« A Quote by Bill Hybels | メイン | A Quote by Peggy Noonan »
2008年10月23日
Japanese Mountains: Childhood Memories
Why do I so enjoy rock climbing? What makes it so special to me ? I have been asking myself these questions lately and that has brought back some childhood memories of mine while growing up in Shiga Prefecture, Japan.
My earliest memories of "outside" play are of me playing in the traditional Japanese garden of the WEC Japan headquarters. This building and garden was built by a rich "Ohmi Shounin" (a merchant from the Ohmi area of Japan now known as Shiga) and was huge. In the garden were quite a number of really large boulders and my main activity there was climbing them. For a small child some of them presented quite the challenge. Also, some were in groups so that smaller boulders had to be first climbed in order to get to the top of a larger boulder.So, for me, "play" in the outdoors first meant climbing boulders.
When I got a bit older, the younger missionaries used to take me with them when they went on outings, These outings usually consisted of climbing the nearby Mt. Kinugasa. And of course this involved even more boulders-only larger. It also exposed me to real rock faces and I had a great time climbing there.
Finally, when I was in grade school I was able to attend many of the church summer camps held at the WEC campsite located near Lake Biwa. For most campers the beautiful beach of white sand was central but for me the endless line of boulders on both sides of the beach was more interesting. I spent endless hours climbing these boulders and sometimes seeing how far I could get out into the lake by jumping from one boulder to the next. I attended these camps all the way through my junior high school years and never stopped enjoying climbing the boulders there.
These memories of mine seem to be the answer to my questions to myself about why I enjoy rock climbing so much. Rock climbing has always been a part of my life and it looks like it will continue to be so. I am now in my 50s but I meet many rock climbers in their 60s and 70s and they seem to enjoy the rocks and the mountians now just as much as ever. So, I will no doubt do the same.
投稿者 bethany : 2008年10月23日 14:12
トラックバック
このエントリーのトラックバックURL:
http://www.bethanyjp.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/237