One day in spring
Mariko Tagami
In the morning, the inside of the Utsushiki building is cool and shaded by a large Japanese laurel tree.
On this day, as soon as you step outside, the warm spring sunlight is shining down and the air feels slightly humid.
A truck comes along and slides gravel down at regular intervals.
I can see Ono levelling out the pile of gravel little by little, preparing the entrance to the coffee shop.
Today is the day to repair the walkways on the property that have become sunken due to rain and vehicular traffic.
The Ono family's second son and daughter, who had returned home after their nursery school promotion ceremony, came to help out with a small shovel and a sandbox set.
The younger Mucchan is busy playing with Aoba, who is two years older than him, by throwing gravel over the ground, and is not making much progress. However, Aoba is reliable, doing as her father tells her to do, despite being interrupted by Mucchan.
I just kept carrying the muddy gravel to the sunken area and smoothing it out.
As noon approached, the sun's rays became stronger, our faces began to heat up, and we began to sweat.
Muchan is totally in sandbox mode.
Some elementary school students who happened to be on spring break and two bright first-year middle school students, Touka and Sousei, proved to be reliable helpers.
My mother, Kaorin ,
Although it can be frustrating for her youngest child, Oto-chan, the free-spirited one who runs around barefoot on the gravel, and Muchan, who has suddenly started playing in the water, she lets go of things that don't go as she wants and respects each of her children, and her attitude always makes me wonder if I am able to do the same as a mother.
And it's amazing how each child is able to do anything freely and on their own.
After such work, "nature will give you more than what you put in the effort."
I was impressed by Mr. Ono's words.
It's certainly a pleasant feeling just to have the walkway improved, and the sense of accomplishment from completing a task and the refreshing feeling after exercising are quite pleasant.
(The meal we all eat afterwards is also delicious.)
Even the sight of the rain boots of all the people who worked hard that day, each different in size and color, drying in the setting sun, seems incredibly precious and special.
When you think about it, our daily lives are full of things that seem normal but aren't.
And it feels like I'm being tested to see how much I can notice it.
April marks two years since I started helping out with Utsushiki.
When I ask myself, "What can I do now?", I feel that it is to multiply the benefits I have received here and give back to as many people as possible.
In the second half of the exhibition, the couple exhibition "Irodoriyama" by Shoda and Kawai Arisa will be showing the blessings they have received from the nature of Irodoriyama and their lives there in the form of paintings, which will speak to us as viewers of various realizations.
I hope many people will be able to see it.
Have a great week this week too!
