地域を成り立たせる人間関係、意志、その他もろもろを成立させる、でんぐり返しのような地域。生々しくて、格好良い。そのようにはっきりと自覚を持つようになって、もう10年が経ちます。
その年に、この村の秋祭りの花形、牛鬼の担ぎ手に、初めて入れさせてもらいました。他所出身の人間としては、大変珍しいことなんです。
牛鬼の修復作業に加え、子どもの練りの稽古も牛鬼組が立ち会います。毎晩々々、決まった時間に集まります。昼間はいつもの通り仕事をしているので、帰るとバタンと倒れ込み、眠ります。
OBや大OBたちが近寄ってきて、一言したり、要領の悪い新人の手元を直して行きます。そうせずにはいられないんです。「うちの子かわいいんで。『お父さんが牛鬼やらなくなったら寂しい』言うんで」「俺も、親父が牛鬼担かなくなったとき、なんかすごい傷ついた感じがした」一回り歳の差のある担ぎ手どうし、そんな会話がありました。「あの年の牛鬼は・・・」みんなときどき、秋祭りのビデオを観ているようで、それにはびっくりしました。毎日々々、きっと毎年々々、同じようなやり取りが繰り返されているのでしょう。
みんな、牛鬼が大好きなんです。
学生のとき、豊根村の坂宇場というところで、念仏踊りというものを見ました。やはり夜な夜な集う稽古があり、それも見学に行きました。そしてその冬、同村の下黒川の花祭りを見ました。どちらもすごかった。それまで様々な地域に赴き、いろんなものを体験してきていましたが、その集大成を目の当たりにした、そんな興奮を覚えました。
僕は東京・板橋区の出身。親族に、農山村に住んでいる人はありません。地域を運営する生々しい姿なんて、知らずに育ちました。僕の周りには、同じような境遇の同輩ばかりでした。
この10年は一生分であったのかもしれません。いろんなことがありました。その都度、人生がガラリと変わったようでした。そのたびに思いもよらないようなことを体験し、出会いがありました。そしてめぐりめぐって10年前の場面に、自分が立っていました。
さあ、この先10年は、どんな風合いでしょうか。いま自分が何を見ているのか、じっくり顧みようと思います。
（ゆ）
10 years, my life
It's vivid and cool to me that human relationships and will power are necessary to make a community active, and other small things are also part of any happening communities. It has been almost 10 years since I came to understand this way.
On this 10th year, I joined Ushi-oni, which is a kind of a star monster of this area's autumn festival, as one of the carriers. It was my first experience, and it's really rare to let an outsider, who is not originally from this area, to join in.
Ushi-oni carriers take very important roles even before the day of the festival, such as preparing the Ushi-oni's body and face, teaching festival performance to children, and so on. Even before the festival, carriers get together at the same time every evening for a month. In addition to the usual work during the day, the evening Ushi-oni activities were so tough that I always flopped down on the bed as soon as I got home.
Sometimes, OBs came and commented on this and that, or taught new members how to work on Ushi-oni preparation. Well, they couldn't just stand watching Ushi-oni related work.
I heard this kind of conversation;
"My kid said that he would be sad if I am not an Ushi-oni carrier. Isn't he sweet?"
"Yeah, when I was small, I was so disappointed when my dad stopped being one of them as he got old."
What made me surprised was that they often watched DVD of past Ushi-oni carrying. Then, they talked about Ushi-oni every night, and, I guess, every year.
Everyone loves Ushi-oni.
When I was a university student, Sakauba in Toyone village of Aichi prefecture, I saw "Nenbutsu folk dances". Villagers used to get together and practice every night untill the festival day, and I enjoyed seeing it. And in winter of the same year, I went to see "Hana Matsuri (Flower Festival)" in Shimokurokawa. Both festivals were just amazing. Till then, I had visited many rural areas and had various experience, but those festivals were like an integration of all. I was so thrilled.
I'm from Itabashi in Tokyo. None of my relatives live in rural areas, so I hadn't experienced any of the thrills of organizing community activities as I grew up. My peers were somewhat similar in this sense.
The last 10 years were like my life itself. Many things happened to me. And every time it happened, I felt my life had totally changed, had new experiences and met unexpected people. Now, being an Ushi-oni carrier, I have come back to the same point where I was after going through these 10 years.
Well, what will be waiting for me in the coming 10 years from now on? Let me think over about what I'm looking for in future, from now.
Yuki
