CRP RUSSIA KHABAROVSK, VLADIVOSTOK, NAKHODKA Russian Far East Vol.1 May 2016

2016年5月、極東ロシアのハバロフスク、ウラジオストク、ナホトカを訪れた。 祖父が戦後10年近くに渡りシベリアに抑留されていた地を自分の目で確かめることが、 今回の旅の目的だった。 最初に訪れたのは、ハバロフスク。 アムール川の雄大な流れと、ヨーロッパの雰囲気が漂う街並みが印象的な美しい街だ。 郊外の広大なロシア人墓地の一角に日本人墓地があった。 60万人とも言われるシベリア抑留者のうち、約1割が過酷な環境で命を落としたという。 祖国への帰還の夢を抱きながら、シベリアの大地で多くの日本人が永眠し続けている。 その日の夜、ウラジオストク行きのシベリア鉄道の夜行列車に乗車した。 夜明け前に目が覚め、果てしなく広がるかのように見える荒野を車窓からぼんやりと眺めていた。 ここから見える風景は、抑留者が日本へ引き揚げた当時からあまり変わらないのかもしれない。 ウラジオストクに到着後、日本への引き揚げ船が出ていたナホトカに向かった。 僕はナホトカの海岸に立って、雨上がりの青い空と海に向けてシャッターを切った。 祖父は生還を果たした60数年前、どんな思いでこの景色を見つめていたのだろうか。 In May 2016, I made a visit to the Russian Far East cities of Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, and Nakhodka. I wanted to see the land where my grandfather had been detained for ten years after the end of the Second World War with my own eyes – this was the primary purpose of my visit. First stop was Khabarovsk. Lying on the majestic Amur River, this picturesque city has a distinct European flavor. On the grounds of a cemetery in the outskirts of Khabarovsk lies a plot with the graves of Japanese prisoners of war. Of the approximately 600,000 Japanese who were interned by the Soviet Union, some 10% died in the harsh conditions they faced at labor camps. So many of them, embracing their dream of one day returning to their homeland, had found their final resting place in the vast expanses of Siberia. Later that same day, I boarded the Trans-Siberian Railway bound for Vladivostok on an overnight journey. Waking just before sunrise, I sat there, staring vacantly at the seemingly endless wilderness stretching out to all directions. Most likely, this scenery has not changed since the time when the surviving internees in the Siberian camps were repatriated to Japan. After arriving in Vladivostok, I set off for the nearby port city of Nakhodka – the point from which so many POWs embarked on the journey back to Japan. Standing on the Nakhodka shoreline, I turned my camera towards the sky, blue after the rain had lifted, and the deep blue sea stretching out below it. I then wondered what thoughts were going through my grandfather’s mind, after having survived his ordeal, as he looked out at this very same view 60 years ago. 39 Photographs, 43 Pages