he is clearly about to let down his guard when I ask him if he has ever heard of Albert Pham Ngoc Thao. He pauses for a minute, his eyes dart around searching for something to say; at this point I think the rest of the bar are right, it's all an act, but then slowly, carefully, and with a trace of what I think is bitterness, he says 'He really played a fine line'. Is he talking about himself now, or is this an American patriot's way of grudgingly acknowledging the activities of a master spy? The conversation continues and I am not astute enough to judge, I can only guess that the net result, either way, is that the man in front of me must feel alone. He offers to get me a drink, and unwittingly I choose the most expensive whisky in the bar, I try to choose a more reasonable alternative, but he pats me on the arm and says it's alright. He wants to drink to our respective home countries but, argumentatively, I say that I'm happy not to have one.
15/2
The following day I get up feeling very tender, and it is late afternoon when Tamiko and I go to the area behind Dogo onsen, famous for being one of the oldest spas in the country. The hill behind, Izaniwa no oka, has seen better days; large new chains of modern hotels have severely the damaged the smaller businesses, and, like Sessho Seki some months ago, we see numerous buildings that are either on the verge of being deserted or half ruined.
Our divine Princes and Emperors
Rule over many lands
But in Iyo our noble Lord
Finds good the mountains and the islands,
And on Izaniwa no oka
Below its jagged rocky peak
He writes words
And composes songs
I look upon the glistening springs
With trees about them -
A white fir already grown a generation,
And I hear birdsong,
Unchanged since the beginning of history.
Let this holy place
Which saw our Lord's procession pass
From this time on endure
For ages hence.
Yamabe Akahito. Man'yoshu Vol.3 #322
16/2
Before we leave Matsuyama and cross the Seto inland sea we have one more picture to take; Nikitatsu, that used to be a sea port but is now on the outskirts on the town and many kilometres inland. The house where we are staying is within this area. The uta stone itself stands in the grounds of the nationalist Gokokujinja, or Shrine to Five Countries, which is dedicated to the dead of Japan's imperialist wars. However, despite an hour looking at the stone from all angles I cannot find a composition that pleases me. The picture I eventually take is of the bedroom in which we stayed, just before we set off to catch our ferry to the mainland.
About to embark
From the harbour at Nikita
We waited for the moon -
Now the tide is right
Let us set sail
Emperor Jomei. Man'yoshu Vol.1 #8
Our ferry takes us to Kure port, and we are approaching a beautiful area of many small islands that, until now, I have only been able to see from car or train windows. The fact that it has always been a landscape that I could only admire during intermittent glimpses has made it all the more beautiful in my imagination. Today, as we slowly sail through it, the sunset spreads a red blanket of colour on the sea and sky around us.
17/2
From Kure port we take an hour bus ride to Kurahashijima, a peninsula to the south-east where there is a small beach lined with pine trees. The day is hot and muggy and the featureless beach is a difficult subject to take, especially with the strong shadows cast by the midday sun. However, just as we are about to catch the bus back to Kure, a delicate band of cloud softens the light on the beach and I quickly take a shot of a burned out bonfire around which are scattered spent fireworks. The uta of this place is sung by a warrior on his way to battle in the land of Kudara, his thoughts turning to the possibility of not returning to his loved one,
If only my life
Had the grace
And countless years
Of this small pine forest
At Nagato Island
Anon. Man'yoshu Vol.15 #3621
It is nearly dark as we reach the next utamakura, several kilometres up the coast, but fortunately the train station is only a short walk from the shoreline where I must take my shot. Again, this evening, the sea has a rich glow, but this time my appreciation of it is limited to a few minutes during which I am frantic to catch the remains of the daylight on the boats and crusted oyster shells at the water's edge.
My departure
Must cause my wife to grieve.
I pause to think
As the mist flows over the sea
At the bay of Kazahaya
Anon. Manﾕyoshu Vol.15 #3615
After the sun has gone down, a chilling mist takes over the sky and when we arrive in Onomichi, where we will spend the night, it is clear that the weather is changing. After a brief panic when we find out that all the cheap business hotels are full Tamiko sets us up in a resort hotel next to the castle overlooking the city. Before we go to sleep we take a walk along the tree lined promenade that runs along the top of the hill, now guarded by groups of cats of varying friendliness.
