Hakusan Shrine

Hearing that the Bunkyo Hydrangea Festival was beginning, the decision was made to head to Hakusan Shrine. The light of the midday pale overcast sky was thin, and the air, heavy with moisture, was quietly drifting. An umbrella was folded and placed in the bag, and upon leaving the station, students were walking in the same direction. Perhaps it was because it was around lunchtime. Stepping quietly into their flow, there was a faint sense of being gently guided toward Hakusan Shrine. Eventually the students disappeared down another street, and walking slowly along the sidewalk, a guide stood there in silence. Turning in the direction indicated, a dark gray torii gate and a stone monument engraved with “Hakusan Shrine” came into view. A soft smile rose faintly in the heart.

In the quiet neighborhood where houses and small shops were scattered, the torii and the stone monument were standing gently together. There was a strange feeling, as if different times were lightly overlapping. Beyond the torii, white lanterns with red patterns could be seen, and around them green and white triangular lanterns were lined up. In the center, a purple and yellow horizontal banner stretched softly, with the words “Bunkyo Hydrangea Festival” quietly floating upon it. Above it, a black triple‑tomoe crest was set in the shape of an arch, resting there quietly.

Beside the stone steps, white hydrangeas were blooming. In the damp air beneath the overcast sky, their whiteness held a quiet chill. Reaching the top of the steps, blue, purple, white, and pink hydrangeas formed gentle layers, slowly coloring the steps of those who walked among them. On the right, the worship hall of Hakusan Shrine came into view. The connection to Kaga Ichinomiya Hakusan Shrine and the ties to Tokugawa Tsunayoshi and Keishōin seemed to linger quietly in the air. Hydrangeas were blooming beside the guardian dogs, and when turning back after the visit, the hydrangea path spread out like a soft band of light. In the precincts, a memorial stone to Sun Yat‑sen was standing quietly.

From the front of the worship hall, there was an opening that led directly out to the road, and people were quietly entering from there as well. Some were taking photographs, some were pausing to look, families, friends, couples, and solitary travelers. Each of their moments was flowing slowly among the hydrangeas. There was said to be a photo contest, and the figures of people raising their cameras could be seen quietly here and there.

On the right side of the worship hall, a stone half‑circular archway appeared, and beyond it stone steps leading to the Fujizuka could be seen. It was a small hill with a shrine to Asama, a miniature Mount Fuji. Around it, hydrangeas were also in full bloom, and climbing the steps, the colors of the hydrangeas spread out below. Because of the crowd, it was not possible to stay long, yet that brief, quiet moment of standing there remained faintly in the heart.

By the time everything had been walked through, there was a slight tiredness from the humidity and the presence of so many people. Even so, the hydrangeas along the way back seemed to gently loosen and dissolve that fatigue. Hakusan Shrine, standing among houses and scattered shops, and the Fujizuka like a small Mount Fuji. To walk through all of this at once left a feeling as if there had been a quiet journey to somewhere far away. At the end, the path opened into Hakusan Park, where hydrangeas were also in bloom. Holding a soft afterglow, the way home could now be walked slowly, without the need for any guide.

白山神社

文京あじさいまつりが始まると聞き、白山神社へ向かうことにした。 曇り空の昼の光は薄く、湿り気を含んだ空気が静かに漂っている。 折りたたみ傘を鞄に入れ、駅を降りると、学生たちが同じ方向へ歩いている。 昼時のせいだろうか。 その流れにそっと身を置くと、白山神社へ静かに導かれているような気配があった。 やがて学生たちは別の道へ消え、歩道をゆっくりと進むと、案内の人が静かに立っていた。 示された方向へ曲がると、ダークグレーの鳥居と「白山神社」と刻まれた石碑が見えてきた。 ふと、心に淡い笑みが浮かんだ。

住宅街と商店が点在する静かな街並みの中に、鳥居と石碑がそっと佇んでいる。 時代が薄く重なり合うような、不思議な感覚が心をかすめた。 鳥居の先には白地に赤模様の提灯が見え、周囲には緑と白の逆三角形の提灯が並んでいる。 中央には紫と黄色の横断幕が淡く広がり、「文京あじさいまつり」の文字が静かに浮かんでいた。 その上には黒い三つ巴の門飾りが、アーチの形でそっと構えている。

石段の脇には白い紫陽花が咲いている。 曇り空の湿気の中で、その白さは静かに冷たさを含んでいた。 石段を上りきると、青、紫、白、ピンクの紫陽花が淡い層をつくり、人々の歩みをゆっくりと彩っている。 右手には白山神社の拝殿が見えてきた。 加賀一宮白山神社との繋がりや、徳川綱吉と桂昌院の縁が静かに伝わっているようだ。 狛犬のそばにも紫陽花が咲いていて、参拝を終えて振り返ると、紫陽花の参道が淡い光のように広がっていた。 境内には孫文の記念碑がそっと佇んでいる。

拝殿の正面からは道路へ抜ける開口部があり、そこからも人々が静かに入ってきていた。 写真を撮る人、立ち止まる人、家族連れ、友人同士、カップル、一人旅。 それぞれの時間が紫陽花の中でゆっくりと流れている。 写真コンテストがあるらしく、カメラを構える人々の姿も静かに見えていた。

拝殿の右側には石造りの半円形の洞門があり、その先には富士塚へ続く石段が見えている。 浅間神社の祠がある小さな丘だ。 その周辺にも紫陽花が咲き誇り、石段を登ると、色とりどりの紫陽花が下に広がっていた。 混雑の中で長く留まることはできなかったが、静かに佇むひとときが心に薄く残った。

すべてを歩き終える頃には、湿気と人の気配で少し疲れがあった。 しかし帰り道の紫陽花が、その疲れをそっとほどいてくれるようだった。 住宅街と商店街の中に佇む白山神社と、ミニ富士山のような富士塚。 それらを一度に歩いた時間は、どこか遠い場所へ静かに旅したような感覚を残している。 最後に抜けた白山公園でも紫陽花が咲いている。 淡い余韻を抱きながら、案内がなくても迷わず帰れる道をゆっくりと歩き始めた。

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