Wind and Earth

The Dingle Peninsula in Ireland is at the very west end of Europe. There, the prevailing Westerlies blow past a long and winding coastline that stretches out to the Atlantic Ocean. Despite heavy rainfall throughout autumn to spring, lush greenery and trees are scarce. Forests are nonexistent. As this is a place of scenic beauty, crowds of tourists from all over the world gather during the day. Conversely, it recovers its tranquility at dusk and dawn. There is almost nothing to shield the view from the wind and the rain. The spreading scenery leaves a rugged and hard impression. In short, it is a wasteland. The climate, terrain, geological features, water, earth and vegetation differ depending on location. This is because of the differences in light, heat and rainwater. This makes men, flora and fauna unique to each location. Here, men and plants alike spread their roots into the soil to cultivate life and protect themselves from the corridor of wind blowing from the southwest of the Atlantic Ocean. However, the layer of soil that contains water and minerals is very thin. Underneath the surface is a hard granite crust. It is not easy to take root and stretch deep into the ground. Green meadows spread across the hills and used to serve as a pasture for sheep and cows. Any living thing that is taller than the grass is constantly　fighting from being blown away by the wind. Everything in sight shows the strong mentality of the nature living in this land. “Fuudo” is a compound noun consisting of two words “fuu (wind)” and “do (earth)”. It originated in ancient China and is said to represent the ability of life to adapt to the land and its changing seasons. Here, one need not wait a year to witness seasonal changes. The ability of the weather to change at any moment brings a variety of appearances to the scenery. Sometimes, it is calm and peaceful, but, in an instant, it could become raging and wild. The land’s expression is bare and is not shielded by any woodland area, which makes it easy to understand it’s feelings. Observing the emotions that are crafted by this characteristic climate, a climate from ancient times, I sense the limit of my existence and awaken to the reality of how short my life is. Everything in view is the result of evolution and how nature has adapted to this land over a long period of time.