008.桜 01.弘前城
008.Cherry Blossom 01.Hirosaki Castle (Japan)

2021年4月1日

Daigo Ishii (Future-scape Architects)

日本全国、花の名所いろいろあれど、桜が特別なのは、日本の町のほとんどに桜の名所があること。その筆頭は弘前城。

There are many famous spots for flowers all over Japan, but cherry blossoms are special because most Japanese towns have spots for cherry blossoms. The first of these is Hirosaki Castle.

弘前城を訪れれば、もっとも人を集め、日本一と呼ばれることに納得。

魅力は、お堀端から本丸まで、17メートルの標高差がつくる豊かな地形に、水のランドスケープ。複雑な園路で、次々と眺望が切り替わります。見上げる桜に見下ろす桜、近景から雄大な岩木山の遠景の背景が幾重もの掘割の水で増幅されます。夕暮れ近く、西濠を歩けば、緩やかに曲折する桜のトンネルは宵に溶け、どこまでも続きます。右手の堀には対岸の桜並木が映り、左手は細い水路を挟んで、一段高い土手に桜並木。桜の広い流れに身を任すようです。

そして、文化財と桜の取り合わせの妙。弘前と言えば、城を背景とした桜を誰もが思い浮かべますが、そんなベタなアイコンがあるのも日本一の理由。

弘前城に桜が植えられたのは1715年のこと。1901年、明治維新で一度荒れ果てた城に1000本の桜を植え、1918年に桜まつりが始まりました。ちょっと驚くのは、第２次世界大戦中、当局の中止要請にもかかわらず、1943年まで祭りを続けたこと。弘前市民の桜に対する思い入れは筋金入りです。

When I visited Hirosaki Castle, I was convinced that it attracted the most people as the best in Japan.

Its attraction is a rich terrain with an altitude difference of 17 meters from the moat to the castle tower and the water landscape. The paths planned complicatedly change the view one after another. The cherry blossoms to look up and to look down and the background from the near view to the distant view of Mt. Iwaki are amplified by the water of layered moats. Near dusk, the gently winding cherry blossom tunnel in the west moat melts into the dark, and a row of cherry blossom trees on the opposite bank is reflected on the moat while on the higher bank beyond a narrow waterway is another row. It is just the wide current of cherry blossoms.

A combination of cherry blossoms and cultural assets is another attraction. We remember this spot by the cherry blossoms with Hirosaki Castle. This common icon is also the reason for the best in Japan.

It was 1715 when cherry trees were planted. In 1901, 1000 cherry trees were re-planted in the desolate castle, and the Sakura Festival began in 1918. A surprising thing is that during World War II, the festival continued until 1943, despite the authorities' request to cancel it. Hirosaki citizens' passion for cherry blossoms is so special.