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I am honored to be in charge of the first Okashira Diary of the New Year. I look forward to your continued support this year.

Recently, I have had the opportunity to spend one of the first three days of the New Year in Kokubunji. Since it is still an unfamiliar area to me, I enjoy wandering around for walks. This year, I visited the "Tosando Musashichi Ruins," a nationally designated historic site. The Tosando was one of the seven ancient transportation routes (Shichido) connecting the capital with various provincial capitals. The Tosando Musashichi was a return route that ran south from Kozuke Province (present-day Gunma Prefecture) to the Musashi Provincial Capital, with a history dating back to the 7th century. It is said that because excavations confirmed road remains 12 meters wide and 490 meters long, the road planning was changed to preserve the underground remains, and the current road was constructed over them. Although it is a historic site, it simply looks like a series of irregularly shaped yellowish stains along the edge of a very wide sidewalk. However, knowing that these are the remains of an ancient road makes it fascinating to imagine the coming and going of people in ancient times.

From there, I extended my walk to the "Sugatami-no-ike Pond Green Space" in Koigakubo. It is said that Sugatami-no-ike (Pond of the Reflection) was once filled with clear water from nearby springs, and it earned its name because the courtesans of the post station town of Koigakubo would gaze at their own reflections there morning and evening. When we visited, the sun was beginning to set and it was chilly. Just as I was about to leave quickly while feeling the history of the waterside amidst the withered winter scenery, I suddenly felt as if a blue light had crossed in front of my eyes.

Straining my eyes, I saw a beautiful blue bird perched on a withered branch by the pond. It was a kingfisher. In the colorless landscape, its blue color stood out remarkably. Without fleeing while we took out our cameras and smartphones, it flew back and forth to the water's surface many times to catch fish, sometimes perching on different branches and showing us poses from the opposite side. Thanks to this, I was able to observe it closely from a relatively short distance. The photo was taken by a family member at that time.

I wondered when I would see one again, but the next day, while visiting the "Eight Fortune Gods" (rather than the usual seven) in Hachioji, I encountered a kingfisher once more on the banks of the Minamiasakawa River on the way to the final deity, Kichijoten. This time it was far away and flew off quickly, making it difficult to photograph, but perhaps because I had learned its flight patterns and appearance well the day before, I noticed it immediately. We rejoiced that meeting the blue bird of happiness twice so early in the New Year surely meant it would be a good year.

At the beginning of the year, I was reminded once again that gaining knowledge and experience through encounters with ancient roads and blue birds allows us to see new things. I hope that 2026 will be a fruitful year blessed with new encounters and discoveries.