北海道もこのところ、まるで盛夏の気候が続いております。連日ほぼ30度ほどの気温でさすがに日中は屋外での散歩を避け、早朝時間に済ませるようになってきているので、さらに早起きに。
　で、食品では写真のような「漬物用メロン」が店頭に並ぶようになって来た。これは「ウリ」という方が正しいのではないかと思うのですが、最近ではメロンが一般名化しているので、こういった呼び名になっている。本当はウリの一種でしょう。これが甘くなる品種だと「カンロ」とされたりする。わたしは、この「漬物メロン」を適当に１口大に切ってジッパー袋に入れて、軽く塩振りした上で浅漬けのモトで漬け込む。
　この出来上がりの浅漬けが無上の好物。
　どんな主食とも合うのですが、なかなかなのが蕎麦や冷や麦との食べ合わせ。
　暑い日の夕方、麺類のつけ麺を食べながら、この浅漬けを食べる快感は、まことに「夏」を感じさせてくれる。単純な性格をしているので、昨晩など、このまま涅槃に到達しているかと思えてくる（笑）。
　値段もタテの長さで12-3cmのヤツが４個入っていて240円でした。200円くらいの場合もある。写真のできあがり漬物だと１個の1/8程度なので、この盛り付けで原材料費は7-8円程度ということになる。最近はなんでも値上がり傾向が続いていますが、こういうウレシイ夏野菜も出回り始めてきていて、まことに救世主。
　たのしく夏を乗り切っていく頼もしい助っ人が大登場であります。

●お知らせ
拙書「作家と住空間」幻冬舎から電子書籍で発刊
お求めはAmazonで。
https://amzn.asia/d/eUiv9yO

English version⬇

[Pickled melon, a typical Hokkaido summer delicacy]
A reliable savior for the common people appeared with the arrival of summer. The raw material cost is 7-8 yen for this picture. It’s truly a no-brainer! ……

　Hokkaido has recently been experiencing the weather as if it were midsummer. The temperature has been almost 30 degrees Celsius every day, and as expected, people are avoiding outdoor walks during the daytime and getting up even earlier to finish them in the early morning hours.
　In the food industry, “pickle melons” like the one in the photo have started to appear on store shelves. I think it would be more correct to call them “cucumbers,” but since melon has become a common name these days, this is what they are called. In truth, it is probably a type of cucumber. If this is a variety that is sweeter, it is sometimes called “kanro. I cut the melons into bite-sized pieces, put them in a zipper bag, sprinkle them lightly with salt, and pickle them using the “asazuke” method.
　The resulting pickled melon is my favorite.
　It goes well with any staple food, but what is not so easy is to eat it with soba noodles or cold barley.
　On a hot evening, the pleasure of eating this asazuke while eating tsukemen (noodles) really makes me feel “summer”. Being of a simple nature, last night I felt as if I had reached nirvana (laugh).
　The price was 240 yen for 4 pieces of 12-3 cm in length, sometimes 200 yen. The finished pickles in the photo are about 1/8 of one piece, so the cost of raw materials for this serving would be about 7-8 yen. Recently, the price of everything has been on the rise, but these summer vegetables are starting to appear on the market, and they are a real lifesaver.
　We have a reliable helper who will help us get through the summer happily.

I have published my book “Writers and Living Space” in e-book format from Gentosha at
.
Please visit Amazon to purchase the e-book.

Posted on 6月 30th, 2025 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: おとこの料理＆食 | No Comments »