18/2
We are up early and see that the town is covered with a thick grey mist, wooden houses line the hill down to a river that splits the town in two. Onomichi was a favourite retreat for Meiji period writers and the feeling of that time has been well-preserved. We walk to Nagae-cho which was once a bay and I struggle with spots of rain on the lens and large four wheel drive cars blocking the view,
The cry of cranes
As they fly across the bay
Searching for food
At Tama, I wonder
Is the dark night over?
Anon. Man'yoshu Vol.15 #3598
It would be nice to see Onomichi in better weather, but we move on , travelling by bus to a small fishing village by the bay of Tomo here Otomo no Tabito, before returning to Nara in the winter of the year 730 wrote:
This juniper tree
Still stands at Tomo no ura -
My wife is gone
Who once saw it too
Man'yoshu Vol.3 #446
Low cloud clings to the top of the surrounding hills, and when I take a light reading the weather is so grey it seems as though we are almost on the edge of night time, even though it is early afternoon. This dreariness is not appropriate to the sharp poignancy of Otomo no Tabito's lament, but then it is certain that I would not want to encounter an image so sad as this song.
19/2
We have spent the night in the town of Fukuyama, where there is a large Museum of Art. After breakfast we have some time to look around, and it is a pleasant change of environment, from the inside of trains and buses, to be in this spacious carpeted silence. There is an empty library with a photography section where I can browse through a good number of editions on Japanese photographers. For a few moments I can indulge in other people's journeys and flick rapidly through as many books as possible before we set off for our next site.
We take a bus to the port, where there are only a handful of people taking the late morning ferry to Shikoku, this may have something to do with the weather report, which we watch while waiting to board and warns us that there are gale force winds in the Seto inland sea today. Despite this our ferry is running and the ship is large enough for the crossing to be uneventful. It is only when we see fifteen metre high waves crash over the sea wall when we reach Tadotsu that we realise that the wind really has been more than merely bracing.
The wind chases us to Sakaide where we find a hotel and leave our bags. The Utamakura here belongs to one of the most well-known of Man'yoshu songs which relates of Kakinomoto no Hitomaro discovering a dead body among the rocks of Samine island. We take a taxi to the peninsula which is dominated by the spans of the Seto bridge, and the billows of smoke and steam from a huge Kawasaki plant. The exact place that purports to be the location of the Utamakura I doubt has many visitors.
This land of Sanuki,
Abundant in rich seaweed
Is it for the beauty of the land
that we do not tire
to look upon it?
Or for its holiness
That we find it thus inspiring?
Eternally flourishing -
with heaven and earth,
with the sun and the moon,
this very image of grace -
so we have come to know it.
From Naka harbour,
we set out
came rowing on when
the tide winds
blew through the sky;
In the offing
we saw the towering waves,
upon the shore
white crests billowing,
In great fear of these
whale-hunted seas,
our ship ploughed on-
as we bent the oars.
So many scattered islands
here and there
but we set to
on rugged Samine-
we praise its name-
and built a shelter
on the rocky shore.
And there you lay -
we saw you
fallen on a bed of stones,
with only a beach
to serve as pillow,
with the endless roar of waves.
And if I knew your home,
I would go and bring them news.
If your wife but knew,
She would surely come and seek you out.
But not knowing
even the road straight
as a spear of jade.
she waits and waits,
with anxious heart,
your beloved wife.
Manﾕyoshu Vol.2 #220
We walk back into town after the sun has gone down, and take a long bath in the empty sento at the hotel. On tele there is the recently popular film 'Shall We Dance?'. I can't decide whether it's depiction of Blackpool as a dreamlike wonderland is laughable or truly pathetic in the classic sense. However, on reflection, it is quite possible that the local residents here might view my interest in the wasteland under the pillars of the Seto bridge in a similar light.
20/2
I cannot doubt that Otomo no Tabito felt deeply about losing his wife, but on the other side of the inland sea at the foot of the Seto bridge, we find a love song written as he returns to the capital, from his post in Dazaifu. But it is to his lover that he has left behind in Kyushu, whose name is a homophone of this spot, that he writes:
On the way to Yamato
Passing the isle
Of Kojima in the land of Kibi
I will think of you -
My lover Kojima
Far away in Tsukushi
Otomo no Tabito. Vol. 6 #967
The second site we visit today brings us nearly half way home, from the main train line it is a forty minute bus ride to a quiet little town on the coast, with the odd name of Cow Window. Miniature waves a few centimetres high roll across the beach and a strong wind blows bright white clouds around the sun. The view from the beach of the empty horizon is beautiful, but, like many of the best views we have seen on this trip, would not make a very interesting picture. Rather than be a literal transcriber of the poetry I turn the camera around and take a picture of a rundown caf incongruously named ﾔHawaiiﾕ
The sound of the waves
Echoes around the shores of Ushimado -
As rumours of you and I
Weave their way around this island
Though you come to me no longer
Anon. Man'yoshu Vol.11 #2731
Today is our last day of travel outside Kansai, and in a few hours we are back at my parents-in-lawﾕs apartment. Effectively it is the end of a journey that started half a year ago, and the completion of a project that has taken three years to plan and execute. As we enter the apartment we say ﾔtadaimaﾕ ﾐ I am here now ﾐ and it is only if I keep this exact thought at the front of my mind at all times that I will not be too sad that this great journey is over.
