縄文遺跡近くの桜並木

高田は桜の開花が早い。高田公園の城跡の桜が満開になると、頚城平野の桜も一斉に満開を迎える。まだ残雪のしっかりと残る妙高山を遠くに望みながら、屋敷林や集落を区切る林、あるいは拠水林のような森を縫うように車を走らせる。桜を見つけては撮影する楽しさがある平野です。

撮影地点は川沿いの緩やかな傾斜地に広がる桜並木。古墳や遺跡が点在する南葉山の麓の一帯です。縄文時代、人々はこのような地形を好んで集落を築いたのでしょうか。他の地域でも似たような地形の場所に縄文遺跡が多く見られることから、そのことがうかがえます。付近に点在する各時代の遺跡の多さから、弥生・古墳時代においても、この場所は住みやすい場所だったようです。

雪国にあって、ここは理想的な土地だったのかもしれません。以前、地元紙の新聞記者が上越市の生活全般の質の高さに感心し、転勤族でありながらも「ずっと住みたい」と語っていたことを思い出す。海も山も川も田園も町もすべてが揃い、風景も美しいこの場所は、過去も現在も人間にとってユートピアの要素が多いのだと、改めて納得しました。

Cherry blossoms bloom early in Takada. When the cherry trees in the ruins of the castle in Takada Park are in full bloom, the cherry trees in the Kubiki Plain are also in full bloom. With Mt. Myoko still firmly in the distance, the car drives through the forests that separate the houses and villages, and the forests that provide water for the village. It is a plain where one can enjoy finding and photographing cherry blossoms.

The location of the photo shoot is a row of cherry blossom trees spreading along a gentle slope along the river. This is an area at the foot of Minamihayama, dotted with ancient tombs and ruins. In the Jomon period, people probably preferred this kind of terrain for building settlements. The fact that many Jomon ruins can be found in other areas with similar topography suggests this. From the large number of ruins from various periods scattered in the vicinity, it seems that this area was a comfortable place to live even during the Yayoi and Kofun periods.

This may have been an ideal location in a snow country. I recall a local newspaper reporter once saying that he was so impressed with the overall quality of life in Joetsu City that he wanted to live here forever, even though he was a transferee. I was convinced once again that this place, where the sea, mountains, rivers, countryside, and towns all come together and the scenery is beautiful, has many elements of utopia for humans, both past and present.

EOS5DMarkⅣ 24mm 1/80秒　f:13

©️photo by Nakamura Osamu