　昨日は神魂（かもす）神社での人的な情報交流について書きましたが、やはり古格な大社造り建築の本殿を見ていても、この出雲を中心とする山陰日本海側地域の歴史層の深さを叩き付けられる思い。写真は拝殿正面からのショットですが、注連縄を見ていると、やはり「出雲大社系」のように思える。って言ってもわたしには注連縄文化の解析は不分明なのですが、下の出雲大社・神楽殿の「大注連縄」と基本的なデザインは共通していると見定められる。なので神魂神社は出雲大社系ではないかと思っていたのですが、拝礼の仕方などは基本的に伊勢神宮系。このあたりは神々の世界のことなので不明。
　そういう出雲周辺、山陰地域の文化現象について、現代世界でいちばんの「語り部」として水木しげるの活動があったように思います。だんだんわたしのなかで、今回の山陰の旅経験が熟成してきている。こういう「楽しみ」は奥深くてどんどんのめり込んできますね（笑）。ということで水木しげるの作品を当たっていたら「古代出雲」という2012年刊行の角川書店からのマンガ作品と出会った。
　さすがにこの地域の文化伝統を体現したかれらしく、素晴らしい探究成果がわかりやすく展開されていた。そのなかに非常に強い印象を受けさせられたのが以下の記述。（要旨抜粋）
　〜紀元前５世紀頃にはすでに満州・北朝鮮東岸から南下して隠岐の島➡出雲という海上ルートがあった。一方、対馬を経て北九州に至る海上ルートは、当時はまだその速い流れに対馬海流を乗りきれるだけの舟がなく、従って出雲は日本列島の「正面玄関」であり、もっとも早く大陸文化とつながっていた。〜
　というのですね。どうも古代史にとってかなり重要なポイントについて、地元人らしい探究姿勢の発露のように感銘を受けた。邪馬台国論争のように北九州地域と畿内地域が古代史の中心と思い込んでいたわたしのような人間には強く響いてきた。
　どうしても距離的な遠近差で、北九州地域を「日本の玄関口」と刷り込まれてきたけれど、そこに「海流」という要素を提示されて、日本海を舞台とした船での移動交流の歴史解明、という視点には深く納得感をもたらされた次第。深く直撃された気分でありました。

●お知らせ
拙書「作家と住空間」幻冬舎から電子書籍で発刊
お求めはAmazonで。
https://amzn.asia/d/eUiv9yO

English version⬇

Is Ancient Izumo the Frontline of Migratory Exchange with the Asian Continent?
Searching through the ancient history of the San’in region and considering the influence of ocean currents, there is some validity to the theory that Izumo was a gateway for the acceptance of continental cultures. A shock to stereotypes. …….

　Yesterday, I wrote about human information exchange at Kamosu Shrine, but looking at the main shrine, which is still an old-style Taisha-zukuri architecture, I was struck by the depth of the historical layers of this San’in Sea of Japan side region centering on Izumo. The photo is a shot from the front of the worship hall, and the shimenawa (sacred straw ropes) seem to be of the Izumo-taisha type. Although I am not well versed in the analysis of shimenawa culture, I can conclude that the basic design of the shimenawa is the same as that of the “Dai-shimenawa” in the Kaguraden (Kaguraden) of Izumo-taisha Shrine, below. Therefore, I had thought that the Kamikami Shrine was of the Izumo-taisha type, but the way of worship is basically of the Ise Shrine type. This area is unknown because it is the world of the gods.
　I think that Shigeru Mizuki was the best “storyteller” in the modern world about the cultural phenomena of the Izumo and San’in regions. My experience of this trip to the San’in region is gradually maturing in my mind. This kind of “fun” is profound and I am getting more and more absorbed in it (laughs). While browsing through Shigeru Mizuki’s works, I came across a manga work titled “Ancient Izumo,” published in 2012 by Kadokawa Shoten.
　As one would expect from someone who embodies the cultural traditions of this region, the manga is a wonderful exploration of the region, and the results are easy to understand. Among them, the following description made a very strong impression on me. (Abstract excerpt)
~There was already a maritime route from Manchuria and the east coast of North Korea to Oki Island and Izumo in the 5th century BC. On the other hand, the maritime route via Tsushima to Kitakyushu did not yet have enough boats to ride the Tsushima Current with its fast current at that time, and thus Izumo was the “front door” of the Japanese archipelago and the earliest connection to continental culture. ~ I was impressed by the local people’s attitude of inquiry on this point, which is quite important for ancient history. It strongly resonated with people like me, who had assumed that the Kitakyushu and Kinai regions were the center of ancient history, as in the “Yamataikoku” controversy.
　I have always been under the impression that the Kitakyushu area was the “gateway to Japan” due to the distance between the two areas, but the presentation of the “ocean current” as a factor in this was deeply satisfying from the perspective of clarifying the history of exchange by boat movement on the Sea of Japan. I felt like I was deeply struck by this.

