北海道でいのちを得て、山の中を歩く機会は開かれた山道だけの自然経験しかない人間。なんですが日頃から「１日１万歩」を心がけている身としては、開かれ尽くした温暖地のちょっとした小山など・・・という気軽な気持ちで歩き始めていた。
　あ、これは昨日のブログ記事からの「続篇」。昨日記載のとおり、広島県東広島市の故地・入野の順教寺で教えられた「前山」に踏み入り、縁のある一統の墓域を探してみたのです。
　この日は数日間小雨が降り続けた梅雨の前哨戦のような気候の束の間の晴れ間。そして装備も、ごくふつうの布製の軽装シューズ。一方前山は写真のような「竹林」ぶり。本州地域をあちこち行くとはいえ、それは都市環境であってたまに竹林を見ると言っても「へ〜、こんなにきれいに竹が植わっているんだ」くらいに風景としてしか見ていなかった。まさかその竹林の山中に入っていくなどは、考えたこともなかったのですね。しかし無知は「当たって砕けろ」精神の源泉。僥倖を期待しての果敢な挑戦心。
　・・・しかし、行けども行けども竹林は地面を食い破って繁茂している。たしかにここは道のハズなのですが、ど真ん中にニョキニョキと生命力旺盛な繁茂ぶり。見た目ではほんの丘のような小山ですが、道も曲がりくねっていて迷宮・涅槃のような世界が展開している。
　たしかに道ではあるけれど、やはり勝手のわからない土地。ときどきは視界が広がるポイントに戻って迷子にならないよう気をつける必要もある。
　という難航ぶりでしたが、決定的だったのは雨水を含んだ枯れ葉積層の「ぬかるみ」道。靴が完全にずぶ濡れになってしまった。履いていた靴下も満水状態で早々に脱いだけれど、素足に濡れた運動靴では、歩行困難になってしまった。・・・
　寒冷地人間、温暖地の竹林道にノックアウトされるの一幕。
　やはりしっかりした事前調査と、装備のチェックが不可欠であることを痛感させられた。やむなく安全圏に退避することにして撤収。今回は降参せざるを得ませんでした。
　まずは札幌に帰ってから情報のチェックをしっかり進めなければ，という次第。しかしGoogleのマップでもあるレベルまでの道しか明示されていない。
　しかし、諦めるわけではありません。いつの日か、捲土重来。・・・

●お知らせ
拙書「作家と住空間」幻冬舎から電子書籍で発刊
お求めはAmazonで。
https://amzn.asia/d/eUiv9yO

English version⬇

[A Journey in Search of Ancestors: Wandering Through a Bamboo Forest Maze in a Warm Climate During the Rainy Season]
A search for a nearly forgotten family burial ground in a place of ancestral connection. A longing to find traces of the characters on those gravestones. The bamboo forest serves as a labyrinth, guiding the way through the world…

　I was born in Hokkaido, and my only experience of nature in the mountains has been on well-maintained trails. However, as someone who makes a point of walking “10,000 steps a day,” I set out with a casual mindset, thinking I’d just tackle a small hill in a warm climate where the trails are fully developed.
Oh, this is a “sequel” to yesterday’s blog post. As I mentioned yesterday, I ventured into “Maeyama,” a place I was told about at Junkyo-ji Temple in my hometown of Irino, Higashi-Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, to look for the graves of a particular lineage with which I have a connection.
That day was a brief break in the weather—a sort of prelude to the rainy season, with light rain having fallen continuously for several days. My gear consisted of nothing more than ordinary, lightweight canvas shoes. Meanwhile, Maeyama looked just like the “bamboo grove” in the photo. Even though I travel all over Honshu, I’m usually in urban environments, and even when I occasionally see a bamboo grove, I’d just think, “Wow, the bamboo is planted so neatly,” and view it merely as scenery. I never even considered venturing into the heart of such a bamboo grove. But ignorance is the source of a “go for it” spirit—a bold sense of adventure fueled by the hope of a stroke of luck.
　…But no matter how far I went, the bamboo grove kept bursting through the ground and thriving. This was definitely supposed to be a path, but right in the middle, the bamboo was sprouting vigorously with boundless vitality. Visually, it looked like just a small hill, but the path was winding, unfolding into a world like a labyrinth or nirvana.
　It is indeed a path, but it’s still unfamiliar territory. I had to be careful to return to vantage points where the view opened up from time to time so as not to get lost.
It was a difficult journey, but the decisive factor was the “muddy” path—a layer of dead leaves saturated with rainwater. My shoes got completely soaked. The socks I was wearing were also completely saturated, so I took them off early on, but walking barefoot in wet sneakers became impossible. …
　A scene where a cold-weather dweller gets knocked out by a bamboo grove path in a warm climate.
It really drove home to me that thorough advance research and equipment checks are absolutely essential. I had no choice but to retreat to a safe area and call it a day. This time, I had to admit defeat.
　First, I need to thoroughly check the information once I get back to Sapporo. However, even Google Maps only shows the path up to a certain point.
But I’m not giving up. Someday, I’ll make a comeback. …

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

Posted on 6月 6th, 2026 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 未分類