奥蓼科温泉郷 御射鹿池
四季折々、いろいろな光景をみせてくれる神秘的な溜池です。高原で農業を営む人々にとって水は重要な役割を果たし、酸度の高い水を希薄するために昭和８年にこの溜池が作られそうです。
「御射鹿池」という名前は、諏訪大社上社の御頭祭で、神に捧げる牝鹿を射る神事に由来していると考えられています。
東山魁夷氏の「緑響く」(長野県信濃美術館)でもその幻想的な美しが描かれています。また、近年、テレビコマーシャルにも登場するなど注目を浴びています。
私が、訪れた７月の後半は、まだ、それほど観光客の姿もなく静かに、湖面に映るカラマツをゆっくりと眺めることができました。小淵沢から60分程度と思い、車を飛ばしてきたのですが山道で思うように進むことが出来ませんでした。途中、国道191号線の両脇に、石仏が何体も出現し写真を撮りながら進みました。
後でわかったことですが、国道191号線は、古くは「渋道」今は「湯みち街道」と言われ武田信玄の時代以来、藩主から庶民まで多くの渋温泉の湯治客として通ったことから、その名前がついたそうです。湯治客の安全を願い西国三十三ヶ所の御本尊を刻んだ観音66体が安置され、西国霊場巡りと同じ功徳があると信じられています。そんなわけで、国道の両脇の石仏と私と目があったわけです。
Mishaka-ike
It is a mysterious reservoir that offers a variety of scenes from season to season. Water is an important element for farmers on the plateau, and this reservoir was created in 1933 to dilute the highly acidic water.
The name "Mishaka-ike" is thought to derive from the ritual of shooting a doe deer dedicated to the gods at the Mikashimatsuri festival of the Suwa-taisha shrine.
Its illusionary beauty is also depicted in Kaii Higashiyama's "Midori-Hibiiku" (Nagano Prefectural Shinano Art Museum). In recent years, it has also been the focus of much attention, appearing in TV commercials.
When I visited in the end of July, there were not so many tourists yet, and I was able to enjoy the quiet and relaxing view of the larch trees reflected on the lake surface. I drove up from Kobuchisawa, thinking it would take about 60 minutes, but the mountain road made it difficult to proceed as expected. On the way, I saw several stone Buddha statues on both sides of Route 191 and took pictures of them as I drove along.
As I found out later, National Route 191 was called "Shibu Road" in the old days and "Yumichi Road" now, and the name came from the fact that many people, from feudal lords to commoners, passed through the Shibu Hot Springs for a hot-spring cure since the days of Shingen Takeda. It is believed to have the same virtues as the pilgrimage to sacred sites in the western part of Japan. That is why there were stone Buddhas on both sides of the road that gazed my eyes.