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♦♦　海洋技術環境学専攻
♦♦♦　 小平翼講師
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　新年あけましておめでとうございます。新型コロナウィルスの感染者数も落ち着きを見せ、年末年始をふるさとで過ごせられた方も多いかと存じます。私は信州は八ヶ岳の麓、諏訪地方にある長野県茅野市の出身です。同地域は蓼科をはじめ、避暑地として根強い人気があり、八ヶ岳の登山客の玄関口としても知られており、最近ではキャンプの目的地としても選ばれる様です。また、寅と申の年に催される「御柱祭」（通称おんばしら）をご存知の方もいらっしゃるかと存じます。

「御柱祭」といえば氏子衆が巨木にまたがり坂を下っていく「木落し」が有名ですが、正式名称は「式年造営御柱大祭」といい、千年の歴史を持つ神事です。「式年造営」は一定期間で社殿等の建て替えを行う形態を指し、諏訪大社では社殿の四隅に「御柱」と呼ばれる樹齢200年程のもみの巨木を取り替え、宝物殿を建て替えることで社殿等の建て替えを代替します。

御柱祭は神事としての側面もありますが、個人的には地域の人々が共通体験をする非常に重要な機会だと感じています。非日常な状況の中で一緒に汗を流したり、協力一致で達成した感動で涙することでより豊かな人間関係が育まれることも多いのではないでしょうか。コロナ禍では柏キャンパスで毎年開催されていた新入生歓迎BBQ大会は開催できず、一般公開もオンライン開催となり、なかなか「ゆとり」ある時間がとれないのは残念に感じます。2022年こそは再生の年となる希望を持ちつつ、基本的な感染対策を怠らず、間断なく従事される医療関係者の方々への敬意を忘れずに過ごしたく思います。

Happy New Year! Seeing the number of people infected with covid19 has been going down, many people may have spent the holiday in their hometown this year. My hometown is Chino City, Nagano Prefecture, in the Suwa region, at the foot of Yatsugatake Mountains in Shinshu. The area is a very popular destination in the summer seasons, including Tateshina, and is also known as the gateway for Yatsugatake climbers. Recently, it seems to be selected as a camping destination as well. Some of you may have heard of “Onbashira Festival” (commonly known as Onbashira) held in the year of Tiger and Monkey in the Chinese Zodiac.


Speaking of the “Onbashira Festival”, the most famous part of the festival may be “Kiotoshi” where the local participants straddle a giant tree and slide down the slope. The official name of Onbashira is Shikinen Zoei Mihashira Taisai. The history is 1000-year long. “Shikinen Zoei” refers to the form of rebuilding the shrine in a certain period of time. At Suwa Taisha Shrine, instead of the rebuilding the shrine, four Onbashira trees are placed vertically at the corner of the shrine, and the treasure hall is rebuilt.


The Onbashira Festival plays a role as a Shinto ritual, but I personally feel that this is a significant opportunity for local people to have this exciting experience together. People work hard together and even burst into tears because of the happiness of achieving something together. Cooperation and Unity often foster richer relationships. It is a pity that the BBQ event for the new students, which was organized annually at the Kashiwa Campus, did not happen due to coronavirus, and the Open campus was also held online. I hope 2022 will be the year of rebirth. I would like to continue following the Act on the Prevention of Infectious and respect doctors and medical staff who are fighting against this pandemic all the time.

 

⇐　2021年12月のコラム　　2022年2月のコラム　⇒