紙にインク, 210mm × 297mm, 2002年 ／ Ink on Paper, 210mm × 297mm, 2002.

下栗は雪でした。

長野県の伊那谷の奥深く、南アルプスのふもとに遠山郷下栗という集落がある。標高1000mの山肌に貼りつくように形成された小さな村で、「日本のチベット」とも呼ばれている。この頃、この地をあししげく訪れていた。
しかし、冬に行ったのははじめて。夜は石油ストーブとコタツで暖をとるが、コタツ布団の内側がべっとり結露するほどの寒さ。室内にあった生卵も凍っていて、割るとシャーベット状になって出てくる。少なくとも冷蔵庫よりは確実に低温。翌日は雪になった。ここは、あまり雪が降らないが、降るとパウダースノーで、風に吹かれて地面をさらさらと流れていく。したがって積もらない。雪の微細なスクリーンが濃くなったり薄くなったり……それを透かして南アルプスの山々が時折見える。ふしぎな清澄の光に満ちた世界……

Shimoguri was snowy.

Deep into Ina Valley of Nagano, there is a village called " Tooyama volost Shimoguri " in the foot of the Southern Japan Alps. This village sticks to the face of the mountain of thousand metres above sea level, and is called "Tibet of Japan". I visited this location frequently these days.
However, this was the first time that I visited this village in winter. We warm the room with an oil stove and enter the kotatsu(the tatami-room table which used futon to the electric heater so that the lower part of the body was warmed) at night. However, the chill entered without mercy, and the inside of the futon of the kotatsu was dripping by dew condensation. A raw egg in a room, the contents become frozen and come out slowly when I break it. The room was becoming the lower temperature than at least refrigerator. And it snowed the next day. Quality of snow is dry, so it flows by the wind, falls down into valley, and quantity of snow is so small here. The delicate screen of snow thickens and becomes thin and……I occasionally see the mountains of the Southern Alps through it. The world that was filled with light of mysterious clearness……