English
4:00 AM
Last night we were hit by a guerrilla downpour and strong winds, and the storm shutters rattled violently until dawn.
When I opened the curtains, the morning glow in the eastern sky looked as if it had been dyed with an akane-iro dye. The beauty of the delicate gradation of colors took my breath away. The silhouette of the towering tower blocks in the distance stood proud. The hygrometer reads over 80%. The humidity is stifling, but the air is crystal clear after the storm, and the solid morning light is motivating to shoot.
I slather my plate with ham and eggs, thick buttered toast, and leftover potato salad, make a pot of milk, apple juice, and coffee, check the weather forecast on my phone, and get ready to shoot. The time allowed was apparently about three hours. The rain cloud radar was showing data that rain clouds would cover the area again.
It was a 15-minute walk to the forest park where we planned to shoot. The tripod, a die-cast aluminum tripod that I have used for more than 30 years, weighed more than 8 kg including the head, the bulky body of the Lumix S1, and a 50 mm large-aperture lens. The equipment is simple, but it bites through the thin fabric of my T-shirt.
When I was in my 30s and 40s, I used to carry a 40-liter rucksack filled with 35mm, 6×6, and several interchangeable lenses, and I used to challenge Daisetsuzan and Mt. The heavy equipment never bothered him. His small back and large rick are in the style of a tortoise. Photography was just a diversion from his work, and he was more interested in camera equipment than in photography. He was taking pictures with a foolish and narrow mindset, thinking that high-end equipment would bring better results.
The communication of wills.
Beyond the park entrance, a plaza and a wooded area spread out.
From the plaza, I could hear people talking peacefully, about 10 people in a large circle. I looked around and saw only elderly people and no young people. They were people who had gathered for radio calisthenics.
Such a scene is rare these days. When I was a child, “NHK morning radio exercises” were a national event during summer vacation. At 6:30 in the morning, children, adults, and even the elderly would move their bodies to the music on the radio in narrow alleys, shopping streets, and small squares all over the country.
However, as people moved more frequently and the number of local residents decreased, complaints of “noisy noise” became frequent, and it became difficult for neighborhood associations to continue the practice. Not only radio calisthenics, but even the bell ringing on New Year’s Eve has become a target for “noise” in this day and age.
The people who want to stop the exercises also have a sincere desire to do so. In the past, the workday generally lasted from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.. Today, however, the ratio of people working in shifts around the clock has dramatically increased. Especially in an aging society, 24-hour shifts are indispensable in nursing care and medical fields. For those who have to sleep after a night shift in the midst of extreme heat, the noise is nothing more than a disturbance to their sleep, even though it is a national event.
The radio calisthenics about to begin in front of me was a rare sight nowadays, as there were hardly any houses around. I gestured to some people who were looking at me, and sent them my intention to photograph the event. They raised their arms, lightly bailed, and gave me their willing consent.
日本語
朝4時
昨夜はゲリラ豪雨と強風に襲われ、明け方まで雨戸が激しくガタついていた。
カーテンを開けると東の空は茜いろの染料に染められたような朝焼け。繊細な色彩のグラデーション、その美しさに息を呑んだ。彼方にそびえるタワマンのシルエットが誇らしげだ。湿度計は80%を超えている。湿度は息苦しいが、嵐の後の大気は透明度が高く、しっかりした朝の光は撮影への意欲を高めてくれる。
ハムエッグと分厚いバタートースト、作り置きのポテトサラダを皿にドサっと盛り付け、ミルクとアップルジュース、コーヒーを淹れ、スマホの天気予報を確認して撮影の準備を済ませた。許された時間はどうやら3時間ほど。雨雲レーダーは再び雨雲に覆われるデーターを示している。
撮影予定の森林公園までは歩いて15分ほど。三脚にカメラを固定し担いでいく。30年以上愛用してきたアルミダイキャストの三脚は雲台を含めると8kg以上、LUMIX S1のゴツいボディー、50mm大口径レンズ。機材はシンプルだが、Tシャツの薄い布越しに食い込んでくる。
30〜40代の頃は35mm、6×6版、何本もの交換レンズを詰め込んだ40Lものリックを背負い、重い登山靴を履いて大雪山や屋久島宮之浦岳に挑んだこともあった。重い機材が苦になることはなかった。小柄な背中に大きなリック姿は亀の風体だ。写真撮影は仕事の気分転換、写真よりカメラ機材に興味があったに過ぎなかった。高級な機材が良い結果をもたらす、そんな愚かで狭小な思考回路でシャッターを切っていた。
意志の疎通ということ
公園のエントランスの向こうに、広場と雑木林が広がっている。
広場からは人々の長閑な話し声。10人ほどが大きな輪を描いていた。視線を走らせると高齢の人達ばかりで若い人の姿はない。ラジオ体操に集まってきた人たちだ。
このような光景は最近では珍しい。私が子供の頃、「NHK朝のラジオ体操」は夏休みの国民的行事だった。狭い路地先や商店街、小さな広場など全国津々浦々、朝6時半になると子供や大人老人までが、ラジオから流れる音楽に合わせ、体を動かしていた。
しかし人々の移動が頻繁になり、地元民が少なくなると「音がうるさい」といった苦情が頻発、町内会単位での継続が難しくなってしまった。ラジオ体操どころか除夜の鐘さえ「騒音」として槍玉に挙げられるご時世なのだ。
もっとも中止派の側にも切実な想いがある。昔は朝9時から夕方5時までが一般的な勤務時間だった。しかし現代では24時間、交代勤務に携わる人々の比率が飛躍的に増えている。特に高齢化社会においては介護や医療現場などでは24時間のシフト制は欠かせない。酷暑のさなか、夜勤明けで睡眠を摂らなくてはならない人たちにとっては国民的行事とは言えども、睡眠妨害の騒音に過ぎないわけだ。
目の前で始まろうとしているラジオ体操は周囲に住宅はほとんどなく、今となっては希少な光景だろう。私はこちらを窺う何人かの人たちへジェスチャーを交え、撮影の意思を送った。腕を上げたり軽く会釈をしたり、快諾の意思を送り返してくれた。