島の西部、浜津地区にある古民家ゲストハウス「小白山」に行く途中にある立派なお庭。車で横を通るだけではなかなか気が付きにくい場所ですが、今の季節は紫陽花が咲き誇り、紫陽花がキレイで有名なお寺にも負けないほどの美しさ。

One day, when I first moved to Ojika Island back in June last year, I was on my way to Kojiroyama kominka located in Hamazu District on Ojika Island. As I was driving up the narrow street leading up to Kojiroyama I couldn’t help but notice a colorful sea of Ajisai (Hydrangea) growing in someone’s garden on the side of the road. Since then I would have a peek at the beautiful flowers every time I passed by this garden　that reminded me of Ajisaidera in Kamakura.

畑の周りに立派な紫陽花が咲き乱れています。ピンクや青、赤、白の紫陽花。種類もとっても豊富。
一体、ここは誰が作ったのでしょう。

What kind of person created this garden?
I got my answer one year later when I finally gathered my courage and sneaked into the garden for a photo…and got caught red-handed by the man himself…
When travelling around Ojika Island you may notice that locals put a lot of work into their gardens. It’s almost like the whole island is engaged in a gardening contest of some sort. One man, however, takes gardening to a whole new level. Please meet Ōta-san and his awe-inspiring Japanese garden.

実はここ、庭師の太田さんのご自宅。
太田さんは元バスの運転手さん。現在は23年務めた小値賀交通を定年退職され、庭師のお仕事を行っています。バスの運転手時代から時間がある時には庭師のお仕事もされていた働き者。
太田さんのおじいさんが庭づくりを始めたのを継ぎ、自宅の庭づくりを趣味で行っていたところ、周りからお声がけいただき今では立派なお仕事に。
特別な勉強をせず、本を読んだりと独学で初めたというのが驚きです。
島での庭師は今ではとっても貴重な存在。

Ōta-san was first introduced to gardening by his uncle and got instantly hooked. After years of self-study he became really good at it. Just like a super hero he had two identities: his public identity of a bus driver and his “secret” identity of a virtuoso gardener. It didn’t take long though for the rumors about his super power to spread throughout the island. Ōta-san then (readily) began to use his gardening scissors for the benefit of humanity (a.k.a. his neighbors).

お庭を見れば一目瞭然。太田さんならではの芸術品が並びます。
上手に出来た剪定はやっぱりとっても嬉しいそう。

When Ōta-san caught me taking photos of his garden (and after I apologized a million times) he offered me coffee. I happily accepted and followed him into the garden, which turned out to be a full blown Japanese garden with Bonsai trees of all shapes and sizes.

庭師のお仕事は体力勝負。
島の人から自宅で手入れの出来なくなった松を頂き、管理を任されることもあったりとお仕事はたくさん。

While we had our coffee (which his wife kindly served us) I’ve learned that Ōta-san has injured his eyes recently while gardening (hence the pink ♥ sunglasses), which then led to the talk about his health and how it’s getting more difficult to maintain the garden all by himself.

そんな太田さんの悩みは後継者がいないこと。
ひとりで同じ作業をやり続けるには根気が必要だといいます。

While gazing at his beautiful garden Ōta-san seemed to be full of worry and my heart felt heavy as I too grew worried about the future of Ōta-san’s life’s work.

けれど、最近吉報が。
見習い中の弟子がおひとりできたとのことでとっても嬉しそう。１人でも仲間がいれば、心強いですね！
庭師はセンスが必要なお仕事と思われがちですが、やる気があればセンスはやっているうちに後からついてくると思う、とおっしゃっていました。

庭を眺めながら、ご自分の剪定を確認。
珈琲を片手に、次の剪定場所をチェックするそうです。

太田家のお庭は観光客も見学していいよ、と温かなお返事をいただきました。
梅雨のこの時季限定の贅沢なお花見です。
ぜひ、太田さんのお庭に、太田さんに会いに遊びにいらしてください！
後継者も募集中ですよ！

Then, just the other day, we received fantastic news from Ōta-san: he found a protégé!!! Ōta-san seems to enjoy his new role of a teacher very much and both he and his student can be found in the garden working happily together.

Would you like to have a sneak-peek of Ōta-san’s garden and meet the man himself?
We are happy to announce that Ōta-san has opened his garden to public and anyone is welcome to drop by for a tour. Even if Ōta-san is not home visitors are welcome to explore the garden by themselves.

Welcome to Ōta-san’s garden!

【お問い合わせ】
おぢかアイランドツーリズム　0959-56-2646
ご興味のある方は、お庭の場所などお伝えいたしますので当ツーリズムまでお気軽にどうぞ。