There are places that I will definitely want to visit when the seasons change.  It is a place called by the name of the so-called “marginal village”.  In the past, mandarin orange cultivation was popular in the mountainous areas of Senshu in the southern part of Osaka Prefecture.  This village was also rich in mandarin orange cultivation.  Although it is a small village with a total of about 20 households, splendid houses and mandarin orange warehouses that remind us of the past still remain in an old fashioned form.  Most of the inhabitants are elderly, and now at most they cultivate a small amount of land.  One house in the village is the house I’m looking for. At the entrance of the splendid gate, tasteful fresh flowers are decorated every season.  It is a sight rarely seen in the city.  The word “marginal village” is completely unsuitable for this scene.

季節の変わり目には必ず訪ねたくなる所があります。いわゆる「限界集落」の名で呼ばれる所です。昔は、大阪府の南部の泉州一帯の山手はミカン栽培が盛んでした。この集落もミカン栽培で潤った集落です。総戸数20戸ほどの小さな集落ですが、往時を偲ばせる立派な家々やミカン倉庫が、今では古ぼけた形で残っています。住民もほとんどが老人で、僅かばかりの田畑を耕すのがせいぜいです。その集落の中の一軒がお目当てのお家です。立派な門構えの入口に、季節の変わり目毎に、趣きのある生花が飾られています。都会では滅多に見られない光景です。「限界集落」という言葉が全く似つかわしくない光景です。