A diorama of Kounomai village, which had existed there before, was displayed in the historic house which used to be utilized as an Ekitei, which I wrote about in the previous but one entry. Seeing it, the village was fairly big and seemed to be prosperous, but their ruins were apparently disappearing. Other old stuff was also on display and a comic magazine caught my eye, in which a character from Kounomai village showed up.
After the tour of Ekitei, as we were about to leave for the present Kounomai village, we wanted someone to guide us around the lost village. It didn't hurt to ask for a guide, though I had no reservation. Then, one of the staff members spoke to us, "Shall I show you to the ruins?" He gave us an elaborate tour of the lost village, and it was very fortunate. If we had gone on alone, we wouldn't have been able to find the ruins. They were so deeply buried in the forest. Most buildings were made of wood and those moldered away. Without advance knowledge, we would be astonished to see them just like the discoverer of Machu Picchu.
I saw the entrance of the mine pit, a folk house, the ruins of the school and a decent swimming pool, and other things. I'll post pictures of them.
(Vocabulary)
diorama /dàɪərǽmə, -rmə [C] ジオラマ (歴史・物語の一場面などを表す立体模型)
It doesn't hurt to ask. 聞くだけ聞いてみたら？
molder （徐々に）ぼろぼろになる, 朽ちる, 腐る
駅逓跡の建物内にはジオラマがあった。それをみると、かなり大きな町だったはずだが、聞けばもう消えかかっているという。当時使っていた様々な日用品や、鴻之舞のことが書かれている日本では有名な漫画も展示してあった。駅逓跡を出て、鴻之舞方面へ向かおうとしたら、職員が案内してくれるという。後で気がついたことだが、ガイドがいなければ町の痕跡をほとんど何も発見できなかっただろう。ガイドを得たのはとても幸運なことであった。
さて、鴻之舞であるが、道路から見える構造物は少なく、道道を漫然と走っていたのではここに町があったなどとは気がつかない。多くの建物が木造であったため、大部分は朽ちてしまい、石造りの部分だけが残っているのだという。道路脇の森林の中には人々の暮らしていた跡が次々と出現した。予備知識なくここを歩いていたら腰を抜かすだろう。まるでマチュピチュ遺跡を初めて見つけた探検家のように。
炭鉱坑道入り口、住居跡、学校やプールの跡(最後の写真)まであった。いくつか写真をＵｐする。
Comments