ここのところ家の近くの「琴似発寒川」に１日に複数回足を向けている。どうしても「サケ」類の遡上の様子に惹かれる心理が強くなってきている。
　以前のようにただ「季節の風物詩」として眺めている、というよりもなにか、自分自身の内発的な動機がその欲求心情には籠もっているように思える。気付かされるのが次兄からバトンタッチされた家系史研究。
　わが家系では1905年に祖父が北海道に渡って来た。北海道で人生を送るようになって３代。そして自分自身の仕事ライフにも一段落がつき始めたときに次兄から、つい目を覚ませられた気分。
　そうか、人間としての自分には刻みつけられたDNAが息づいていて、そして自分自身にも子ども孫が生まれてきて、その流れのワンパートだと気付かされるのです。自分自身にも「あと」の世代が元気に息づいてきているように、自分自身の人生も先人から受け継いできた流れなのだと。
　そう気付かせていただいて神妙に、少なくとも400年は遡れる血の流れがたどった「地域・土地」の空気に自分の身を置いて感じたいと思うようになってきた。勝手に名付ければ「サケ型心理」。自分のいのちの再確認的な希求なのかと。
　写真上はどんどん個体数が増えて「群れを成して」生まれた「母川」を遡ろうとするサケたち。
　そして、その下の写真は、わたしの家系の家名の故地と思える播州・英賀神社の夕景。
　こういうビジュアルに心理が沈殿してくるのであります。
　まだ毎日12,000歩ほどは歩き回れる体力がある今の人生時間のウチに、子孫のためにもサケの目指しているような、いのちの原点の光景をこのカラダで体験し、伝承しておきたい心理。
　北海道人は大多数がこういうこころの故地を持っている。これまでの人間の寿命は比較的短くて、こういう追究をできにくかったけれど「健康を維持して迎える高齢化」社会の到来で、その最初期にも相当するわたしたち年代は、あらたな「サケ型」領域を開拓すべきでは、ということ。
　でもまぁ、この領域はまだまだ「フロンティア」的でNHK大河で扱うような歴史のメインステージ化させるには、まだまだ時間掛かるだろうなぁ・・・。それと、北海道だけでなく首都圏地域の人びとは？

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English version⬇

[Visiting Their Hometowns: The “Salmon-Type” Psychology of Hokkaido’s Elderly]
A new frontier likely to emerge as human society achieves greater health and longevity. A new frontier in historical dramas where figures like Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu do not appear. …

　Lately, I’ve been heading to the “Kotoni Hasshikawa” river near my house several times a day. I find myself increasingly drawn to the sight of salmon and other fish swimming upstream.
　Rather than simply observing it as a “seasonal tradition” as I did before, it feels as though there is some kind of intrinsic motivation within me driving this desire. What has made me realize this is the family history research passed down to me by my second-eldest brother.
In my family, my grandfather came to Hokkaido in 1905. Three generations have now lived out their lives in Hokkaido. And just as my own professional life was beginning to settle down, my second-eldest brother suddenly made me wake up to this reality.
　I realized that the DNA etched into my very being as a human being is still alive, and as I now have children and grandchildren of my own, I’ve come to see that I am just one part of that flow. Just as the generations “after” me are thriving, my own life is also part of the stream I’ve inherited from my ancestors.
　Having been made aware of this, I’ve come to feel a solemn desire to immerse myself in the atmosphere of the “region and land” traced by a bloodline that stretches back at least 400 years. If I were to give it a name, I’d call it the “salmon-type mindset.” Perhaps it’s a yearning to reaffirm my own life.
　The photo above shows salmon, whose numbers are steadily increasing, forming a school as they attempt to swim upstream toward their “home river.”
　And the photo below shows the evening view of Aga Shrine in Banshu, which I believe is the ancestral home of my family’s name.
　It is through visuals like these that my psyche settles into a state of tranquility.
　While I still have the physical stamina to walk about 12,000 steps every day—during this phase of my life—I feel a desire, for the sake of my descendants as well, to experience with my own body the scenery representing the origin of life, just as the salmon strive to do, and to pass that legacy on.
　The vast majority of Hokkaido residents have such a spiritual homeland. Until now, human lifespans have been relatively short, making it difficult to pursue such inquiries, but with the arrival of an “aging society” where people maintain their health well into old age, our generation—which is among the very first to experience this—should pioneer a new “salmon-style” realm.
　But well, this realm is still very much a “frontier,” and it will likely take quite some time before it becomes a main stage of history, the kind featured in NHK’s Taiga dramas… And what about people in the Tokyo metropolitan area, not just those in Hokkaido?

● Announcement
My book, *Writers and Living Spaces*, has been published as an e-book by Gentosha.
Available on Amazon.

Posted on 9月 28th, 2026 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 未分類