Notice
My book “Writers and Residential Space” is published by Gentosha as an e-book.
Please visit Amazon for more information.

Posted on 6月 28th, 2025 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 歴史探訪 | No Comments »

　わたしの年代、1940-50年代生まれの人間は、いわゆる「戦後世代」でクルマ革命・テレビ革命のただ中で生きてきた最初期年代に属します。とくにわたしの場合、自転車乗り練習を始めた時期には札幌有数の大動脈幹線道路に面した家だったので、練習のときに猛速のクルマに危うく轢かれ死ぬ寸前の体験をした。その様子を目撃した父親が、わたしに「自転車乗り練習の厳禁」を厳命することになった。
　親の言いつけをよく守る素直な幼少年は厳しい言いつけをよく順守した。命令撤回は結局、父の死までなかった。
　で、移動手段としての自転車利用が叶わなかったので、逆に18歳の免許取得可能年齢到達の途端に免許を取得した。そうすると今度は仕返しで「移動の自由」を最高レベルで享受する人生に向かった。
　社会人になる直前、入社決定していた広告会社の入社研修を兼ねて当時の創業家社長からのご指名で、四国一周ドライバーとして活躍したりした（笑）。まぁ誰でも運転は出来る時代なのですが自分でも運転には自信もあった。社長が乗り込むと同時に、ぴしゃりと「安全運転最優先で行きます（キッパリ）」とやや逆に命令調で宣言していた。
　社長は「おお、その考えに完全同意だ（笑）」と言ってくれていた。
　まぁそんなクルマ運転人生を送ってきて、いまでも東京〜兵庫県姫路往復などのロングドライブも平気でこなしているような人生行脚。そんなわたしなので、今回の関西〜山陰の旅も当然レンタカーでの自由ドライブ。で、カミさんと話していて興味深かったスポットがこの「ベタ踏み坂」〜鳥取県・江島大橋。
　まぁアクセルをずっと踏み続ける過酷な坂道橋、という意味と理解。ぜひ「映え」の写真でも撮影できたら、と考えて出発。しかしいかんせん勝手のわからないカーナビ頼みのドライブ。「あ、ここがそうか」と気付いたときは、順調に後続車が連なる１本道の橋の直前。助手席のカミさんに「急いでiPhoneで写真撮って」と言ったが、間に合わず。
　やむなく橋を下りて駐車場所に止めてから「あとの祭り」写真を撮影していた（泣）。写真は２枚目が鳥取県HPの観光用写真と３枚目がわたしが撮った「あとの祭り」写真。
　っていう失敗写真ではありますが、それもまた楽しい「移動人生」のひとこま。人生での未踏の県、鳥取県最初の貴重な体験でありました。

●お知らせ
拙書「作家と住空間」幻冬舎から電子書籍で発刊
お求めはAmazonで。
https://amzn.asia/d/eUiv9yO

English version⬇

The “Sticky Slope” of the Aftermath – Eshima Bridge, Tottori Prefecture, Japan]
This is the image of a harsh slope bridge where you have to keep stepping on the accelerator pedal. However, the latest cars cleared the slope with ease (laugh). The photo was not taken. Well, it had to be done. The photo was not taken.