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1999年2月7日
九州へ向けて車で出発。両親の里帰りに便乗させてもらう。朝早く西宮を出て高速道でひたすら西へ向かう。途中宮島インターでカキフライを食べてうっすらと雪が積もった広島を眺めながら更に西へ。山口を過ぎ、関門大橋を渡って北九州へ。小倉の親戚の家で休憩し、九州自動車道で熊本へ。600kｍの車の旅が終わるころにはとっぷり日が暮れていた。
熊本泊
1999年2月8日
車で大宰府へ。まずは、都府楼跡へ行くことにする。今は大宰府と言えば天満宮だが、万葉時代の大宰府は奈良の京から役人が派遣された政庁が中心となる。その跡地が、史跡公園として整備されている。観光客に混じって地元の飼い犬達が散歩に連れられてやってくる、のんびりした公園だ。季節は少し早いが、取り囲むように植わっている梅の木の一部が、ほんのりと開花している。木と丘と広い空に囲まれたこの地の夕暮れは、遠い大和のそれを思わせる。
世間は 空しきものと 知る時し いよよますます 悲しかりけり
（大伴旅人 万葉集 5-793）
大宰府天満宮へ向かう。焼きたての香ばしい梅が枝餅を食べながら、撮影。
東風吹かば 包ひおこせよ 梅の花 主なしとて 春な忘れそ
（菅原道真）
熊本泊
1999年2月9日
志賀島へ行く。九州自動車道を走れば、熊本から福岡までは一時間足らずで来られる。インターを降り、海の中道方向の標識を辿る。志賀島は海の中道の先端から岬のように繋がる小さな島だ。干し魚を買おうと車を停めた魚屋の駐車場の片隅に大きな石が立っていて、よく見ると万葉歌碑だった。魚のほうは朝出の船がまだ帰らないため、開店にまだ少し時間がかかるらしいので、合間に撮影することにする。都会風に区切れば何十台もの駐車が可能なだだっ広い空き地のような駐車場に、みな好き勝手な方向を向けていろんな角度で車を停めているので、それに倣う。すぐ脇の堤防からは釣り人が糸を垂れている。
志賀の海人は め刈り塩焼き 暇なみ くしげの小櫛 取りも見なくに
（石川君子 万葉集 3-278）
海沿いに続く道路をくねくねと走って、金印公園の下で停まる。４メートル程の高さのある断崖になっている道路の下の岩場に降りていける土の階段を下ると、つるつる光る黄土色の岩に波が打ち当たってすごい音だ。岩の隙間に溜まった薄青い水の表面に、波が寄せ打つたびにできる小さな気泡が無数に浮かんでいる。泡ができては消える微かな音がする。
志賀の海人の 塩焼く煙 風をいたみ 立ちは上らず 山にたなびく
（万葉集 7-1246）
熊本泊
1999年2月10日
一日休憩。庭でたき火をおこし、焼き芋と焼き肉を食べる。
熊本泊
1999年2月11日
神戸へ帰る家族の車に乗り下関でおとしてもらい、新幹線で博多へ。駅に近いホテルにチェックインして、友人と待ち合わせ夜の博多の町を散策。
博多泊
1999年2月12日
博多から地下鉄空港線で東唐津へ。途中からＪＲが乗り入れているらしいが、乗り換えなしで佐賀県にある唐津まで行けるのに驚く。東唐津の駅の周りは、案の定何もない。
調べてあった国民宿舎に泊まることにして、タクシーに乗る。「国民宿舎まで」と言うと運転手さんから「虹の松原ホテルですね」と確認される。着いてみると、確かにすっきりとしたデザインのホテル風の建物だった。荷物を置き、松浦川の撮影に行く。
松浦川 七瀬の淀は 淀むとも 我は淀まず 君をし待たむ
（万葉集 5-860）
