Essay Abandoned buildings By Samantha Loong	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
廃墟の魅力 使われなくなって数十年経つ遊園地であれ、鉱山であれ、筆者にとって廃墟は「イケてる」のだそうだ。 といっても、廃墟の持つ不気味さを気に入っているのではない。 そこにうごめく自然の再生力に未来を垣間見ることができるからだという。

Whenever I go to a bookstore, I often find myself drifting towards the section where books on abandoned areas, or haikyo, are displayed. I was recently asked by a friend why I enjoy reading about and exploring abandoned buildings and sites.

My first reaction to my friend's question was "Because they're cool!" but her question prompted me to analyze exactly what it was I found "cool" about haikyo.

For me, by looking into the past, haikyo offers a way to glimpse into the future. And it's a future that both fascinates and saddens me. When I look at haikyo, I am fascinated and awed by the power of Mother Nature, as she often shows how quickly and effortlessly she takes over once humans have left. All that's needed is a tiny sprinkling of soil, and inevitably a seed from some plant will land and begin to settle into its new home. It is not uncommon when exploring abandoned buildings and sites to see lush, green trees bursting out from where concrete floors used to be, or leafy vines shooting their way across a brick wall.

The sad side to viewing haikyo is how it exposes the wasteful and sometimes materialistic nature of humans. Haikyo also reveals what eyesores our modern-day abandoned structures are when we compare them against the natural landscape. An example of this is in San Zhi, Taiwan, where the abandoned construction of a failed holiday resort remains. The supposedly "futuristic" design now looks like nothing more than gaudy, alien-like pods.

Haikyo also reveals that man-made structures don't take very long to degrade. I recently visited Hashima Island, aka Gunkanjima, in Nagasaki. The former coal mining island, complete with schools, shops, apartments and a hospital for its residents, was inhabited from 1887 to 1974. It took humans almost 90 years to fully utilize the island for their needs, but it has taken nature less than 40 years to reclaim the island back, with greenery visible throughout the crumbling structures.

Exploring haikyo also has an eerie, ghost-like aspect to it. Even though haikyo are places that have been abandoned, because they have been given the human touch one can't help but imagine what used to happen in these spaces. Looking at a moss-covered roller coaster you can almost hear the shrill cries of the people who once rode it. Perhaps this demonstrates the lasting impact humans have on their natural environment.

The true realization of this impact seems to only be recent, as people become more aware of what materials go into the construction of our buildings, and of better ways to work with the environment, not against. I only hope that this awareness does not come too late, because, as haikyo will remind you, nature always wins in the end.

Shukan ST: October 16, 2009

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