紫式部墓所：2024年8月29日（木）

2020年5月より，コロナ禍の始まりによって，私は京都市下京区の自宅から京都市北区上賀茂の大学キャンパスまでの往復14kmの道のりを自転車（マウンテンバイク）で通勤するようになった。それまで，当初はマイカー通勤，次に地下鉄・バス通勤にシフトし，今の自転車通勤に切り替えて4年が過ぎた。自転車通勤は，脱炭素にはこの上もなく良い移動手段であるし，何よりも健康に良い。自転車で通勤できなくなるようになったら，現役を引退しようかなと思うこともある。

　ところで，私が毎日通っている大学までの自転車通勤途上で，堀川北大路交差点を少し下がったところの，島津製作所紫野工場の隣に，紫式部の墓所がある（上の写真は筆者撮影(2024.8.28)）。『源氏物語』の作者である紫式部を題材に創られたNHKの大河ドラマ「光る君へ」が放映されている影響で，かつてはほとんど見られなかった観光客の姿が，いまや，観光ツアーの旗持ちに連れられて，この紫式部墓所を訪れる人の数がものすごく増えた。

　「紫式部と小野篁の墓が隣同士にある謎」については，KBS京都（京都放送）の常勤監査役の今川博明氏のブログによる解説が詳しい。紫式部と小野篁（おののたかむら）卿が生きた時代は約200年もの差異があるのに，なぜ，お二人のお墓が一緒にここにあるのかは今もって謎だといわれている。小野篁卿（小野妹子の子孫であり，小野小町と小野道風は孫だとする説もある）は，閻魔大王の副官ともいわれ，閻魔大王からお呼びが掛かると，夜中に六道珍皇寺の「冥土通いの井戸」から冥土の世へ出向き，朝方に「黄泉がえりの井戸」から現世に戻って宮中に出仕したとされる。とても怖い人なのである。紫式部が『源氏物語』で好色を綴ったことにより，紫式部が地獄に落ちないようにと，閻魔大王の副官とされる小野篁卿のお墓の横に紫式部のお墓を後の人が並べたとの説もある。

　紫式部の住まいは，この墓所のそばにある船岡山の麓に創建された廬山寺（当初は與願金剛院と呼ばれ，豊臣秀吉による「町割り」で京都御所東に移転）にあったといわれ，この墓所がある場所は，紫式部が生まれ，晩年を過ごしたといわれる雲林院白毫院（大徳寺塔頭，同じく大徳寺塔頭の真珠庵には紫式部の産湯井戸がある）の跡地だという。

　紫式部が多くの時間を過ごした紫野（一説に紫式部の名前の由来）の地は，皇室や貴族の遊猟地だったといわれている。私は，毎日，平安時代の遊猟地をマウンテンバイクで駆けているということになる。

Murasaki Shikibu's grave site:  August 29th(Thursday), 2024

Since May 2020, due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been commuting by bicycle (mountain bike) from my home in Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto City, to my university campus in Kamigamo, Kita Ward, Kyoto City, covering a round trip of 14 kilometers. Before that, I initially commuted by car, then switched to using the subway and bus, and now it's been four years since I transitioned to commuting by bicycle. Cycling is an excellent mode of transportation for reducing carbon emissions, and above all, it's beneficial for my health. Sometimes I think that when I can no longer commute by bike, it might be time to retire.

By the way, on my daily bike commute to the university, just a little down from the Horikawa Kitaoji intersection, next to the Shimadzu Corporation Murasakino Factory, there is the grave site of Murasaki Shikibu (the photo above was taken by the author on August 28, 2024). Due to the airing of the NHK Taiga drama 'Hikaru Kimi e,' which is based on Murasaki Shikibu, the author of 'The Tale of Genji,' the number of tourists visiting this grave site, which was almost unnoticed before, has now dramatically increased, with visitors being guided by tour groups.

Regarding the 'mystery of why the graves of Murasaki Shikibu and Ono no Takamura are adjacent,' a detailed explanation can be found on the blog of Hiroaki Imagawa, a standing auditor at KBS Kyoto (Kyoto Broadcasting System). Although there is a gap of about 200 years between the periods when Murasaki Shikibu and Lord Ono no Takamura lived, it remains a mystery why their graves are together here. Lord Ono no Takamura, a descendant of Ono no Imoko (and according to one theory, the grandfather of Ono no Komachi and Ono no Tofu), is said to have served as the assistant to King Enma, the ruler of the underworld. It is believed that when summoned by King Enma, he would travel to the world of the dead through the "Well of the Underworld" at Rokudō Chinnō-ji at night and return to the living world by dawn through the "Well of Resurrection" to attend court. He was considered a very frightening person. According to one theory, people in later times placed Murasaki Shikibu's grave next to that of Lord Ono no Takamura, the assistant to King Enma, to ensure that Murasaki Shikibu would not fall into hell due to the amorous tales she wrote in "The Tale of Genji."

It is said that Murasaki Shikibu’s residence was located at Rozanji Temple, originally called Yogankongoin, at the foot of Mount Funaoka near this grave site (the temple was later relocated east of the Kyoto Imperial Palace during Toyotomi Hideyoshi's city planning). This grave site is believed to be on the grounds of the former Unrin'in Byakugoin (a sub-temple of Daitokuji Temple), where Murasaki Shikibu was born and spent her later years (the birth-well of Murasaki Shikibu is also found at Shinjuan, another sub-temple of Daitokuji Temple).

The land of Murasakino, where Murasaki Shikibu spent much of her time (which is also said to be the origin of her name), was reportedly a hunting ground for the imperial family and the nobility. I find myself riding a mountain bike every day through what was once a hunting ground in the Heian period.

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