Primary colour space of serenity
（続き）
The music used for the slides was
Royalty Free Music (FREE DOWNLOAD)
[Creative Commons Music] CINEMATIC ATMOSPHERIC CLASSICAL GRAND PIANO BACKGROUND MUSIC 002
SoundCloud
This place is as it used to be. Is it because it is not a very familiar place to me that I think so?
On the way to and from the hospital, sometimes walking instead of taking the tram, I asked my mother what this place was.
'A Chinese people's temple.'
Her reply was curt.
We never tried to go inside, we always just walked past it.
The first time I went inside was when I was a university student.
The Ikuta Government Building was located on the other side of the hospital to the east, and I frequently passed by this building to look for a part-time job at the Student Support Association's Student Counselling Centre, which was housed in the building.
When there was some kind of festival, it was surprisingly full of people, but usually it was almost deserted.
I sometimes saw a few people praying with big incense sticks. Probably all were overseas Chinese living in Kobe. They do not make big gestures or speak loudly as tourists tend to do. This is probably due to the Japanese gaze directed at them from their upbringing and social life.
I felt comfortable in the tranquil space full of primary colours.
It has been featured several times in travel guide magazines. As a place with an exotic atmosphere typical of Kobe.
However, it was not a place where one would go out of his way to visit unless it was convenient to get there by public transport or for some other reason. It remains a quiet, exotic place. Even after the earthquake, it has remained unchanged.
この場所は昔のまま。そう考えるのは、あまり馴染みのない場所だからなのか。
病院の行き帰り、市電に乗るのではなく、歩く時があり、ここは何なのか母に尋ねた。
「中国の人のお寺。」
そっけない返事だった。
中に入ってみようということはなく、いつでも前を通り過ぎるだけだった。
初めて中に入ってみたのは大学生の時だったか。
病院の東向こうに生田庁舎があり、その建物の中に入っていた学生援護会による学生相談所でアルバイトを探すため、この前を頻繁に通るようになった。
何かの祭礼があるときは、びっくりするくらい人が溢れていたのだが、普段は、ほとんど無人。
数人が大きな線香を持ってお参りをしているのを見ることもあった。多分、皆、神戸在住の華僑の人たち。観光客にありがちな大きな身振り手振りや、声高な話し方はしない。これまでの生育歴や社会生活の中で向けられた日本人の眼差しに因るのだろう。
原色が溢れかえる静謐な空間が、私には心地よかった。
何度か旅行ガイドの雑誌にも採り上げられた。神戸らしい異国情緒の場所として。
しかし交通の便や、何かのついでがない限り、わざわざ赴くところではなかったのだろう。静かな異郷の雰囲気のまま。震災を経ても変わらず今に残っている。
