いまも変わらぬ「渡船」の灯り　The light of the ferry that still remains "Omichi Journey I"

一昨日から始まった「尾道映画祭2022」にあわせ尾道にきている。時間の許す限り今回上映される映画を鑑賞したいと思っている。昨日は、片山慎三監督作品で、佐藤二郎さん主演の「さがす」を観た。

I'v been coming to Omichi to coincide with the "Omichi Film Festival 2022" that started yesterday. I would like to watch the movie that will be screened this time as much as time permits. Yesterday, I watched "Search" starring Jiro Sato, directed by Shinzo Katayama.

映画祭についての話は後日に回すとして、
尾道を訪れた際は、私の中ではこの光景なしで尾道紀行はスタートしない。
尾道から目の前の向島にわたる交通機関である「渡船」のある風景。半世紀以上も前に通学で使っていた渡船が、私の尾道ストーリーの根幹をなしていると言っても過言ではない。歳を重ねるごとに根っこがどんどん太くなっていく。

I will talk about the movie festival at a later date.
When I visited Omichi, I wouldn't start traveling to Omichi without this sight.
A landscape with a "passenger ship" that is a means of transportation from Omichi to Mukaishima in front of Onomichi station.It is no exaggeration to say that the ferry that I used to go to school more than half a century ago is the basis of my Onomichi's story. As I get older, the roots get thicker and thicker.

今回、まずは尾道駅に着いての第一歩が、渡船に乗ることだった。
着いてそそくさと桟橋にむかい渡船の到着を待った。7、8分の乗船時間ではあるが向島に渡った。そして向島の桟橋の風景を撮影し帰りの船を待った。

This time, the first step to arriving at Omichi Station was to board a ship.
I arrived and waited for the arrival of the ferry to the pier. Although it was 7 or 8 minutes on board, I went to Mukaishima. Then I took a picture of the scenery of the pier in Mukaishima and waited for the return ship.

夕方からの映画鑑賞を終え、会場をでたときはすでに陽が沈ずみ空も海も藍色に染まっていた。その夕暮れに灯を照らしすすむ渡船は、海に浮かぶ火垂のように見えた。「海・空・山」が織りなす瀬戸内・尾道ならではの景色が広がっていた。

By the time I left the venue after watching the movie in the evening, the sun had already set and the sky and the sea were dyed indigo. The ferry, which illuminates the lights at dusk, looked like a firedrop floating in the sea. The scenery unique to Setouchi and Omichi, which is woven by "sea, sky, and mountains," was spreading.

リポート＆写真/ 渡邉雄二　Reported & Photos by Yuji Watanabe