　Those of my generation, born in the 1940s and 1950s, belong to the so-called “postwar generation,” the first generation to live in the midst of the car and television revolutions. Especially in my case, when I started practicing bicycle riding, my house faced one of the major arterial highways in Sapporo, and I was almost run over by a fast-moving car while practicing and nearly died. My father, who witnessed the incident, strictly ordered me not to practice riding my bicycle.
　As an obedient youngster, I obeyed my parents’ strict orders very well. The order was not rescinded until my father’s death.
　And since I could not use a bicycle as a means of transportation, I obtained a driver’s license as soon as I reached the age of 18, which was the age at which I could obtain a driver’s license. In doing so, I was now headed for a life in which I would enjoy the highest level of “freedom of movement” as a form of payback.
　Just before I entered the workforce, I was assigned by the president of the founding family at the time to drive around Shikoku as part of the induction training for an advertising company I had decided to join (laugh). Well, this was an era when anyone could drive, but I was also confident in my driving skills. As soon as the president got in the car, he declared in a somewhat contrary commanding tone, “I will go with the highest priority on safe driving (crisp).
　The president said, “Oh, I completely agree with that idea (laugh).
　Well, I have lived such a life of driving, and even now I can make a long drive from Tokyo to Himeji in Hyogo Prefecture and back without a hitch. Since I am such a person, this trip from Kansai to San’in was naturally a free drive in a rented car. I was talking with my wife about this interesting spot, the “Sticky Slope” – Eshima Ohashi Bridge in Tottori Prefecture.
　We understood that it means a severe slope bridge where you have to keep stepping on the gas pedal all the time. We set off, hoping to take some “eiyoe” photos of the bridge. However, we had to rely on the car navigation system, which we didn’t know how to use. When I realized, “Oh, this is it,” I was right before the bridge on a straight road with a steady stream of following cars. I told my wife in the passenger seat to hurry up and take a picture with her iPhone, but she couldn’t get there in time.
　I had no choice but to exit the bridge and park in a parking lot before taking the “after the fact” photos (tears). The second photo is a tourist photo from the Tottori Prefecture website, and the third is the “After Festival” photo I took.
　I know it is a failure, but it is also a fun part of my “life on the move”. It was my first precious experience in Tottori, a prefecture I had not yet explored in my life.

I would like to inform you that my book “The Writer and the Living Space” is now available as an e-book from Gentosha .
　

Posted on 6月 26th, 2025 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 出張＆旅先にて | No Comments »

　さて鳥取県に来たので敬意を込めて「鳥取砂丘」を訪問。あ、一応こちらが地元の総理のお菓子も先般紹介もさせていただいた。支持はあんまり・・・ですが（笑）。
　砂丘では靴を脱いで裸足になって往復2km以上、子ども時代以来の「砂場遊び」。砂場があるので石破もいるのかなぁ（笑）。やや足はホットになって清潔になったような気分。で、なにげにビジターセンター向かいの変わった建築に惹かれてしまった。まったく予備知識なく「なにこれ」と目が驚いていた。
　ちょっとググったら案の定、設計は隈研吾氏の「タカハマカフェ」とのこと。足のほてりもあったので、しばしアイスコーヒーでもということで中でひと休み。
　以下はWEBでの紹介要旨引用。〜構造はRCですが、壁材や天井材に木質CLTが使われて中は完全に木質空間。このCLT、仕上げに鳥取県産の杉のラミナ材が貼ってある。また家具類は同じく鳥取県産材がたくさん使われオリジナル照明に貼られた和紙も鳥取県の和紙が使われている。〜
　というようないかにも観光客向けの「これでどうだ」的な建物。訪問時はとにかく足のほてりを癒すために休息したかった一択。店内に入って１階に喫茶飲み物注文カウンターがあってそこで注文して飲み物を受け取って、自由に店内の好きな場所に移動するシステム。最初は３階のオープンテラスに向かったけれど、こちらには残念ながら、飲み物を置くテーブルがなかったので２階に移動。
　こちらでは砂丘側に向かって眺望が広がっている椅子席が１ボックスだけ。その「特等席」はすでに先客がいてその他の席は、眺望のない場所でだれもいない。視線を外部に向けるとするとどうしてもその特等席を「見つめ」なければならないので、他の場所の客は眺望を遠慮せざるを得ない。このあたり、大胆な外観形状のオシャレさ最優先で、室内からの外部眺望の極端な有利不利を感じさせられた。
　
　これは真横から外観形状を狙った写真でしたが、後退距離が取れず広角ではどうしても画角変形。しかたなく画像修正して外観「見え」復元をこころみた画像。う〜む、オシャレだけど活用利便はどうも・・・という印象。まぁ滅多に来ない観光地のランドマークということでしょうか？

