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Portfolio /作品一覧

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Art History /アートヒストリー

序文

現在、島根県教育委員会の嘱託スクールカウンセラーを務める安部利一は大学卒業後、一貫して児童の心裡に寄り添い続けてきた。奥出雲に生まれた少年は朝鮮戦争から高度経済成長期へと目まぐるしく変化する戦後日本の動乱を目の当たりにしながら、いかにして児童心理の道を歩み、いかにして筆を執ることになったのか。その半生と共に振り返りたい。

幼少期

安部利一は1939年2月8日、島根県横田町（現在の奥出雲町）に安部家の長男として生まれました。
幼少期は、その豊かな自然の中で遊んだり、秋祭りの相撲大会に積極的に出場するなど、活発な子どもとして成長しました。また当時は戦中戦後の食糧難だったということもあり、魚取りや井戸の水汲みなどで家庭を助けていたそうです。
一方で小学校では、多動症や知的障がいを抱えた同級生たちの面倒をみたり、時にいじめから庇うなど、芯の通った正義感の強い少年でした。しかし当時の教育制度では「障がいがある子どもは学校に通わせなくてよい」とされるなど、日本社会の障がいに対する理解が極めて低かったと言います。さらに小学校5年の時、彼らを悲劇が襲います。多動症を患っていた同級生が川に転落して命を落としたのです。なんとも言えない理不尽な運命が子どもたちの心に重くのしかかったことは、想像するに難くありません。
「なぜ彼らばかりが辛い思いをしなくてはならないのか」
そんな風当たりの強さを肌で感じていた利一少年が、後々、子どもの心に寄り添う道を歩むことになるのは、必然だったと言えるでしょう。

学生時代

昭和25年、利一は地元横田中学校に入学。勉学の他に相撲や駅伝、応援団など、文武両道で青春を謳歌して過ごします。
さらに昭和28年には横田高校の普通科に進学。ここでも応援団に入るのですが、団内ではいじめが常態化しているという痛ましい状況を目の当たりにします。すると利一の心の中に、またしても持ち前の正義感が燃えたぎってくるのです。3年生になるとすぐさま副団長に立候補し、いじめ撲滅のため団内をまとめ上げることとなりました。
「なんであんなことができたのか自分でもわかりません。多分、責任感が強かったのでしょうね」

大学時代

昭和32年、利一は猛勉強の末、国立の島根大学教育学部に入学します。しかし当時の安部家では父親が病弱で思うように働けず、代わりに長兄が早くから働きに出て家計を支えているという内情がありました。当時は同様に年上の兄弟姉妹が一家を支えるケースが少なくなかったそうですが、利一の胸には
「自分だけ大学に行かせてもらって申し訳ない」という負い目がありました。
そんな家族との間には「卒業後は必ず公務員になる」という約束があったと言います。大学まで行かせてもらった分、早く安定した職に就いて家庭を支えるためだったのでしょう。そのため利一は、当初は教員になろうと考えていたそうです。しかし次第に自分が教員に不向きと感じ、方向転換を余儀なくされます。そんな折に出会ったのが児童相談所でした。幸いにも入学当初から心理学を専攻していた利一にとって、それは渡りに船の出会いだったと言えるでしょう。また彼の脳裏には、常に小学校時代の辛い思い出がありました。
「自分の仕事で少しでも子どもたちを支えてあげたい」
悲しい別れをした同級生たちが、背中を押してくれたのかもしれません。

社会人時代、作家へ

そんな矢先に、またしても悲劇が起こります。良き理解者でもあった妻が急逝したのです。大きな絶望と深い悲しみに見舞われた利一。それでも筆を折ることはできませんでした。自分がこれまで取り組み続けてきた児童相談の仕事、そして妻が望んだ仕事です。
「妻の思いに応えるためにも頑張ろう」
利一は子育ての悩みを解決する記事を皮切りに、児童の心の悩みに向き合う執筆活動を継続しました。気づくとタウン誌での連載は17年にまでおよび、ついには読者の要望で書籍にまとめて刊行するまでに至ります。
「これからも読者のため、読んだ方に役立つものを書き続けたい」
利一はそんな思いを込めて、今日も筆を執り続けます。

Introduction

Riichi Abe, currently contracted as a school counselor for Shimane Prefecture’s Board of Education, has worked in the field of child psychology since graduating from university. Born in Okuizumo, young Abe witnessed dizzying changes including Japan’s post war upheaval from the Korean War to period of rapid economic growth during his formative years. Why did he go into child psychology and later become a writer? We will take a look at his early life.

