N36°12’31.00″ E137°51’22.00″
中学、高校くらいの頃、夏はもう向こうにいくってきめてたの。信州の親戚の家。あのね、涼しいのよ、夜がすごく。昼間暑くても涼しいし。で、こっち暑いでしょう？あたし暑いのは大嫌いだから。
わたしが生まれたときが終戦の年の４月でしょう。それで生まれてすぐに空襲とかあって、あぶないからっていうんでそこの親戚の家に疎開してたことがあるの。その家の真ん前の川の引き込み線の小川では野菜を洗ったりしてた。むかしはそこで洗濯もしてたらしいよ。で、その川にちょっと段差があって水音がするのよ。夜も、寝てても。とーっても冷たくて気持がいい水だった。むこうにほら、私のひとつ上の男の子と、私より年下の女の子がふたり。その３人とは年が近いからよくいっしょに遊んで楽しかったのよ～。一度はさ、おばさんが連れてってくれたのよ、上高地に。見たこともないすーーーごいでっかいおにぎりをつくってくれて、しっかり握ってあって、ぜーんぶ海苔でくるんであって大きくて真っ黒でびっくりした。面白かったなあ。それからお祭り。近所でちっちゃなお祭りがあって、帰り道が真の闇。真っ暗っていうのを経験した。それで空を見たら星がものすごくいっぱいあった。天の川も見えた。毎日楽しくてぜんぜん飽きなかった。そしたらお姉ちゃんが一度お手紙をくれたの。お父さんが心配してるからって。むかしは電話とかもあまりないし、わたし、行ったきり手紙の一本も書かなかったのよ。だから心配してるよって。川にかかってる橋が、歩いていくともうひとつの親戚の家とのちょうど中間なのよ。そこに立ってまわりを見回すと、上高地のほうからずーっと山が見えて、辺りは田んぼ。その景色が大好きだった。山に囲まれているっていうのが大好きで。だから山が見えるところに住みたかった。家からも見えるじゃない、山並みが。ほら、今日はくっきりだよ。
出典：国土地理院 空中写真USA-R459-No2-10（1948/11/22撮影）を購入し再撮影/制作
Around junior high school and high school I decided, during the summer I would spend my time there. In Shinshu, at my relative’s home. You see, it is cool, especially during nighttime. During the daytime it can be hot, but it’s still cool. It’s hot here isn’t it? I really don’t like hot weather.
You see, I was born the year the war ended, in April. Soon after I was born, there were air raids and they thought it was too dangerous, so during that time I evacuated to my relative’s house. Right in front of the house was a river and from the small stream leading from the river, we washed the vegetables. I heard in past times they used the place for laundry. And the river height was uneven, so you could hear the sound of water falling down. Even during nighttime, even while we slept. It was very cool and the water was so refreshing. Here and there, a boy that was a year older and 2 younger girls lived nearby. The 3 were about the same age as I was and we often played together. We had lots of fun. Once, my aunt took us all the way to Kamikochi. She made us a huge rice ball, it was a size I never saw before, and it was held together so tightly, and all of it was wrapped with seaweed. It was very big and it was black as ink. We had so much fun. And then there was a festival. In the neighborhood there was a small festival, and the way home was completely dark. It was the first time I experienced complete darkness. And so I looked up to the sky, and there were many stars. I even saw the Milky Way. Every day I had so much fun and I was never tired. At that time, my sister once gave me a letter. It said my father was worried. Back then there was no telephone, and since I left, I didn’t write any letters home. So they were worried. The river had a bridge over the water and as we walked it was right at the midpoint of another relative’s home. Standing there and looking around, I could see Kamikochi and all the mountains and rice fields surrounding us. I used to love that view. I loved being surrounded by mountains. And so I wanted to live where I could see them. Even from this house, you can see the row of mountains. Look, you see it very clearly today.
Source of reference：Purchased and re-photographed with effect and production with Geographical Survey Inst. aerial photography USA-R459-No2-10（1948/11/22 photographing）
Translation: Satoshi Katagiri