●お知らせ
拙書「作家と住空間」幻冬舎から電子書籍で発刊
お求めはAmazonで。
https://amzn.asia/d/eUiv9yO

English version⬇

[Around Tottori Sand Dunes, Kengo Kuma’s “Takahama Cafe”]
A big discrepancy between the eye surprise of the architectural exterior and the usability of the interior. Well, I wonder if it aims to be a landmark of a rarely visited tourist spot? …

　Now that we are in Tottori Prefecture, we pay our respects and visit the “Tottori Sand Dunes”. Oh, and in case you are wondering, we also recently introduced the local prime minister’s snacks here. I don’t really support him… (laughs).
　At the dunes, I took off my shoes and went barefoot for a round trip of more than 2 km, playing in the sandbox for the first time since my childhood. I wonder if there are stone breakers because of the sandbox (laugh). My feet felt somewhat hot and clean. Then, I was attracted by the unusual architecture across the street from the Visitor Center. Without any prior knowledge of the place, my eyes were surprised to see it.
　I googled a bit and sure enough, it was the “Takahama Cafe” designed by Kengo Kuma. My feet were burning, so I decided to take a break inside for a cup of iced coffee.
　The following is a quote from the introduction on the web. 〜The structure is RC, but the walls and ceiling are made of wood CLT, making it a completely woody space inside. This CLT is finished with lamina wood of Japanese cedar produced in Tottori Prefecture. The furniture is also made of Tottori Prefecture’s lumber, and the Japanese paper used for the original lighting is also made of Tottori Prefecture’s paper. 〜 The building is a tourist-oriented building, with a “how’s this for you? When I visited, I just wanted to take a rest to heal my burning feet. After entering the restaurant, there is a coffee and beverage ordering counter on the first floor, where you place your order, receive your beverage, and then move freely to your favorite spot in the restaurant. We first headed for the open terrace on the third floor, but unfortunately, there were no tables for drinks there, so we moved to the second floor.
　Here, there is only one box of chair seats with a view toward the dune side. The “special seat” had already been occupied by a guest, and the other seats were empty without a view. If one’s gaze is directed to the outside, one must “gaze” at the “special seat,” so the guests in other places must refrain from looking at the view. In this area, the fashionable bold exterior shape is given top priority, and we were made to feel the extreme advantageous disadvantage of the exterior view from the interior.

　This photo was taken to capture the shape of the exterior from the side, but the angle of view was inevitably deformed at wide angle because of the lack of backward distance. I had no choice but to modify the image to try to restore the “look” of the exterior. Well, it is fashionable, but I have the impression that it is not very useful. I guess it is a landmark of a sightseeing spot rarely visited by tourists.

Notice
My book “Writers and Residential Space” is published by Gentosha as an e-book.
Please visit Amazon for more information.

Posted on 6月 24th, 2025 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 出張＆旅先にて | No Comments »

