間が空いてしまいましたが、10/3（土）に前橋シネマハウスのシアターゼロで実施した 石川直樹さんと石倉敏明さんの対話「アジールとしての赤城山」のふりかえりを。

赤城山に根ざし日本のスキー草創期を牽引した猪谷六合雄の名著『雪に生きる』に導かれ、赤城山をリサーチするなかで、写真家・長谷川傳次郎と猪谷との交流を知り、その伝説的な100年前のヒマラヤ巡行を辿った石川さん。

対して母堂の郷里・前橋に呼び寄せられるように、赤城山山麓で一人の聖職者が拓いたアジール「あかつきの村」に出会い直した石倉さん。

前橋人にとって身近な赤城山が、石川さんの旅によって「世界の屋根（=ヒマラヤ）」とつながり、そしてまた石倉さんの家族の物語と死者たちの民俗（地蔵岳）に還ってくる。まさに僕がこの前橋国際芸術祭で表したかった「国際」の旅を、お二人の山をめぐる往還にみた夜でした。

たとえ一箇所に留まっていても、私たちは垂直にも水平にも、書物や記憶を通して時空さえも超えて旅することができる。贅沢なスライドショーでした。石川さん、石倉さん、お忙しいなかありがとうございました。2年後、また旅の続きをお聞きできたらと思います。

宮本武典（前橋国際芸術祭2026 プログラムディレクター）

It has been a little while, but I would like to look back on “Mount Akagi as ‘Asyl,’” a dialogue between Naoki Ishikawa and Toshiaki Ishikura held at Maebashi Cinema House Theater Zero on Saturday, October 3.
Guided by Yuki ni Ikiru (Living in the Snow), a celebrated book by Kunio Igaya, who was closely connected to Mount Akagi and played a pioneering role in the early history of skiing in Japan, Ishikawa began researching Mount Akagi. In the process, he discovered the friendship between Igaya and photographer Denjiro Hasegawa, which led him to retrace their legendary journey through the Himalayas a century ago.
Ishikura, meanwhile, was drawn to Maebashi, his mother’s hometown, where he rediscovered “Akatsuki no Mura,” a place of asylum established by a priest at the foot of Mount Akagi.
Mount Akagi, a familiar presence for the people of Maebashi, became connected through Ishikawa’s travels to the roof of the world, the Himalayas, before returning through Ishikura’s family history to the folklore surrounding the dead and Mount Jizo. In the journeys back and forth between these mountains, I saw precisely the kind of journey that I had hoped to express through the word “international” in the Maebashi Biennale 2026.
Even when we remain in one place, we can travel both vertically and horizontally, crossing even the boundaries of time and space through books and memories.
It was an extraordinary slideshow. Thank you, Ishikawa and Ishikura, for taking the time out of your busy schedules. I hope we can hear more about the continuation of your journeys in two years.

Takenori Miyamoto (Program Director, Maebashi Biennale 2026