レンゲ

最近では、田んぼにレンゲ草を植える農家がめっきり減り、新潟県内であの可憐なピンクの花畑を見ることはほとんどなくなりました。この写真の場所は旧吉川町ですが、他の地域ではしばらくレンゲ畑を目にしていません。久しぶりに出会ったレンゲの花畑を前に、原田泰治さんの絵や、文部省唱歌「故郷」の作詞者・高野辰之の故郷である長野県中野市（旧豊田村）を訪れたときの、あののどかな風景が思い出されます。農業の経験はほとんどない私ですが、なぜか懐かしさがこみ上げてきます。

北陸自動車道を走っていると、富山県や福井県では高速道路沿いに何か所もレンゲ畑を見かけることがありますが、新潟では近代的な農業が広がりすぎたせいでしょうか、すっかり姿を消してしまったようです。久しく目にすることのなかった日本の原風景の一つを前に、思わず心が和み、「故郷」の歌詞が自然と浮かんできました。

先日、高野辰之記念館を訪れた際、尋常小学校を模した部屋に入ると、係の方から「故郷」を歌いませんかと声をかけられました。部屋には古いピアノが置かれていて、少し恥ずかしくて私は遠慮しましたが、その後に訪れた初老の男性が、ピアノの伴奏に合わせて朗々と歌う姿を静かに聴きながら記念館を後にしました。私が聴いたり歌ったりして涙がこぼれそうになる歌は唱歌「故郷」だけなのです。なぜかある程度の年齢の日本人の心の底に響く名曲なのかもしれませんね。

Recently, the number of farmers planting red clover in their rice fields has declined significantly, and it has become rare to see those lovely pink fields in Niigata Prefecture. The location in this photo is the former town of Yoshikawa, but I haven’t seen any red clover fields in other areas for quite some time. Standing before this rare sight of a clover field, I am reminded of the serene landscapes I encountered when visiting Nakano City in Nagano Prefecture (formerly Toyoda Village), the hometown of Takano Tatsuyuki, the lyricist of the Ministry of Education song “Hometown,” and the artist Harada Taiji. Though I have little experience in agriculture, a sense of nostalgia wells up within me.

While driving along the Hokuriku Expressway, I often see fields of red clover along the highway in Toyama and Fukui Prefectures, but in Niigata, perhaps due to the spread of modern agriculture, they seem to have completely disappeared. Facing one of Japan’s original landscapes that I hadn’t seen in a long time, my heart couldn’t help but feel at ease, and the lyrics of “Hometown” naturally came to mind.

Recently, when I visited the Takano Tatsuyuki Memorial Museum, upon entering a room modeled after a former elementary school, a staff member asked if I would like to sing “Hometown.” There was an old piano in the room, and I hesitated, feeling a bit shy, but later, an elderly man visited and sang the song confidently, accompanied by the piano, and I quietly listened as I left the memorial hall. The only song that makes me tear up when I hear or sing it is the folk song “Hometown.” Perhaps it is a masterpiece that resonates deeply with the hearts of Japanese people of a certain age.

PENTAX645Z+39mm  1/20秒 f：18

©️photo by Nakamura Osamu