Youth in Ohgo

Riichi Abe was born on February 8, 1939 in Yokotacho Town (currently Okuizumo-cho), Shimane Prefecture as the youngest of first boys in the Abe family.
In his youth, Abe grew up as an active child, enjoying playing in verdant nature and actively participating in sumo tournaments held in the fall. At the time, there was a food shortage during and after World War II, so he helped out around the house by fishing and fetching water from a well.
He grew up as a courageous child with a strong sense of justice. During elementary school, he looked after classmates with ADHD or intellectual disabilities and protected them from bullying at times. Under the education system at the time, however, it was acceptable for people to keep children with disabilities at home instead of attending school, meaning Japan’s understanding of disabilities was extremely poor. When he was a fifth grader his school experienced tragedy. A student with ADHD fell into a river and died. It’s not hard to imagine that such tragic loss of life would greatly traumatize the children’s hearts. “Why do those with disabilities have to go through such pain?”
Young Riichi learned by experience, how cruel this world can be. It was destined for him to choose a path of helping children’s mental health later in life.

Student Days

In 1950, Riichi entered the local Yokota Junior High School. He enjoyed his years in school being good in both academics and in sports. In addition to studying, he joined the sumo team, ekiden (long distance running) team and cheer squad.
In 1953, he graduated and moved on to Yokota High School’s regular course. He also joined the cheer squad at his new school, but witnessed the painful situation that bullying on the team was commonplace. This ignited Riichi’s sense of justice deep within his heart. In his senior year, he became a co-captain of the team and in this role he took action to resolve and eradicate bullying inside the team。
“I’m not sure how I was able to do that. I probably had a strong sense of responsibility.”

University Days

After diligent studying, in 1957 Riichi enrolled in the Faculty of Education at Shimane University, a national university. At the time, however, the Abe family was faced with a challenging financial situation. His father was ill and could not work full time, so his oldest brother entered the workforce early to support the family. At the time, there were many cases where the oldest sibling supported the entire family. Deep down, Riichi felt a sense of guilt for being the only person in the family attending university.
He promised the family that after graduating he would become a civil servant. This was because he wanted to quickly find a stable job to help support his family after being allowed to attend university. Therefore, at first Riichi had thought of becoming a teacher. However, he gradually felt teaching was not suited to him and he was forced to change direction. This is when he came across a child consultation center. Fortunately, Riichi had been majoring in psychology from the very beginning. Thus, this encounter came as a lifesaver. Also, in the back of his mind ,he had always been thinking of his bitter experiences during elementary school. “I want to help as many children as possible through my work.”His classmates who experienced a sad farewell may have pushed him in the right direction.

Full Time Career and Becoming an Author

After becoming a clinical psychologist at a child consultation center, Riichi worked on children’s mental health and well-being. Just then, Japan entered a period of rapid economic growth. Due to the constant change in the environment surrounding children, his daily work became even more challenging.
Through such challenging times, there was one person who supported Riichi the most. It was his wife, his former colleague. Learning from her friendliness and her approach in treating everyone equally, Riichi recognized the importance of empathy.
In this manner, Riichi steadily built his career as an expert in child psychology. One day, the publication of a private sector town magazine fell into his lap. Initially, his wife was the one that volunteered first to help out as an assistant. That made Riichi determined to become an author to support the publication of a town magazine fostering the local community.

Art History /アートヒストリー
Vol.2

理解と共感の育児書
『あっ、そうか！　気づきの子育てＱ＆Ａ: 総合 版』は2017年に出版された育児書だが、スクール カウンセラーが自身の経験を元に執筆していると いう点で一線を画す。とくにいつの世も変わらな い普遍的な悩みについて重点的にピックアップさ れており、長く手元に置いておきたいお守りのよ うな一冊と言えるだろう。 ところで本書を読むと、Q（質問）に対するA （回答）の長さに驚かされる。その内容は多岐にわ たるものの、いずれも質問者の悩みや苦労に対す る理解と共感に多くが割かれている点で共通する。 また、この理解と共感の姿勢は親の視点に限定さ れたものではない。読者たる親の視点に寄り添っ た上で、今度は子どもの（問題となっている）言 動に対して理解と共感を示すのも本書の特徴と言 えるだろう。 このような悩み相談のスタイルは、著者の安部 利一氏が自らの長い児童相談所勤務やスクールカ ウンセラーとしての経験の積み重ねによって確立 されたものである。とは言え日本中のスクールカ ウンセラーが安部氏と考えが完全に同じくする訳 はなく、本書と一致した回答になるわけでもない。 それでは本書における作者・安部利一という人の源流についてご紹介していこう。

