Ravens fly down on the shore
日本の福島県相双地方に「相馬野馬追」という祭礼がある。もとは侍の軍事訓練の年中行事で、武家社会が終わってからは神事として、合わせて1000年もの間続けられている。
その1000年間、天明の大飢饉や廃藩置県、太平洋戦争、津波と原発事故、コロナウィルス災害など禍時がこの地方を襲ったが、それにもかかわらず住民たちは野馬追を途切れさせることなく続けてきた。それは、この故郷に継承されてきた野馬追が特別なイベントではなく、ここに根付く人たちの日常になっているからだ。無形のこの行事が、失った故郷そのものであり、つながりを保ち続けてくれる存在に変容していた。野馬追をすることが、奪われた日常を取り返すことと同義だからだ。
天明の大飢饉では相馬藩の人口は3分の1にまで減ったが、それを教訓とし生活を根本から作り替えたことで、20年後の天保の大飢饉時にはひとりも餓死者を出していない。また移民を積極的に受け入れて、人口と作物を増加させた歴史があり、それは原発事故後に避難地域となった場所には現在移住者が入ってきていることと重なる。明治時代に武士の時代が終わり、軍事訓練である野馬追の意味がなくなった時も、潔く本来の意味を捨てて神事とする柔軟さで野馬追自体の存続を守り抜いた。いざという時の、結束と柔軟さ、それが野馬追が続いてきたことに象徴されている気がする。
この地域に烏崎という名の浜がある。鎌倉幕府の命で岩松義政がこの地に領地を与えられて船でやってきたときに、一羽の八咫烏が岩松をこの浜へと導き上陸させたという伝説のような史実がある。そこからこの浜は烏崎と名付けられた。
野馬追に参加する現代の侍たちは早朝、馬とともにこの浜へ来て乗馬の練習をする。まるで彼岸と此岸の境界のように、浜には頻繁に霧が立ち込める。津波で壊滅したこの浜にいつしか戻ってきた侍たちの姿を見て、喪失を抱えた彼らも八咫烏に導かれるようにこの浜に戻ってきたのではないかと私は感じた。
みちのくと呼ばれる頃からこの地域は貧しく中央から遠い地であり、蹂躙されてきた歴史がある。現代も中央に電気を送り続けて、その結果に現在がある。その歴史も全て含みながら、社会が変わってもこの野馬追はここで継承され続けられた。
このプロジェクトは「相馬野馬追」を通じて歴史を想起させ、翻弄され続けてもこの土地に連綿と生き続けてきた人々の姿とその心を現す。同時に彼岸と此岸を表現することによって、人間の生きる意味を具現化させていくことを目指している。
There is a traditional event called “Soma Nomaoi” in the Soma region of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Although it is now held as a festival, it originally began as an annual military training event for samurai. After the end of the feudal era, it continued as a Shinto ritual, and has been held for over 1,000 years.
Over the past 1,000 years, this region has been struck by disasters that shook the nation, including the Tenmei Famine, the abolition of feudal domains and establishment of prefectures, the Pacific War, the tsunami and nuclear disaster, and the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the memory of the many families lost in the devastating tsunami and the ongoing impact of the nuclear disaster, which has left many people unable to return to their lost hometowns, continue to cast a shadow over the region to this day. Despite this, the residents have continued the Wild Horse Chase without interruption. This is because the Wild Horse Chase, which has been passed down in this hometown, is not a special event but has become a part of daily life for the people who live here. This intangible event has transformed into a presence that preserves the lost hometown and maintains connections. Participating in the Wild Horse Chase is synonymous with reclaiming the lost daily life.
During the Tenmei Great Famine, the population of the Soma Domain decreased to one-third of its original size, but by learning from this experience and fundamentally restructuring their lives through the “Oshihou” system, they managed to avoid any deaths from starvation during the Tenpo Great Famine 20 years later. Additionally, they have a history of actively accepting immigrants to increase both population and crop production, which aligns with the current influx of settlers into areas that became evacuation zones after the nuclear accident. When the samurai era ended in the Meiji period and the military training aspect of the Wild Horse Chase lost its meaning, the community flexibly abandoned its original purpose and transformed it into a religious ceremony, thereby preserving the tradition of the Wild Horse Chase. The unity and flexibility demonstrated in times of crisis are symbolized by the continued existence of the Wild Horse Chase.
There is a shore called Karasaki in this region. According to legend, when Iwamatsu Yoshimasa was granted land here by the Kamakura Shogunate and arrived by ship, a single crow guided him to this shore and helped him land. From there, the shore was named Karasaki.
Modern samurai participating in the Wild Horse Chase come to this beach early in the morning with their horses to practice riding. Like the boundary between this world and the next, fog often shrouds the beach. Seeing the samurai bearing their losses, I felt that they too had been guided back to this beach by the crow.
Since the days when this region was called “Michinoku” (meaning “the depths of the road”), it has been a poor and remote area, and has a history of being trampled upon. Even today, it continues to supply electricity to the capital region, and as a result, it has been devastated. Despite this history, the Nomaoi has continued to be passed down here, even as society has changed.
This project aims to evoke history through the “Soma Nomaoi” and to reveal the lives and hearts of the people who have continued to live on this land despite being tossed about by the tides of time. At the same time, by expressing the other shore and this shore, it seeks to embody the meaning of human existence.