夕食は懐石風和食。見た目も綺麗で、品数も多い。天井まである大きな窓に横たわる暗い浜辺を眺めながら日本酒を飲んでいると、突然しゅるしゅると音がして、どおんと花火が上がる。一瞬状況がつかめず呆然としたが、少し間を置いてまた上がる花火を見て、あ、花火か、とようやく認識する。周りの宿泊客も驚いて首をまわしてその方向を眺めている。隣のリゾートホテル前の浜辺で打ち上げているらしい。客の少ない冬期の客寄せか。なんにせよ、おこぼれで見せてもらえるので嬉しい。こちらの食堂の灯かりを落としてくれたので、薄暗闇の中で息を潜めて見物する。すぐ終わるだろうと思ったが、20分ほど次々と打ち上げられた大小の冬の花火に、ただ呆然と空を眺める。
東唐津泊
1999年2月13日
チェックアウト後荷物を預けて、虹の松原沿いの海岸を歩く。見事に弓なりにたわむ海岸線を、風で飛んでくる砂を避けるためうつむいて歩く。日は明るく射しているが、風が冷たい。
百日しも 行かぬ松浦道 今日行きて 明日は来なむを 何か障れる
（山上憶良 万葉集 5-870）
タクシーで鏡山に行く。山までの距離より、山の麓から山頂までの距離が長く感じられる。２５０メートルほどの高さらしいが、道は急勾配でぐんぐん空に向かって行く感じ。すごいですね、すごいでしょうと運転手さんと話がはずむ。神戸からきたと言うと、ふうっとため息をついて、神戸の親戚の家に遊びに行ったとき須磨に海水浴に行って腰を抜かしたという話をする。「こんな泥みたいな海にこんなに人ばおって、わしは芋じゃないっちゃぞ。」と腹が立ったらしい。ひとしきり笑う。確かに、志賀島も唐津も、北九州の海はまだまだ綺麗だ。タクシーの窓ガラスを通して見える唐津湾は、エメラルド色に光っている。
鏡山の山頂展望台に行き、しばらく海と空を眺める。海は深さと日光の当たり具合に応じて緑色の深さを何層にも代え、静かに横たわっている。
この山は、佐用姫が恋人の船出にその着物を脱いで振り続けたという伝説に残る場所。山頂公園の一角にある佐用姫茶屋を撮影。
山の名と 言ひ継げとかも 佐用姫が この山の上に 領布を振りけむ
（万葉集 5-872）
時間をかけて撮影しているうちに、閉じていた茶屋の雨戸ががらがらと開いてジャージー姿のおじさんが出てくる。今までの経験から言うと、「何でこんなとこで写真撮ってんの？」と訝しがられるのだが、中でコーヒーでもいかがですか、と薦められたので喜んでごちそうになる。高校で教えたりのアルバイトをしながらこの茶屋に住んで、写真を撮ったり旅に出たり気ままにされているらしい。すっぽりと手に心地よくはまる焼き物の椀に注がれたコーヒーは香り高く、美味しい。途中で御土産のキーホルダーを買いに入ってきた人に、これいくらですかと聞かれて、さあいくらでしょうねえと困っている。商売は苦手でね、と苦笑している。こんな処にこんな面白い人がいる、と思うと面白い。いろいろ話しているうちに、昨日撮った松浦川は歌に詠まれたそれではないことが発覚し、冷や汗をかく。万葉の松浦川は、今は玉島川と名を変えてずっと東を流れているとのこと。今日のスケジュールは博多に戻り、そこから小倉まで行ってフェリーに乗る、という強行軍なので、焦りながらタクシーを呼び玉島川まで行く。やられた、という感じ。
手早く撮影を済ませ博多へ戻る。友人と待ち合わせをしてラーメンを食べに行く。久しぶりに心からおいしいとんこつラーメンを食べ満足し、さて小倉に行こうとお金を下ろしに銀行に行くが、どこも閉まっている。すっかり忘れていたが、週末日本の銀行は5時に閉まるのだった。現金がない。呆然としながらも、小倉行きは諦め博多に泊まることにする。今日はいろいろイレギュラーな日だった。
博多泊
1999年2月14日
ホテル代金をカードで支払い、日曜日も開いている銀行を探してやっとお金をおろし、ＪＲにのって小倉まで。電車に乗る前にフェリー会社に確認の電話をかけると、船のドック入りのせいで夜9時発が昼3時に変わっているとのこと。いずれにせよ、昨日はフェリーには間に合わなかったということだ。丸一日小倉で時間潰しをしなければならないところだったので、かえって好都合。普通電車で小倉へ。高校まで過ごした懐かしい北九州市の地名を西から辿りながら、昼過ぎに小倉着。すっかり近代化した駅前に驚きながら銀天街へ。制服のままよく行った喫茶店でお昼を食べる。
