写真・構成：岩崎量示
The English translation follows after the Japanese text.
〈まだ春遠い糠平湖底にて〉
7年前の今日、2018年3月26日。日を追うごとに春が近づく糠平湖の湖底で、音更川をはさんで対岸に立つタウシュベツ川橋梁を眺めていた。
例年、この時期になると湖への立ち入りが禁止され、雪解けが進み林道が通れるようになる4月末までのあいだは橋に近づくのが難しくなる。雪が解けて流れ込む川の水量も増え、川沿いはごうごうと瀬音が響いているだけ。訪れる人がほとんどない時期、ただ川の音だけが耳に届く。
数週間前までは一面の雪と氷だった糠平湖だが、春の気配が少しずつ重なり、岸辺には土も見えはじめている。季節の変化をじっくり感じるには、こんな遠回りの対岸から橋を望む時間も悪くない。
Seven years ago today, on March 26, 2018, I stood by the exposed bed of Lake Nukabira, looking across the Otofuke River at the Taushubetsu Bridge. As spring draws closer around this time of year, the lake is off-limits, and getting to the bridge becomes more difficult until late April when the snow melts enough to open up the forest roads.
The melting snow feeds the river, boosting its flow and making the rushing sound all the more noticeable. Hardly anyone comes here during this period, so you mostly hear the water’s roar in an otherwise silent landscape.
Just a few weeks before, the lake was covered entirely with snow and ice. Now, signs of spring are gradually piling up, with patches of earth beginning to show along the shoreline. In some ways, this remote vantage point, where you can only watch from a distance, is the best spot to soak in the slow change of seasons.
Ryoji Iwasaki