長野県木崎湖
Lake Kizaki, Nagano Prefecture
Lake Kizaki, Nagano Prefecture
長野県大町市は長野県北西部に位置しており、人口約2.5万人（2023年）の市である。大町市は古くから長野県松本市と日本海を結ぶ塩を運ぶ道（塩の道）の中間地点であり、交通の要所として栄えてきた。北アルプスの玄関口の1つであり、仁科三湖（青木湖、中綱湖、木崎湖）のような湖も豊富に存在する。これらで行われる登山やボート乗り、パラグライダーなどの自然アクティビティを求める、観光客によって賑わいを見せている。この地に2023年8月20日〜28日の期間、滞在した。また、今回の滞在は原始感覚美術祭2023の参加作家として招致いただき、滞在制作が実現した。
今回のシシの大きなテーマは「湖」だった。大きく澄んだ木崎湖のほとりには、葦が生い茂っている。直立しているその穂先は、青々とした入道雲が広がる空を指す。シシの素材は葦（あし/よし）だと思った。湖固有の素材といえば、葦が直立していたのが印象的だった。特にボートに乗った際に、間違えて葦の茂みに突っ込んでしまって、その時に、あ、葦っていいなと思った。
葦の葉っぱを取って、茎だけにして、均等にハサミでカットしてそれを麻紐やタコ糸でつなげてみた。そしたらジャラジャラと音が鳴った。なんだか葦の連なりが、湖の湖面に見えてきた。ああ、これはまさに木崎湖のシシだと思った。この葦の連なりを開いたり閉じたりするという行為は、獅子舞が口をパクパクと開閉する行為と同じかもしれない。また、これを使って、いろいろと厄を祓いたい対象物に抱きつくこともできるので面白いだろう。さらに葦の内部が空洞であることを生かして、そこに凧糸を通してつなげ、その繋がったものを縦と横で重ねてつなげ直し、それを被って胴体とした。今回の獅子頭と胴体の制作は、過去で最も時間がかかったとも言えるだろう。その甲斐あって、新しい獅子舞の所作を生み出すことができた。
シシの舞い歩きは湖畔から始まり、西丸震哉記念館を通り、上諏訪神社へと向かった。途中、集落の家の倉庫に入ったり、門付けをしてみたり、道路の真ん中を横切りながら演舞したりと、自由勝手気ままに振る舞うシシが現れた。獅子頭を洗濯物干しにかけてみたり、階段に敷いてみたり、電柱に抱きついてみたりということもあった。また、獣避けの電気柵に触れた時に、なかなか獅子頭が外れなくて絡まってしまった時に、ビリっときた時はびっくりした。2度も電気が身体に伝わってきて、危険な場面だった。最後は胴体や獅子頭を切り刻み、海の中へと飛び込んだ。そういう狂気的なシシとなった。
シシの目撃が少なかったことから、獅子舞が生息するにはまず人が少ないことがうかがえた。地域住民というよりは芸術祭の参加者や、ボート乗りやキャンプに関心がある観光客が多いようにも思われた。湖の周辺というのはレジャー施設が集積するのは普通のことであり、その分地域住民による地域活動があまり目立たない。住民は車移動が活発で、道を歩く姿を見かけないことから、シシを目撃しても絡んでこなかったという見方もできるかもしれない。不思議と湖畔をジョギングする人や散歩する人は少なく、釣り人がちらほら見られるという感じだった。また、空間的な舞場の観点から言えば、やや歩道が狭い箇所はあったが、概ね舞えるような空間はたくさんみられたように思う。
photo ©︎Marehito Antoku
Omachi City, Nagano Prefecture is located in the northwestern part of Nagano Prefecture and has a population of approximately 25,000 people (2023). Since ancient times, Omachi City has flourished as an important transportation hub, serving as the midway point on the salt road (Salt Road) that connects Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, and the Sea of Japan. It is one of the gateways to the Northern Alps, and is home to many lakes such as the three Nishina lakes (Lake Aoki, Lake Nakatsuna, and Lake Kizaki). The area is crowded with tourists who seek out natural activities such as mountain climbing, boat rides, and paragliding. I stayed here from August 20th to 28th, 2023. Additionally, I was invited to participate in the Primitive Senses Art Festival 2023, and was able to create works during my stay.
The big theme for this year's show was "lakes." Reeds grow thick on the shores of the large, clear Lake Kizaki. Its upright tip points to the sky with lush thunderclouds. I thought the material of Shishi was reed. Speaking of materials unique to the lake, I was impressed by the upright reeds. In particular, when I was on a boat, I accidentally ran into a thicket of reeds, and that's when I thought, oh, reeds are so nice.
I took the leaves of the reeds, cut them into just the stems, cut them evenly with scissors, and tied them together with twine or octopus thread. Then I heard a jingling sound. A series of reeds appeared on the surface of the lake. Ah, I thought, this is exactly the shish of Lake Kizaki. The act of opening and closing this series of reeds may be similar to the act of a lion dance opening and closing its mouth. It would also be interesting to use this to hug the object you want to exorcise various evil spirits from. Furthermore, taking advantage of the fact that the inside of the reed is hollow, he threaded a kite string through it and connected the reeds, stacking them vertically and horizontally and reconnecting them, then covering them to form the body. It can be said that the creation of the lion's head and body took the longest time ever. As a result of their efforts, they were able to create a new lion dance movement.
The shish dance started from the lakeside, passed through the Nishimaru Shinya Memorial Museum, and headed to Kamisuwa Shrine. Along the way, Shishi appeared, acting as he pleases, entering warehouses of village houses, setting up gates, and performing while crossing the middle of the road. I tried hanging the lion's head on the laundry to dry, laying it out on the stairs, and even hugging it to a telephone pole. Also, when I touched the electric fence to avoid beasts, I was surprised when the lion's head got tangled because it didn't come off easily. It was a dangerous scene as electricity was transmitted to my body twice. In the end, he chopped off the body and the lion's head and jumped into the sea. He became such a crazy person.
Since there were few sightings of Shishi, it seems that there are few people in order for the shishimai to live. It seemed that there were more participants in art festivals and tourists interested in boat rides and camping than local residents. It is normal for leisure facilities to be concentrated around lakes, so local activities by local residents are not very noticeable. Residents are very active in driving and do not see them walking on the road, so it may be possible to say that they did not get involved even if they saw a shishi. Strangely, there were few people jogging or taking a walk on the lakeside, and I felt that I could see anglers here and there. Also, from the point of view of the spatial dance floor, there were some places where the sidewalks were a little narrow, but I think there were many spaces where people could dance.
photo ©︎Marehito Antoku
