山岡鉄舟 「福如海」

氷見・網元の大広間、井桁造（いげたづくり）の梁が組む象徴的な空間に、山岡鉄舟の一幅「福如海（ふくはうみのごとし）」が静かに掲げられています。

“福は海の如し”—果てしなく広がり、すべてを包み込む海のように、人々の幸いもまた尽きることがない、という祝言。中国の吉祥句「福如東海（福は東海のごとし）」を、海の町・氷見にふさわしく端的にした表現とも受け取れます。

左款に年記と印が見られ、先に確認した「千双屏風」の署名と極めて近い書風・落款。当地に残る鉄舟の作が多いことからも、彼がこの氷見に来られ、人々に海の加護と繁栄を願って揮毫した可能性を感じさせます。

鉄舟は江戸無血開城で知られる維新の要人である一方、神仏分離令の混乱で衰微した社寺の護持にも心を砕き、多くの書を奉納しました。高岡の国泰寺ゆかりの作が伝わるのも、その歩みの一端。漁の安全と家運長久を祈る場で、この「福如海」が長く仰がれてきたのは自然なことかもしれません。

濃墨のうねりと飛白の呼吸、終筆の勢いは、まさに“海”の力強さ。歴史と浪漫が交差する一枚です。

In the grand hall of a traditional fishing headman’s residence in Himi, a striking calligraphy by Yamaoka Tesshū （山岡鉄舟）hangs above the room: 「福如海」— “Happiness as Vast as the Sea.”

The phrase conveys a blessing: like the boundless ocean that embraces everything, good fortune should be limitless and ever-flowing. It can be read as a local, sea-oriented echo of the classical auspicious saying “Fortune as the Eastern Sea.”

The inscription and seals closely match a signature found on the “Thousand-Panel Folding Screen” noted yesterday, and many works attributed to Tesshū remain in this area. Together they suggest he may have penned this very piece for the people of Himi, a town shaped by the sea.

Renowned for enabling the bloodless surrender of Edo during the Meiji Restoration, Tesshū also devoted himself to protecting temples and shrines affected by the separation of Shinto and Buddhism. Works connected to Kokutaiji (Takaoka) testify to that effort. Displayed in a hall where safety at sea and prosperity were long prayed for, “Fuku Nyo Umi” feels perfectly at home.

The bold, wave-like strokes and lively dry-brush accents carry the energy of the ocean—history and romance in a single sheet.

千双屏風と同じ署名