At this time of spring, Azami(thistle flowers) were always in bloom in the fields and mountains wherever I went.  And whenever I looked at this flower, I found myself unconsciously crooning “Azami no Uta”.  The poem is written by Hiroshi Yokoi, who was 18 years old when he was demobilized in 1945, and made his ideal female image on Azamithe flowers blooming in the field at the Yashima Plateau in Shimosuwa, where he was evacuated.  It was adopted by NHK’s radio song and was broadcast from August 8, 1945, and has been singing since then.  Azami flowers were blooming beside the walking path today as well. When I read the poems that flow while listening to “Azami no Uta” on YouTube, I feel myself overlapping with this song.

春のこの時期、野に山に、どこに行っても必ずアザミの花が咲いていました。そして思わず口遊むのが「あざみの歌」。詩は、昭和20年(1945)に復員してきた当時18歳の横井弘氏が、疎開先の下諏訪の八島高原で、野に咲くアザミの花に自分の理想の女性像をだぶらせて綴ったものといわれます。ＮＨＫのラジオ歌謡に採用され、昭和24年(1945)８月８日から放送され、以来今に至るまで歌い続けられています。 今日も散歩道の傍らにアザミの花が咲いていました。YouTubeで「あざみの歌」を聴きながら流れる詩を読んでいると、あらためて我が身が重なる思いがします。