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Essay

Sawa and Gumi

By John Gathright


愛知万博の人気者

大成功を収めた愛知万博が終わって、1ヵ月が過ぎました。多くの来場者を迎えた会場では、現在パビリオンの取り壊しが行なわれています。筆者はこの万博で Growing Village という、自然を愛する心の大切さをメッセージに込めたパビリオンのプロデューサーを務めましたが、その会場で人気者になったのが2本の木。最初は見栄えが悪いと関係者の評判は芳しくなかったのですが…。

Wow! What a party. Wild costumes, exotic food, ethnic music and dance in some of the most lavish rooms in the world. Twenty two million people from over 120 countries, for 180 days, partying it up in Aichi. The world expos are definitely amongst the world's biggest parties and the one in Aichi this year was really good. It was a great opportunity to foster international unity and friendship as well as plant the seeds for living in better harmony with nature.

Right now, though, we're cleaning up. The expo site is a hive of activity, with trucks carrying away dismantled pavilions and walkways. The excited buzz of visitors has been replaced by the roar of generators and power tools.

Standing proud and tall, raising their leafy heads above the dust and rubble, are Sawa and Gumi, our two tree-climbing trees. As I look at these two trees, a lump develops in my throat. Tears well up in my eyes. I am filled with awe and gratitude. I was the producer for the Growing Village Pavilion in the Expo and these trees were two of my best friends.

I needed two special trees for people of all ages to climb and enjoy during the expo. They had to be over 15 meters tall, healthy and strong. I wanted trees that had open crowns and far-spreading branches. I was looking for trees that would also be challenging for disabled people.

This proved to be a tall order, if you'll forgive the pun. There were no such trees in our area of the expo site and it would have been very expensive to transplant such huge trees from a great distance. For over a year I searched for the right trees, but to no avail. Then, one day, I found Sawa and Gumi. They had been planted in the corner of a parking lot 50 years earlier. They were not pretty, nor were they exciting trees. They were gnarled and knotted and unbalanced, and because they were big and ugly they were destined to be cut down.

It was love at first sight. They were sawagurumi, so immediately I named them Sawa and Gumi. With the help of some good friends, I managed to bring them to the site. It was a big expense and a lot of work. The trees had to be pruned and prepared before being moved by huge trucks for a long road trip. They also had to suffer a lot of teasing and criticism. I was surprised at the number of people who complained that they were ugly. I was told that I should find a better-looking, more exotic type of tree.

On the opening day of the expo it snowed. Our new pavilion was sparkling but Sawa and Gumi were still leafless and lonely. A gardener from another area came by and told me they looked like skeletons, that they would never be good-looking trees. "It's obvious they're worthless," he said. "They'll be the sore thumb of the expo."

Spring came. Sawa and Gumi came to life. Their branches grew attractively green leaves. Families from all over Japan came to visit the Growing Village and people waited for hours to hop into a tree-climbing saddle and get on a rope to climb up into these two trees. During the expo, over 3,000 people climbed Sawa and Gumi. Disadvantaged children left their wheelchairs to get up into their branches, laughing as they did so. Disillusioned and depressed adults played like children for a while, swinging in the tree tops. No one complained about the gnarled trunks and the misshapen canopy.

The Growing Village was a great success. Sawa and Gumi were loved and appreciated by all. Kids found interesting shapes in their branches: "Hey, that looks like an elephant trunk"; "See that scar, it looks like a smile!" People found comfort in the thought that like themselves life for Sawa and Gumi had not been easy, but they persevered and kept growing.

In a few short weeks, the expo site will be fully dismantled and there will be little left to remind people of what had taken place. But Sawa and Gumi will still be there, inviting people to climb their branches and find comfort in their canopy.



Shukan ST: Nov. 11, 2005

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