助けた人、愛した人の思いを背負って生きる
安部利一は1939年2月8日、島根県横田町（現在 の出雲町）に安部家の長男として誕生。父は病弱 で就労に難があり、伯父の援助を受けていたが、 貧困家庭で家業を手伝いながら育った。 正義感の強い少年で、小学校では多動症や知的 障がいを抱えた同級生たちの面倒をみたり、時に いじめから庇うこともあったという。また高校時 代にも応援団で副団長を務めながら下級生のいじ めの撲滅のために尽力するなど、「弱気を助け強き をくじく」を地で行く一本気な青年として成長し て行った。 そんな安部氏だが、今も小学校5年生の時に発生 した同級生の水難事故が忘れ得ないという。彼は 多動症を患っており、もし自分が近くにいればと いう思いが心残りとして深く胸に刻まれている。 昭和32年、安部氏は島根大学教育学部に入学。 卒業後は早く実家を支えるために学校の先生にな ることを心に決めていたというが、勉強するうち に自身が教師として不向きではないかと悩むよう になる。 そんな折に出会ったのが児童相談所の存在だっ た。相談所では心理判定員の名称で心理技術者が 常駐して子どもの思いに寄り添う関わりをしてお り、幸いにも入学当初から心理学を専攻していた 彼にとってまさに渡りに船の出会いだった。そこ で卒業後は地元・島根県の児童相談所に見事採用。 晴れて臨床心理士として第一歩を踏み出した。日々 子どもたちの視点に立って心を支援する仕事はこ の上ない天職で、着実にキャリアを積み重ねていっ た。30数年間の児童相談所勤務を終えると、県教 育委員会嘱託スクールカウンセラーとして働き始めた。 そのかたわら、新たな子育て支援の活動として 民間のタウン誌で連載を開始。子育ての悩みを解 決する記事を皮切りに、誌面を通して児童の心の悩みに向き合った。気づくとタウン誌での連載は 17年にまでおよび、ついには読者の要望で書籍に まとめて刊行するまでに至る。
現役のスクールカウンセラーをはじめ多岐にわ たる臨床心理活動と作家の二刀流の活躍はうらや む人も多いかもしれないが、元々タウン誌の活動 に取り組み始めたのは亡き妻だったという。妻は 元々同僚で、安部氏にとって最愛の人であり、仕 事の良き理解者でもあった。 「妻の思いに応えるためにも頑張ろう」 現在も執筆活動を通して子どもに向き合う裏に は、そんな後押しがあったのである。

人が生きることは助け合い、支え合い
『あっ、そうか！　気づきの子育てＱ＆Ａ: 総合 版』は、一見すると優れた育児書のようだが、安 部利一氏という人の人生を振り返るとまったく違っ た側面が見えてくる。 例えばQ（質問）に対するA（回答）の長さにつ いて、保護者に対する専門家の丁寧なフォローと いう見方が誤りというわけではない。ただしその 裏に障がいを抱えた同級生との交流があったこと、 執筆を応援した妻との別れがあったことを振り返 ると、様々な情景が浮かんでくる。その上で社会 的に弱き人を守らんとする普遍的な思いを実践す る言葉として紡ぎ出されたことに気づいた時、改 めて安部氏の丁寧なA（回答）の重みに感銘を受け るのである。 ただ安部氏の半生を振り返ると、弱き人を守り 支えたり家族や愛する人を思いやっているはずが、 いつの間にか自らが支えられたり背中を押された りしているように感じられる。こうして関わった 人々の思いを力にして成長できる人こそ、本当の 意味で人格者と言えるだろう。 本書を通して現在も弱き人を守り支える安部氏 は、今なお人として大きく成長されている。安部氏の回答に救われた親たちもまた、子どもを育てながら自身も親として成長させてもらっていると いう気づきを得るのではないだろうか。

A parenting book of understanding and empathy
Oh, I see! Conscious Parenting Q&A: Comprehensive Edition is a parenting book published in 2017, but it is unique in that it is written by a school counselor based on his own experiences. The book particularly focuses on universal concerns shared by parents of all generations, making it a talisman-like book to be kept at hand for a long period of time. The readers of this book will be surprised by the length of the A (answer) to the Q (question). While these answers greatly vary in content, they are similar in that a large portion is dedicated to showing understanding and empathy for the problems and hardships of the questioner. Also, this attitude of understanding and empathy is not limited to the parental perspective. Another characteristic of this book is that while it shows understanding towards parents, who are the readers, it also shows understanding and empathy for the (problematic) behavior of their children. This style of problem counseling was established by the author, Riichi Abe, through his own long practical experience working at child guidance centers and as a school counselor. However, not all school counselors in Japan will completely agree with Abe, nor will their answers be the same as this book. Let us introduce the origin of the author of this book, Riichi Abe.