フェリーで6時間、暮れていく海を眺めながら松山へ。
松山泊
1999年2月15日
以前にも撮ったが、撮り直したいと言うので道後温泉へ行く。射狭庭の岡と呼ばれた場所も撮影。
皇神祖の 神の命の 敷きいます 国のことごと 湯はしも さはにあれども 島山の 宜しき国と こごしかも 伊予の高嶺の 射狭庭の 岡に立たして 歌思ひ 辞思ほしし み湯の上の 木群を見れば 臣の木も 生ひ継ぎにけり 鳴く鳥の 声も変はらず 遠き代に 神さび行かむ 行幸処
（山部赤人 万葉集 3-322）
ももしきの 大宮人の 熟田津に 舟乗りしけむ 年の知らなく
（山部赤人 万葉集 3-323）
松山泊
1999年2月16日
熟田津はその場所未詳と言われるが、ここではないかと思われている地に偶然泊まっていたので、そこで撮影することにする。泊めてもらっている友人宅は、かつて学生寮だった古くて大きな一軒家で、独特の雰囲気がある。家の中をウルフィーと言う名の体重40キロのジャーマンシェパードが走りまわっている。
熟田津に 舟乗りせむと 月待てば 潮もかなひぬ 今は漕ぎ出でな
（額田王 万葉集 1-8）
三津浜港からフェリーで3時間あまりで呉へ。着いた時間が遅かったのか、手ごろなホテルがなかなか見つからず苦労する。
呉泊
1999年2月17日
駅からバスで倉橋島へ。1時間ほど、橋を渡り海を眺めながら走る。バスの乗客は互いに知り合いの様子で、挨拶が行き交う。カキの養殖場が多い。桂浜で降りて浜辺で撮影。
我が命を 長門の島の 小松原 幾代を経てか 神さび渡る
（万葉集 15-3621）
呉まで戻り、ＪＲ呉線に乗り換え、風早まで行く。海と丘にはさまれた小さな無人駅で降りて、海の方向へ歩く。駅前の道路を渡るともう一段下に道路が通っているのが見えるので、アパート横の細い鉄の階段を音を立てて降りる。海のすぐ脇を通る国道から、次々と走ってくる大型トラックを避けるためまた階段を降りて船着き場へ。船の掃除中のお兄さんを驚かしながら撮影していると、遥かに見える島の名前を指差して教えてくれる。日が暮れかけて、ピンク色のグラデーションがかかった空がゆっくりと薄いブルーの中に沈んで行く。鉛で薄く幕を張ったような空模様。
我が故に 妹嘆くらし 風早の 浦の沖辺に 霧たなびけり
（万葉集 15-3615）
電車で尾道へ。またもホテル探しに苦労したが、千光寺公園そばの街を見下ろす高台にあるホテルにようやく空き部屋を見つけ、タクシーで上がる。駅からすぐそこに見えたが、ぐるぐると坂道を上がらなくてはいけない。迷子になったかと心配になり始めたころホテルに着いた。部屋から窓いっぱいに映る尾道の夜景に沈黙。
尾道泊
1999年2月18日
チェックアウト後、歩いて坂道を降りる。下るのはあっという間だ。猫の通り道のような小さな坂道と先の見えない曲がり角を滑り落ちないよう気をつけながら下る。街を歩いてまわる。尾道は歩く街。
ぬばたまの 夜は明けぬらし 玉の浦に あさりする鶴 鳴き渡るなり
（万葉集 15-3598）
撮影を済ませ、ＪＲで福山へ。ホテルで束の間の休憩後、バスで鞆の浦へ向かう。30分ほどの間にJohnは眠りこける。鞆の浦は、ロサンジェルスオリンピックの時期に友達のおじいちゃんの家を訪ねて来たことがある。坂の上に立つ古い家の居間でちゃぶ台の前に正座すると、テレビ画面のマラソン選手の背後に目線の高さで水平線が見えたことを思い出す。古い漁師街の雰囲気がまだ残る町並みの所々にハイカラな喫茶店や洋食屋ができている。小雨の中で水中に沈んだようなしんとした通りを歩く。
