Foreign Media Attention! Oma Shukubo Fugenin,” limited to one couple per day in Oma for tuna, thoughts of a depopulated temple and delicious hospitality (Oma Town, Aomori Prefecture)
下北半島の先端、青森県の大間（おおま）といえば日本屈指のマグロの産地として知られている。屈強な漁師たちが命をかけて一本釣りしたマグロが大間崎周辺の飲食店や宿でも楽しめる。
Oma, located at the tip of the Shimokita Peninsula in Aomori Prefecture, is known as one of the best tuna producing areas in Japan. Tuna caught by strong fishermen who put their lives on the line can be enjoyed at restaurants and inns in the Oma-zaki area.
その大間に禅宗の宿坊が誕生した。地元や東北エリアのテレビや新聞でもたびたび取り上げられ、ツナ（マグロ）好きのアメリカからCNNがはるばるやってくるなど国内外の取材もひっきりなしの人気の宿となっている。銀座あたりの高級寿司店で注文したらいくらになるかわからないような生のマグロをはじめ、地域特産品を活かした食事や、檀家や地元の人たちの協力で境内でマルシェや寺ヨガ、音楽フェスなども開催する、元甲子園球児で活きの良い若い僧侶との交流も大きな魅力だ。
A Zen Buddhist lodge has been established in Oma. The inn has been frequently featured on local TV and in newspapers in the Tohoku area, and has become a popular destination for both domestic and international media coverage, including a visit by CNN from the tuna-loving United States. The inn is also very popular for its meals that make the most of local specialties, including raw tuna that would cost a fortune to order at a high-end sushi restaurant in the Ginza area, and for its interaction with a lively young monk, a former Koshien baseball player, who organizes marche, temple yoga, and music festivals in the grounds with the cooperation of parishioners and local people.
そんな「おおま宿坊 普賢院（ふげんいん）」の人気の裏には、過疎地でいかにして寺院と地域が生きて残っていくのかの挑戦物語があった。
Behind the popularity of Oma Shukubo Fugen-in lies a story of the challenge of how a temple and a community can survive and survive in a depopulated area.
平成30年（2018）4月に誕生した「おおま宿坊 普賢院」は、大間の港町からほんの少し山に入ったあたりに位置している。港町にあり、マグロ漁師の檀家を数多く持つ曹洞宗大澗（だいかん）山福蔵寺の別院で、木々に囲まれた三千坪の広大な敷地に普賢延命菩薩、薬師如来、不動明王を祀っている。その敷地内にある「佛光庵（ぶっこうあん）」が、1日1組を存分にもてなす宿として活用されている。
Oma Shukubo Fugenin, which opened in April 2018, is located just a short distance into the mountains from the port town of Oma. Located in the port town, it is a branch temple of the Soto sect’s Daikanzan Fukuzoji Temple, which has many parishioners who are tuna fishermen, and enshrines Fugen Enmei Bosatsu, Yakushi Nyorai, and Fudo Myoo in its vast grounds of 3,000 tsubo (about 1,000 square meters) surrounded by trees. Bukko-an, located on the grounds of the temple, is used as an inn where one couple a day is treated to a full range of hospitality.
青森県大間町は、言わずと知れたマグロの漁港として知られる、下北半島の突端にある港町。宿坊は、ここからクルマで5分くらい、小高い山の中に入ったところに位置している。 Oma Town in Aomori Prefecture is a port town at the tip of the Shimokita Peninsula, known for its well-known tuna fishing port. The lodge is located in a small mountain about five minutes by car from the town.
港町にある福蔵寺（曹洞宗）の別院、普賢院。おしゃれなコテージ風の宿泊棟は、この写真のカメラの右手側に位置している。 Fugenin, a branch temple of Fukuzo Temple (Soto sect), is located in the port town. The stylish cottage-style accommodation building is located on the right side of the camera in this photo.
宿泊棟として活用している佛光庵は、森に囲まれた境内の中ほどにある。サンルームには瞑想用のチェアや書籍なども用意されていて、思い思いの過ごし方ができる。 Bukkouan, which is used as an accommodation building, is located in the middle of the temple grounds surrounded by a forest. The sunroom is equipped with meditation chairs and books, allowing visitors to spend their time as they wish.
宿坊の室内は天井も高く、上質な山小屋のよう。サンルームの窓の外には、境内庭園に咲く季節の花々。バスルームも設置しているが、近くに温泉（おおま温泉海峡保養センター）もあり、宿坊のゲストには入浴券を提供している。 The interior of the lodge has high ceilings and resembles a high quality mountain lodge. Outside the sunroom window are seasonal flowers blooming in the precinct garden. There is a bathroom, but there is also a hot spring (Oma Onsen Kaikyo Recreation Center) nearby, and guests of the lodgings are provided with a bathing ticket.
境内の庭園を眺めながら瞑想できるサンルーム、鳥の声で目覚めるベッドルーム……静寂のなかにコテージのように佇むこじんまりとした木造の宿泊棟。ゲストはこの贅沢な環境で時を過ごし、希望すれば坐禅や写経などのプログラムを体験することもできる。三密など無縁の世界だ。
A sunroom where you can meditate with a view of the temple gardens, and a bedroom where you can wake up to the sound of birds. …… A cozy wooden lodging building that resembles a cottage nestled in the silence. Guests can spend time in this luxurious environment and, if they wish, experience programs such as zazen and sutra chanting. The three secrets of the world are not involved.
