Happy New Year to all of you
I appreciated the cooperation of many people to promote activities related to “The Phone of the Wind” and “Forest Library” last year. Thank you very much.
This year as well, we are thinking of promoting activities from the aspects of art and culture, focusing on mental care and cultivating sensibilities under the banner of “reconstruction of the heart” in the disaster area. I look forward to your support and cooperation this year, too.
Now, in the fourth year since the Great Earthquake, the appearance of the region is changing drastically. Namiita district where I live is no exception, and the land reclamation work for relocating to a higher ground began in June last year. All the cedar forests that met the back of the house were cut down, the surface soil was stripped, and cement was mixed and hardened to improve the soft ground.
This time, it is said that the boundary will be dug deep, concrete blocks will be piled up, and a retaining wall of 2 to 3 meters will be built to create a stepped residential land. The walls of the inorganic concrete blocks and the natural environment of the children’s playground were nothing.
I come to hear the opinions of town planning and landscape planning, but they are rarely reflected. It is understandable that there are many problems such as flooded areas in lowlands, difficulty in obtaining land on highlands, and the fourth year of temporary living. However, I am very concerned about the urban development that seems to be a priority for solving immediate problems, ignoring the natural environment and the landscape with the surroundings.
I went to the tree house with the book “Wrath of the Screaming Land of Heaven”, which was the customary event on New Year’s Day this year. Although the cedar forest around “The Forest of Kikki” has disappeared, the miscellaneous trees in the front are still alive. Burn the stove, boil water, make a mug of whiskey, and leave it to the chair hammock to sway in the blue sky together with the trees outside.
Looking around the room, the lamp and the free key hanging from the top of the stove are shaking in the same way. When the wind shook the bare tree and blew through, the whole tree house sang with a roar of go, followed by Konkon, Tantan, Kankan and the tree house. The cowbell attached to the door makes a particularly high-pitched sound.
It’s a moment when I feel everyone is healthy and alive. I have a feeling that a lot of fun will happen this year as well.
Kenji Miyazawa’s exhibition “Ihatov and Sanriku Coast”, which has been held since December last year, this year, a lecture by inviting Kenji researchers during the period, and the establishment of the Kenji Miyazawa Study Group (tentative name) I would like to start the fund-raising activities of.
We ask for your support and cooperation in the fund-raising activities for the construction of Kenji’s poetry monument, as well as the “reconstruction of the heart” activities of Bell Gardia KUJIRAYAMA.
Let’s create a wonderful Otsuchi Town together! !!
