沖縄県本島北部の本部半島にある今帰仁城跡は、琉球が統一される以前 山北王の居城として建設されました。この写真を撮ったのは、1月の寒緋桜の濃いピンクの花が樹林の中に満開する光景が望める時期でした。今帰仁城跡は、2000年に世界遺産リストに登録され、日本100名城にも指定されたそうです。しかし、その肩書きでは表現しきれない故郷を集約する何かがこの場所にはあるように思えてなりません。まるで風景に溶け込むように、自然の起伏に逆らうことなく建てられた城壁。それは、周囲の自然を圧倒することなく穏やかな島の鼓動のようです。石灰岩の城壁のグレーと、背景に広がるコバルトブルーのとディープブルーの海は、草花のピンクやカラフルな緑色と共に故郷の色を織り成し、たとえ離郷しても島んちゅの記憶に郷里のカラーとして深く刻まれています。 / "Looking at the Sea from Nakijin Castle" The Nakijin Castle Ruins are located on the Motobu Pennisula in the northern part of the island of Okinawa. Nakijin Castle was originally built for the king of the Hokuzan Kingdom, prior to the unification of the Ryukyu Kingdom. This picture was taken in January, when one can view the full bloom of the Taiwan cherry’s deep pink flowers in the middle of a forest. The Nakijin Castle Ruins were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2000 and have also been designated as one of Japan’s Best 100 Castles. However, these titles cannot fully express this place. When describing these ruins one cannot help but feeling that there is something to this place. It feels almost as if the castle walls melt into the scenery and were built not to counter the undulations of nature. The walls do not overpower the surrounding nature and seem like the calm island’s beat. The gray of the limestone of the castle’s walls, the cobalt and deep blues of the sea spread out in the background, the pink and varied greens of the flowers along with the colors of the ruins are interwoven such that even if one moves away, the colors of his or her hometown are deeply engraved in the memory of an islander.