Soaring into Jiro's Sky: My Favorite Flight Route
August 12, 2025: JAL3567 Fukuoka (FUK) 6:25 PM → Tokushima (TKS) 7:25 PM
This is my favorite flight route, one that circles above my cherished hometown of Kurume before heading to Tokushima. I occasionally take this route to the east, and I always secretly wait for takeoff, my heart pounding with excitement, wondering if we'll take this path.
After takeoff, we begin our descent south from Fukuoka, flying over the mountains near Kiyama in Saga. As the beloved Chikushi Plain begins to spread out below, my heart starts to pound, and my eyes search for the magnificent, meandering Jiro. The Chikugo River, the largest river in Kyushu. Chikushi Jiro, one of Japan's three most unruly rivers.
Due to the heavy rain the day before, the river's water level had risen, carrying a great deal of muddy, cafe-au-lait colored water from upstream, so I was able to spot it more quickly than usual. We flew over it for just a few minutes. On the other side, the sparkling Ariake Sea.
In this precious, beloved moment, I contemplated the eternal story of this land. It began about 26,000 years ago, when the Mino mountain range was uplifted by a fault shift, and water began to flow from the high ground. Little by little, sediment was deposited, forming the vast Chikushi Plain. On that land, people wove their lives by the side of the unruly Jiro, the great river that carried the water of life. Coexistence with nature was sometimes harsh, and there must have been a great deal of political influence as well. Even so, the people put their wisdom to use, "how to live a happy life," and with continuous effort, they shaped the way of life, including clothing, food, and housing, in this area. They updated it little by little.
From this emerged Kurume Kasuri, which is connected to today's weaving culture, and indigo dyeing, JAPAN BLUE, a unique Japanese dyeing culture. Unconsciously, I have received this baton, even if only a small part of it, and with IKI LUCA, I am trying to connect it to the new 100 years from now.
The water of life circulates, pouring down on the mountains and the land, flowing into Jiro, and then into the Ariake Sea, evaporating and returning to the sky to become clouds. A recent encounter made me realize that the sky, too, is part of Jiro's basin.
For a brief moment, I became a part of Jiro's sky, and while contemplating these things, I headed to the Awa Odori dance festival in Tokushima for the fourth time.
