ここ数日、札幌もようやくにして「雪割り」好適の天候が続いております。12月からの冬の間に積層していたわが家駐車場の雪は放って置いても融雪はするのですが、厚さ20cm超ほどの頑固に固い積雪面がそれでも10-15坪ほどは残っていました。春の陽射しとやわらかな雨にノンビリと任せるのが普通でしょうが、自分の健康チェックも含めてこういった残雪に対して、それを自力で処理する努力で立ち向かっておりました。雪割りって結構な「力仕事」なのです。
　先日来書き続けていますが、こういう「雪との対話」には、北国としての独特の「季節感」の感性が象徴的に込められているように思われる。一種の「庭仕事」的な思いがそこにあるのですね。そのように自覚的に取り組んでみると、季節感とシンクロする「努力目標」みたいなものが盛り上がってきて、いわば「最期を見届ける」みたいな感覚から、ことしの冬との別離を彩りたくなってくる。北国の春、の演歌が脳内に響いてくる（笑）。
　そういう気分と自分の体力との話し合いの結果、処分方法が固まっていく。今年の冬の一期一会。
　結果としてことしは家の周りの特定ヵ所に割り雪を集合させてみた次第。この場所は雨だれが落下してくる場所とその周辺なので、屋根雪の融雪水がさらに固雪解消の促進剤としても働いてくれるという判断。
　こんなふうに雪との対話を続けていると、通勤しているスタッフの多くから「固雪、すごいですね」と感動の声掛けしてくれる。やはり雪国人らしい「自然との対話」の共感。雪と人間との「対話記録」が心象に刷り込まれるのでしょう。
　さて、こうして今年の雪との対話を片付けたのは、週末に向けて東京出張を控えているから。カミさんからは冬の間、家の雪のことを考えて出張は控えて欲しい、という宣告を受け続けていた。少なくとも天候と相談して、大雪が予測されないときにだけ外出出張の許可が与えられていた（笑）。まぁそのキモチはよくわかるので従順に従っておりましたが、この写真のような段階になれば、そういう宣告期間は終了と考えられる。占領状態から自由への復帰。
　写真のような光景を見つつ、北国・雪国の「家守」管理からの戦後的解放をしみじみ感じております。やった！

English version

The final scene of this season’s solid snow treatment in Sapporo.
The song ‘Spring in the North Country’ is hauntingly played in my brain. The scene of the commemoration of the end of the war with the winter of this year. Liberation from the oppression of occupation. …

　The past few days have finally brought good weather for breaking up the snow in Sapporo, and although the snow in our parking lot that had accumulated during the winter since December melted even if we left it alone, there was still a stubbornly hard snow surface of more than 20 cm thick, covering an area of about 10-15 pyeong (1.5-2.5 m2). It would be normal to leave it to the spring sunshine and soft rain, but I was making an effort to deal with this kind of remaining snow by myself, including checking my own health. Snow clearing is quite ‘hard work’.
　As I have been writing about since the other day, this kind of ‘dialogue with the snow’ seems to symbolise the unique ‘sense of the seasons’ that we have as a northern country. You have a kind of ‘garden work’ feeling there. When you try to work consciously in this way, something like an ‘effort target’ synchronised with the sense of the season rises, and you want to colour your separation from the winter of this year from a sense of ‘seeing the end of the season’, so to speak. The song ‘Spring in the North’ echoes in my brain (laughs).
　As a result of these moods and discussions with my own physical strength, the method of disposal becomes fixed. This winter was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
　As a result, this year I gathered the snow in specific places around the house. This is in and around the area where the raindrops fall, so I decided that the melting water from the roof snow would also act as a catalyst for further solidification of the snow.
　As I continue to interact with the snow in this way, many of the staff who commute to the office say to me, ‘The solid snow is amazing’, and I am very impressed. This is the kind of empathy in ‘dialogue with nature’ that is typical of people from snow country. The record of the dialogue between snow and people must be imprinted on their mental image.
　Now, the reason I have put away this year’s dialogue with snow is because I have a business trip to Tokyo coming up over the weekend. My wife kept pronouncing that I should refrain from business trips during the winter in view of the snow at home. At least she consulted with the weather and only gave me permission to go out on business trips when heavy snow was not forecast (laughs). Well, I understand that sentiment, so I obediently followed it, but once we reached the stage shown in this photo, such a period of pronouncement was considered to be over. Return from occupation to freedom.
　While looking at scenes like the one in the photo, I am deeply feeling the post-war liberation from the ‘house-keeping’ management of the northern and snowy country. Yay!
　

Posted on 3月 26th, 2025 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 日本社会・文化研究