いつでも夢を　上田義彦

1990年から2011年までの夢の軌跡、サントリーウーロン茶の広告写真と中国の記録

上田義彦が撮影したサントリーウーロン茶のシリーズは、今なお広告写真の金字塔です。静謐な光、大陸の風景とともに、そこでの人々の営みと存在が写し出されたイメージは、見る人の胸に響き、忘れがたい余韻を残しました。距離を越えて、生活の美しさや瞬間の豊かさが同じようにあることを、一枚一枚の写真は物語っていました。

1990年から2011年、中国が大きく変貌した時代に撮られたこのシリーズは、ロケのために、桂林、瀋陽、上海、大連など中国各地を時間をかけて巡り、その旅のなかで生まれたものです。偶発的に遭遇した光景や情景なども含まれており、旅で出会った人がそのまま広告の一枚に登場したり、土地の風景が写真を導いたりする在り方は、広告文化を育む当時の土壌を感じさせます。

上田は当時の中国の風景を「遥か感」という言葉で表現しています。北京空港から見た、広大な地にぼんやりと霞んだ空気の層が漂う独特な眺め、その時代を生きる人々の人間模様や美しい風景がインスピレーションとなり、数々の名シーンが生み出されました。

本書は、ウーロン茶の時系列の写真とともに、上田が旅の日々においてスナップした中国の光景を収め、共通する眼差しのなか、大きな時間と空間を湛える一冊です。

ウーロン茶のことを想うと、

なぜか僕はきまって冬の北京空港に降り立った時のことを思い出す。

1980年代の北京空港は今とは違い、かなり小さな空港だった。

当時そこに降り立つと暖房に使う練炭や石炭を燃やしたような香りが

いつも微かに漂っていた。そして、その香りを嗅ぐたび、

中国にまたやってきたんだという静かな喜びが、ふつふつと湧いてきた。

当時の古いロビーのガラス窓越しに、

ボーッと白く煙った、遥か遠くの水平線を見つめていると、

自然に「遥か感」という言葉が僕の頭に浮かんできて、

その度、その言葉をそっと心の何処かで呟いていた。（序文より）

上田義彦

Always Dream 

Yoshihiko Ueda 

"Whenever I think of oolong tea, for some reason I always recall the time I landed at the Beijing Airport in winter. In the 1980s, the Beijing Airport was much smaller than it is now. Landing there at the time, you became aware of a smell faintly wafting in the air of something like burning briquettes or coal used for heating. From then on, each time I caught a whiff of that scent, the feeling of quiet delight at coming back to China again would effervescently rise up in me. As I gazed absentmindedly through the glass window in the old lobby that was there in those days at the misty white horizon far in the distance, the words "faraway feeling" rose naturally to mind and then I would always quietly murmur those words somewhere in my heart.  [...] 

The unforgettable scenes I saw on train trips are also lodged deep in my memory. All of them are everyday scenes often seen and not at all remarkable. One time, from the window of a train crossing the Yangtze River, I saw from behind an elderly man leaning forward and looking intently outside. As I watched the man with his eyes fixed on one thing in the way a child would do, an overwhelming emotion welled up inside me that almost brought me to tears. I wonder what he looking at and why it is that the presence of someone motionless and free from thought is unexplainably beautiful? At the time, the soft light enveloping him that shone in from the window and the scenery of the Yangtze River passing by in the distance outside the window also no doubt contributed to what I was feeling.

Another time, I was sitting in the deserted dining car in the afternoon idly gazing out at the landscape of the countryside passing by the window and happening to switch my gaze to the front of the car, I saw a young man and woman attired in what looked to be immaculately white chef's uniforms sitting on small chairs near the entrance to the kitchen peeling potatoes. It was evident that they got on well and talked cheerfully together as they worked quickly, thoroughly peeling the skin off the potatoes. I wondered whether they must be secretly in love or perhaps beginning to fall in love. Having these imaginings and feeling a little envious as I watched this charming couple, visions of human interactions and beautiful scenery I wanted to photograph for the oolong commercial spontaneously began to run through my mind.

In China at that time, such very typically human scenes were everywhere to be found. I would see people here and there interacting in situations that for me were somehow nostalgic and heartrending, which made it an extravagant journey of the heart. It was a miracle age in which the next romantic episode could be imagined at leisure. I am deeply grateful to the people at Suntory who allowed me to experience those trips and take those photographs as well as to the people I encountered in China, and my heart overflows with joy at having been able to work together with all of them to produce the commercials. And I believe all of us who worked together brought commercials into Japanese living rooms that met Suntory's expectations.

I described that time as a miracle age, but even now I'm hoping to hear people casually say, "No, look! It's an even more miraculous age right now."

Yoshihiko Ueda　

（Extracted from the foreword "Suntory Oolong Tea Journey to a Faraway Land"）

永遠要憧憬 

上田義彦

不知何因,一提起乌龙茶,我总会联想起冬天飞机降落在北京机场时的情景。

遥想 1980 年代的北京机场,其规模与目前的迥然不同。当时,当时从飞机上走下来总能闻到一股淡 談的取暖用蜂窝煤和煤的气味。每当我闻到那种气味,一股重返中国的悄然之情便油然而生。透过 那陈旧的休息厅的玻璃窗,观望着远处飘着白烟的天边,"遥远之感"这个词自然地在我的脑海里 浮现,每次在我心中某处都轻声地吟诵着这个词。[...] 省略

火车旅行中令人难忘的情景也深深地铭记在我的心中。这都是一些休闲的日常情景。有一天,在一列横渡长江的火车上,有位约50岁的男人从车窗凝视着外面。我看着他那像孩童一样凝视着某处的 背影,我快要哭泣了。他当时在凝视什么,为什么身体纹丝不动?那专心致志的样子,为何那么美? 我推测,一定是因为窗外透入的柔光笼罩着他,窗外流淌着远处的长江风光的缘故吧。

还有一次,我在下午坐在一辆空荡荡的餐车内,眺望着窗外掠过的田园风光,

突然向眼前望去,在厨房的入口处,看到一对穿着白色制服的厨师的男女,他们坐在椅子上, 一起削土豆皮。两人一边有说有笑,动作敏捷地削土豆皮。也许两人在悄悄地谈恋爱,也许从此将 进发出爱情的萌芽。我略带羡慕地看着他们两人此时微笑的情景。看着这种情景,在我脑海中闪过 一个想将其用作为下一个乌龙茶拍摄的人像和美景的念头,梦想便由此开始。

在当时的中国,如此普通人的情感世界随处可见。当时,我感受着怀旧孤寂的风景,开始了奢华的 心灵之旅。在那堪称神奇的时代,我可以悠然地想像下一个浪漫。我非常感谢三得利的人士,他们准 许我能够如此旅行和拍摄,让我如愿以偿。同时,我也深深感谢当时遇到的中国人民,对有幸一起 制作而感到由衷的喜悦。而且,我当时认为我们能够向日本的家庭交付一件与其相配的作品。

我说那个时代堪称奇迹的时代,不仅如此,我还想听到一个声音悄悄地对我说,"看,超越那个时 代的奇迹时代正在到来"!

上田義彦　

（摘自《往昔的三得利乌龙茶之旅》序言）

Size： H257mm × W182mm
Page：584 pages
Binding：Cloth hardcover
Published in August 2023
ISBN：978-4-86541-158-4