本校が位置する北信州には「富倉そば」や「小沼箒」などの特産品が数多くあります。1年生の必修科目「北信州学」の目標に「生まれ育った地域の文化・産業・自然を理解する」がありますが、12月9日の授業では、そば打ち（二八そば）とほうき作りを体験しました。
慣れた手つきで作業を進め、指導してくれたのは「そば部」と「ほうき班」の上級生。見様見真似の1年生から発せられる言葉は「う〜ん、難しい」でした。一朝一夕ではできないのが職人技で、そこから産み出されるものが付加価値のある「特産品」や「伝統的工芸品」ということを理解したのではないでしょうか。
Our school is located in Northern Shinshu, an area known for many local specialties such as Tomikura Soba and Onuma Brooms. One of the goals of Kita-Shinshu Studies, a required subject for first-year students, is to help them understand the culture, industries, and nature of the region where they were born and raised. In the class held on December 9, students tried their hand at making soba noodles and traditional brooms.
They were guided by skilled senior students from the Soba Club and the Broom Team. Watching and imitating their seniors’ practiced movements, the first-year students often found themselves saying, “Hmm, it's difficult.” Perhaps they gained an appreciation for the fact that true craftsmanship cannot be mastered overnight—and that the products created through such skills become valued local specialties and traditional crafts.
