Around 100 Years Old
The above photoーhaiku of mine was selected among the masters of the month in the web program, NHK World Haiku, in Jan.'18. The haiku goes
"longtime yearnings
set red leaves on fire
centenarians"
I was overjoyed to find my piece among so many different types of creative pairs of photo and haiku from all over the world.
My photo captured the red maple leaves against the blurred image of ginkgo's yellow. Its color contrast reminded me of a 101-year-old female painter who is actively painting beautiful pictures of large size.
The female painter, Kazuko Irie has been creating masterpieces depicting her overseas journeys. The pictures drawn along the Silk Road with colorful vivid colors are the reflection of her strong passion for her frequent journeys.
Getting in touch with the people there and looking at the sceneries, she ought to have had her desire for expressing her sensation ignited.
In the before-mentioned photo of mine, on the other hand, it looked as if the yellowy orange ginkgo leaves ignited the maple leaves in burning red. Therefore, I paired the photo with the haiku citing the rich emotions of hers and others' in their 90’s and 100’s.
Stereotyped.......
Recently I have learned the trendy Japanese word "arahan" meaning around 100 years old. Then I saw many books written by the people around 100 years old displayed at the front of the bookstores.
Now it looks as if people think the longer they live, the happier they feel. I suppose they are the lucky few who are blessed with health, wealth, and the most important of all, passion and talent.
Interestingly there are also people who may not be particularly blessed but readily spend their closing days with calm expressions. This may have something to do with not only the physical and physiological condition but one's nature as to how to accept the situation and feel about it.
For example, my aunt, after going through an ever-changing life from living in Manchuria during the war to marrying twice etc., died at the age of 95. She didn't belong to the lucky few and in the latter half of her life lived alone in a one-room apartment and then moved to an old people's home.
However, she was enjoying herself with a big smile on her face in whatever situation and was loved by everybody. I'm afraid I'm not as naive as her, but I'd like to try keeping flexible mind and unrestricted spirit in order to take pleasure in any position I'd be placed in.
As the average lifespan is extending, the stereotype image of aging has to change as well. I'm sure we'll have to adjust the ideal course of life to a longer version but it'll take some time to modify our tacit understanding of how we age.
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「アラハン」ー 100歳前後
longtime yearnings
set red leaves on fire
centenarians
日本語に訳せば
「１００歳の切なる思い紅葉燃ゆ」です。
世界中から寄せられた数多くの想像力豊かな写俳の中に私の作品を見つけて大喜びしました。
私の写真はイチョウの黄色の滲みを背景に燃えるモミジの赤を捉えたものです。その色彩のコントラストから美しい大作を勢力的に描いている101歳の画家を思いました。女流画家入江一子は海外の旅に因んだ傑作を描き続けています。
シルクロード沿いの景を鮮やかな色彩で描いた絵には彼女の度重なる旅への強い情熱が映し出されています。その土地の人々に触れ景観を見て受けた感動を表現したいという彼女の欲求に火がついたのでしょう。
一方前述した私の写真の方はイチョウの黄を帯びたオレンジが紅葉の葉を赤く染めたようにも見受けられます。そこでこの写真に入江一子に代表される他の９０代１００歳代の人々の豊かな情緒を重ね合わせました。
判で押したような。。。。
つい最近私は「アラハン」つまり100歳ぐらい、という流行語を知りました。本屋の店頭に100歳前後の作者による本が多く並んでいるのを目にします。今では長く生きれば生きるほど幸せと思われているかのようです。
思うに彼らは健康、富、そして最も大切な、情熱と才能に恵まれた幸運な少数ではないでしょうか。面白いことに特にそうした資質に恵まれたわけではないけれど、穏やかな表情で晩年を心地よく過ごしている人々もいるようです。
物質的、生理的な条件だけでなく、状況をいかに受け入れられるかという資質、心の持ちよう等が関係しているように私には思えます。例えば私の叔母は戦時中の満州国体験から２回の結婚等千変万化の人生を歩み９５歳で亡くなりました。
幸運な少数には属さず、後年はアパート一間から施設へと一人暮らしが続きましたがいつも笑顔でどんな状況も楽しむことができ、人々からも愛されました。残念ながら私は叔母のように天真爛漫に生まれついていないので、どんな立場になっても楽しめるようになるために、頭の柔らかさ、心の自由さを保つよう努めたいと思います。
平均寿命が延びるにつれ、老齢化のお決まりイメージも変わらずを得ません。理想の人生設計もきっと長寿版に調整しなければならないでしょうが、いかに老いるかの暗黙の了解
を修正していくのには少々時間がかかるでしょう。
