山と川と生きる私たち：Humans Living with Mountains and Rivers
台風18号一過の朝、妙高山は何事もなかったかのように悠然と青空に聳えていました。
In this morning just after the typhoon No. 18, Yoshy saw Mt. Myoko standing sedately like everything was normal in the blue sky.
夕方レッスン前に、友人からパソコンの不具合を見てほしいとの電話があって、ご自宅へ10分ほどの距離を歩いて行ってきました。
One of Yoshy’s friends called me asking me to fix the problem of her PC in this afternoon before my lessons of LL Shihoya Arai School; I visited her house in about ten minutes’ walk.
簡単に修復できてほっとしながらの帰路、頸南病院の東側を流れる渋江川を撮影しました。
Fortunately I could fix it more easily than I imagined. On my way back home feeling refreshed, I took a picture of Shibue-river near Keinan Hospital.
遠くに見える丘陵は、船岡山です。新井中高生時代のスキー授業はそこまで歩いて雪踏みばかりして1回滑り降りるだけのしんどい授業でした。でも、そんなものだと不平不満など感じませんでした。雪の下を流れていた湧き水の美味しかったこと！
You can see lush and green hills far away in it. It is called Funaoka-yama, where we used to ski in skiing lessons when Yoshy was in Arai J/S High School. We walked there with our skiing-sets. As soon as we reached there, we had to make the slope by treading up to the top of the hill, skiing down only once or twice. No one complained of such a sweltering exercise. Yes! What a good taste the water rushing spring under snow was!
当たり前のことですが、日本海へ注ぐ河川の源は山林ですね。
There is no wonder to say; the water flowing into Japan Sea starts from mountains with TREES, doesn’t it?
山に森林があるから、台風18号のような豪雨で決壊する事があっても、通常、その山は「天然の貯水池」です。
As long as a mountain or a hill has TREES, it is worthy of being called “natural water supply reservoir”; even though such a natural dam sometimes breaks by unexpected heavy rain like Typhoon no. 18.
水は程よく流れ下って、田畑を潤してくれます。日本人は治水をしながら、神に祈りながら自然との調和を大切にしてきました。または、していたのです。
In general, water is slowly floating into rice field. We Japanese have taken care of changeable rivers by often praying various Gods in our long history; so to speak, we have lived in harmony with nature or we DID.
LLの庭では、今、オクラの収穫期です。このちっぽけな地面の下でも、土とオクラの根っこが絶妙なバランスを保って「保水」しています。
Yoshy was harvesting okra today in LL Garden. Even under this small garden, the soil and the roots of okra are “reserving its necessary water” in a fine balance with each other.
ご存じの通り、近年、「熊や猪の町中への出没」がテレビ報道で話題になっています。
As you know, “bears and wild bores, etc. are often seen in town” these days; which we watch on TV.
この小さな妙高市でさえ、大きなゴルフ場が3つもあります。日本全国では一体いくつあるのでしょうね？
There are three big golf courses in this small city, Myoko. How many ones on the earth are there all over Japan?
飢えて町中に出没する熊、樹木が伐採された丘陵が簡単に土砂崩れや地滑りする被害は、果たして100%、「自然災害」でしょうか？
It is natural that such very hungry bears should step down to try finding their foods. It is also natural that hills and mountains without TREES should easily touch off mudslides. Can we call such disasters “100 % natural ones”?
やれやれ…ゴルフ好きな友人に又叱られるでしょうね。こんな「頭隠して尻隠さない」例は山ほどあります。例えば…
My, my… golf lovers are sure scolding Yoshy again, aren’t they? This is like an ostrich burying its head in the sand, which we know a lot! For example …
「在来線廃止反対！」と言いながら、マイカー通勤。
The lots of people saying “No taking off the conventional railway lines!” are driving to their offices.
「原発反対！」と言いながら、「スマホで日本中を電磁波津波にはだんまり！」ヨッシーは持たないことで有名ですが、困れば人の携帯をつい借りています。
Though crying “No atomic power”, the most of them are intentionally or unintentionally, usually shutting their eyes during using their smartphones; they still know that “Japan is already full of electromagnetic waves of Tsunami!” Yoshy is famous for a strange person without a mobile phone, but ashamed I sometimes use others’ in need.
私も含めて、「保身」という「心の鎖国」に慣れっこになっている今の日本人の在り方にメスを入れなければ、教育者はもちろん大人たちは、子供たちに胸を張って教育など出来ないと、私は思います。
Including me, if we Japanese do not carefully watch our “national isolation in mind” called “SELF PROTECTION”, I think we adults including educators cannot do educate our children to live in the future, can we?
「Yoshy’s 主張と哲学」は、You can read “Yoshy’s Opinions and Philosophy” by clicking：HERE:ここをクリックなさってください。