Living with the sentiments of those he has helped and loved
Riichi Abe was born on February 8, 1939, in Yokota-cho (now Izumo-cho), Shimane Prefecture, as the eldest son of the Abe family. His father was sickly and had difficulty working, so the family received assistance from his uncle. Nonetheless, the family struggled financially, and he grew up while helping out in the family business. He was a boy with a strong sense of righteousness, and in elementary school, he would often look after his classmates with hyperactivity and intellectual disabilities, sometimes even sheltering them from bullies. In high school, while serving as the vice president of the cheering squad, he worked hard to eliminate bullying among underclassmen, and grew into a single-minded young man who lived by the motto, “Help the weak and thwart the strong.” Even now, Abe says he cannot forget a water accident that happened to a classmate when he was in fifth grade of elementary school. The classmate suffered from hyperactivity disorder, and he still feels deeply remorseful that maybe he could have done something had he been there. In 1957, Abe enrolled in the Faculty of Education at Shimane University. He had decided to become a schoolteacher after graduation in order to support his family, but as he continued his studies, he began to feel that he is not suited for teaching.
It was then that he came across child guidance centers. Child guidance centers have psychological practitioners stationed there as “psychological evaluators” to attend to the children’s thoughts and feelings, and fortunately for him, as a psychology major since the beginning of his university days, it was a perfect match. After graduation, he was successfully employed by a child guidance center in Shimane Prefecture, his home. This was his fi rst step as a clinical psychologist. The daily work of putting himself in children’s shoes and providing emotional support was his true calling, and he steadily built up his career. After working at child guidance centers for more than 30 years, he began working as a school counselor commissioned by the prefectural board of education. In addition, he began writing a series of articles for a private local magazine as part of his new childcare support activity. Starting with an article on solving parenting problems, he addressed the emotional concerns of children through the pages of the magazine. The series of articles in this local magazine ran for 17 years, and at the request of readers, ended up being published in book form. Although many people may envy his diverse activities related to clinical psychology, including being an active school counselor, as well as being a successful writer, it was his late wife who originally started the local magazine work. His wife, originally a colleague, was the love of his life and an insightful supporter of Abe’s work. “I will do my best in my wife’s honor.” This thought pushed him to continue his ongoing efforts to face and support children through his writing.

Living means helping and supporting each other
Oh, I see! Conscious Parenting Q&A:Comprehensive Edition may at first glance appear to be an excellent book on child-rearing, but a glimpse into the life of Riichi Abe reveals a completely different side of his life. For example, the length of the A (answer) to the Q (question) does represent professional care for parents. However, when we look at how he interacted with classmates with disabilities, and how he lost his wife, who supported his writing, we see something more. When one realizes that the words were spun out as a means to practice his universal desire to protect the socially vulnerable, one is again impressed by the weight of Abe’s careful A (answer). However, looking at Abe’s life, it seems that while he intends to protect and support the weak and care for his family and loved ones, he himself is somehow being supported and uplifted. The person who can grow by drawing strength from the thoughts and feelings of those involved is a person of character in the truest sense. Abe, who still protects and supports the weak through this book, is continuing to grow as a person. Parents who are saved by Abe’s answers may also come to the realization that through child-rearing, they, too, are being given the chance to grow as parents.

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Solo Exhibition /個展

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Profile /経歴

安部利一 Riichi Abe

1939年、島根県仁多郡奥出雲町横田出身。
現在、島根県教育委員会嘱託スクールカウンセラー。医療法人「松ヶ丘病院」非常勤。「おちハートクリニック」非常勤。「島根県立石見高等看護学院」非常勤講師。臨床心理士、公認心理師。

Born in Shimane Prefecture in 1939.
Currently a school counselor commissioned by the Shimane Prefectural Board of Education. Part-time at Matsugaoka Hospital. Part-time at Ochi Heart Clinic. Part-time lecturer at Shimane Iwami Advanced Nursing School. He is a clinical psychologist and a licensed psychologist.

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