私はある日、人形浄瑠璃に使われていた魅惑的な人形に出会いました。
人形が演じていたのは、恋人に会いたい一心で放火事件を起こし、火刑に処されたという16歳のお七という名前の少女です。
残された恋人は一生涯、巡礼の旅をして過ごしたという、江戸時代の史実に基づく物語です。
人形を見つめていると、少女が残した恋人のその後の人生について深く心を痛めているように感じ、私は人形の思いを抱いて、恋人の巡礼の後をたどる旅に出ることにいたしました。
旅すがら、神社、仏閣や祀られた自然物の前では恋人の鎮魂のために祈りました。しばしば少女の気持ちを感じ、静かな悲しみが漣のように押し寄せてきました。
私たちは、あらゆる人生の局面で大切なものを失うことが多々有ります。また、失い嘆く人達を目にすることは珍しいことではありません。しかし、私たちは時間を元に戻すことはできませんし、永遠を願ってもいつかは死を迎える存在です。その厳然たる掟の前ではどうすることもできない悲しさを私達は背負って生きているのです。
一方悲しみは他者への愛と分かち難くあり、人を共感させ、結び付ける大きな力を持っています。私は、この悲しみに共感することで、悲しみから共に一歩踏み出すことができるのではないか、これは私たちに与えられた大きな力なのではと思いました。
旅を続けるなか、目にした景色は不思議と清らかにで心に染み入りました。そしてこの地にあるもの、私達を取りまく大いなる自然も、片隅に咲く小さな花も、そして人形もまた同じ宿命を背負って存在しているのだと思った時に、無限にも似たこの広い世界で、共に歩む者として深いつながりを感じました。
One day, I came across a 'JORURI' puppet, a Japanese doll which had been used in Ningyo Joruri Puppet Theater. The doll was so fantastic that my eyes were glued on 'her'. Oshichi is a name of the doll and she 'played' as a 16-year-old girl who was burned at the stake for committing arson.
The play is a Japanese traditional puppet drama, based on the historical fact from the Edo period. Oshichi did arson because she was dying to see her lover. She met him at a temple where she and her family took shelter as they lost their house in the fire one day. The young couple fell in love with each other soon. But Oshichi and her family had to leave the temple when their house was rebuilt. She missed him so much and started to think that she could see him again if another fire occurred. So she torched her house, hopefully to see him but she was caught by a police after all. After she was executed, her lover, who was bereaved, made a pilgrimage throughout the rest of his life.
While I was gazing at this doll, I thought Oshichi might deeply be distressed by his later life. With thinking of Oshichi's love for him, I started to think that I should follow his footprints.
During the trip, I gave a prayer to him at shrines, temples and enshrined natural objects as he might have done so to Oshichi. I also felt her sorrow that rippled through me.
We often lose our precious things in every aspect of our lives. And we sometimes see someone who grieves for losing their precious things. No matter how we grieve what we lose, we can't get our time back. Even if we hope to live forever, the last day of our lives will come one day for all of us. There is no exception, and that fact never changes. We have to keep it in our mind and carry on living with the sorrow for death on our shoulders.
The sorrow, on the other hand, is inseparably related to love for others. It has a certain power to empathize with people and we achieve a committed relationship with them. By sharing it with others, I think we can move out of our past and step forward to the future. Experiencing sadness makes us grow, and gives us great power to live.
While I was traveling, I felt everything was pure. They were all impressive and every moment I was deeply moved by the scenery. I felt the great nature surrounding us and saw a tiny flower blossomed on the corner. Through my trip, I have realized we are all alive on the earth. Like Oshichi, the last day will come one day but I feel the strong connection with this world. I want to value this bond and will keep on going day by day.
