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■「小さな証し」(2026) /「A Small Testimony」(2026)

 制作時期 /Production time (2024~2025)

 潜伏キリシタンの歴史や、その地に今も息づく人々の営みをわたし自身のまなざしでより深く見つめたい。その想いに導かれるように、熊本県天草の﨑津集落へと足を運びました。

﨑津は海と山に囲まれた静かな漁村です。護岸から海へと張り出した作業場「カケ」と家々の隙間を縫う幅の狭い小道「トウヤ」など、この土地ならではの暮らしが根付いています。

禁教期、表向きには神社の氏子となり、アワビなどの貝殻や身近なものを信心具に見立て、密かに信仰が守られてきました。その祈りのかたちは、今も集落の中に面影をとどめています。

集落を歩いていると、今日の暮らしの中に歴史が生き続けているのを感じました。その重なりの中に、祈りがありました。

どこにいてもその存在を感じられる﨑津教会、それを包み込む美しい海。ごく自然な調和を目の前にしたとき、わたしは次第にこの場所に引き込まれていきました。

﨑津の人々が織りなす時間と空間に、ほんの一部ですが触れ、対話できたことは、わたしにとって深い喜びです。

この作品は、わたしの心と﨑津集落との間に生まれた『小さな証し』です。

Wanting to look more deeply, through my own eyes, about the history of the Hidden Christians and the way of life that still breathes within that land, I followed that desire and made my way to the Sakitsu settlement in Amakusa, Kumamoto Prefecture.

Sakitsu is a quiet fishing village nestled between the sea and the mountains. The rhythms of life unique to this place are firmly rooted here — in the "Kake," working platforms that extend from the seawall out over the water, and the "Touya," narrow lanes threading between the houses.

During the period when Christianity was forbidden, the villagers outwardly became parishioners of the local shrine, while secretly preserving their faith — disguising abalone shells and other familiar objects as devotional items. The form of those prayers still lingers within the settlement.

Walking through the settlement, I sensed history living on within the rhythms of everyday life. Within that layering, there was prayer.

Sakitsu Church, its presence felt from wherever one stood, and the beautiful sea that embraces it. Standing before that utterly natural harmony, I found myself gradually drawn into this place.

In the time and space woven by the people of Sakitsu, I was able to touch just a small part of it, and through that, enter into dialogue. That is a profound joy for me.

This work is a small testimony — born between my heart and the settlement of Sakitsu.

＊This text has been translated using translation software.