鞆の浦の 磯のむろの木 見むごとに 相見し妹は 忘らえめやも
（大伴旅人 万葉集 3-447）
海人小舟 帆かも張れると 見るまでに 鞆の浦回に 波立てり見ゆ
（万葉集 7-1182）
福山泊
1999年2月19日
朝のニュースで海上波浪注意報がでているのを見てしまい、どきどきしながら福山港へ行く。やはり高い波のため30分遅れでフェリーが着き、出港は40分遅れる。上下に揺れるフェリーで香川県多度津港へ。多度津駅まで歩き、JRで坂出へ。駅の案内所で調べてもらうと沙弥島行きのバスは夕方6時まで無いのでがっくり、タクシーで行くことにする。案内所のおばさんは遠いよお、高いよお、と心配してくれるが、2千円はしないらしい。乗ったタクシーの運転手さんに沙弥島まで、と言うと、それどこですか？
と聞かれる。高知からお客を乗せてきた帰りで、この辺の地理はあまりわからないらしい。でも、持っていた地図を見せると分かる様子で、ほっとする。大きな工場地帯を通り抜けたところにぽつんとある、周囲２キロほどのかつての小島に着く。ここで詠われた万葉歌は、Johnが一番撮りたかったものだと言う。岩の間の死体を詠ったもの。
辿り着いたナカンダ浜は、島の小中学校の運動場から遊歩道を少し歩いた岩場のある砂浜。目の前には大きく瀬戸大橋が聳え立つ。小さな入り江になっているこの浜辺には、人もなく、岩の間には今も流れ着いた死体が凍り付いている気がするような、そんな場所だ。
玉藻よし 讃岐の国は 国からか 見れども飽かぬ 神からか ここだ貴き 天地 日月と共に 足り行かむ 神の御面と 継ぎ来る 中の湊ゆ 舟浮けて 我が漕ぎ来れば 時つ風 雲居に吹くに 沖見れば とい波立ち 辺見れば 白波さわく いさなとり 海を恐み 行く舟の 梶引き折りて をちこちの 島は多けど 名ぐはし 狭峯の島の 荒磯面に 庵りて見れば 波の音の しげき浜辺を しきたへの 枕になして 荒床に ころ臥す君が 家知らば 行きても告げむ 妻知らば 来も問はましを 玉鉾の 道だに知らず おほほしく 待ちか恋ふらむ 愛しき妻らは
（柿本人麻呂 万葉集 2-220）
坂出泊
1999年2月20日
坂出から電車に乗って児島駅で降りる。駅から歩いてすぐの港の近くの公園で犬に吠えられながら撮影。そのお家のおばあちゃんは何度も出てきて、「おうおう、今日は寒いねえ」と言いながら犬に毛糸のベストのようなものを着せていたけれど、その度に犬は律義に脱いでいた。
大和路の 吉備の児島を 過ぎて行かば 筑紫の児島 思ほえむかも
（大伴旅人 万葉集 6-967）
その後また電車で岡山へ。地下街の炉端屋でさんまの塩焼き定食を食べ力をつけて、バスで牛窓へ。瀬戸内のエーゲ海だそうだ。牛窓ってどういう意味？cow window？と繰り返し聞かれるが、ややこしいので聞こえないふりをする。砂浜を見つけてそこで撮影。カップルが数組海辺で遊んでいる。子供連れもいる。波が静かに打ち寄せる。風の強い日で、雲が頭上で動くたびに海の色が変わっていく。エメラルドグリーンの海は、確かに南の島のそれを思わせる。
牛窓の 波の潮さい 島とよみ 寄そりし君は 逢はずかもあらむ
（万葉集 11-2731）
バスで岡山まで行き、普通電車で西宮まで戻る。
旅枕は今日で終わりだ。毎日違う場所で眠った違う枕は、刺激的で、そして心地よい夢を見せてくれた。旅は日常を生きることなのだとあらためて思う。ゆらゆらとゆりかごでゆられるような毎日の中に、ふとした瞬間にころがりあらわれる目の覚める一瞬の時間。そして、また、いつのまにか夢の中へとひき戻される。時間と空間を飛び越えるのは、案外容易なのだった。終わりのない旅が始まったばかり。
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