　きのう、本来シリーズ的に「水木しげる」館探訪記を記していたのに、思わずわたし自身の「こころの原風景」のシンボルに遭遇して、詠嘆的にスピンアウトしてしまった。
　自分自身の「ふり返り」の時間、日々生存活動に没頭して無念無想で走り続けていた自分自身の足許を再探索し始めた２年近い時間経過。そうしたいとなみから「中心軸」を再度見定める時間が巡ってきた感。友人から「つげ義春のネジ式は、深い」というつぶやきにも似た印象があったけれど、あの同時代に青春期を過ごしていた人間としては、強く同意させられていた。「え、もう一回あの空気に身をさらすのか・・・」と。
　それもこれも、山陰鳥取県の西端・境港市の町のにぎわい復興の担い手として多くの日本人に共感を呼び起こしている「水木しげる」記念館の大きな「戦果」なのだと思う。わたし自身「作家と住空間」というテーマ設定でセカンドの行脚を旅し始めてきて、どうも自分自身の内臓探索にも似た気分を感じ続けている。
　やはり自分の決定的な「こころの場所」に帰ってこざるを得ない、という印象だろうか。
　写真は水木しげる記念館のフロントに置かれた「のんのんばあと水木しげる少年」の像。水木しげるはわたしの父母の年代に近い存在だけれど、かれも遭遇し活躍した戦後マンガの大嵐のなかから、わたし自身はその子ども世代として文化的に揺籃されてきたことに再度正対させられている。
　つげ義春は、15歳年上ということで、年代的にはわたしには歳の近い叔父か、年の離れた長兄のような年代層に位置している。なので「こころの時代感」としては父母よりも身近で、近接した同一時代的な存在。
　ネジ式には、水木しげる的などっぷりとした土着民俗性とは離陸した感覚がある。最初のイラスト画面、メメクラゲに攻撃されて血管が破断した腕を押さえながら、海から上陸してくる場面の上空にはB29とおぼしき爆撃機が描かれているような画面から「始まった」人生世代なのかも知れない。
　水木しげるは片手を戦争で失っている。
　夢ドラマとしての「ネジ式」では最後、モーターボートに乗った主人公が、血管をネジ式に改造した様子で海上を疾走するシーンで締めくくられている。このことが、水木とつげの「ミッシングリンク」の表現だったように、いまは強く思えている。さてどうだろうか？

●お知らせ
拙書「作家と住空間」幻冬舎から電子書籍で発刊
お求めはAmazonで。
https://amzn.asia/d/eUiv9yO

English version⬇

[One Arm Taken Away by War and Screwed Arm Vasectomy: Shigeru Mizuki – 5]
The war trace of Shigeru Mizuki’s “one arm” overlaps with the difficult “screwed” major story. The traces of the “heart” of postwar Japanese. …

　Yesterday, I had originally intended to write a series of articles on my visit to the “Shigeru Mizuki” museum, but I unexpectedly came across a symbol of my own “original landscape of the heart” and spun out into a poem.
　It has been nearly two years since I began to “reflect” on myself, and to re-explore my own footsteps, which I had been running without thought, immersed in daily survival activities. I feel as if time has come for me to re-focus on the “central axis” of my life. A friend of mine had the impression that “Yoshiharu Tsuge’s screw formula is deep,” and as someone who spent my adolescence in that same period, I was compelled to agree. But as someone who had lived through that period of adolescence, I strongly agreed with him.
　I believe that this is the great “war result” of the Shigeru Mizuki Memorial Museum, which has aroused the sympathy of many Japanese people as a leader in the reconstruction of the bustling town of Sakaiminato, located on the western edge of Tottori Prefecture in the San-in region. As I have begun my second journey on the theme of “the artist and his/her living space,” I continue to feel as if I am searching for my own internal organs.
　I guess I feel that I have to come back to my definitive “place of the heart.
　The photo is a statue of “Nonnonbato Mizuki Shigeru Boy” placed in front of the Shigeru Mizuki Memorial Museum. Although Shigeru Mizuki is close to the age of my parents, I am confronted once again with the fact that I, as a child of Shigeru Mizuki, have been culturally cradled in the midst of the postwar manga storm that he also encountered and was active in.
　Yoshiharu Tsuge is 15 years older than me, which puts him in the same age bracket as my uncle or eldest brother. Therefore, in my “sense of the age of the heart,” he is closer to me than my parents, and he is in the same age group as them.
　In Nejishiki, there is a sense of detachment from the Mizuki Shigeru style of indigenous folklore. Perhaps it is the generation of life that “began” with the first illustration screen, a screen that seems to depict a B-29 and a dim bomber in the sky above a scene of a man coming ashore from the sea while holding his arm with a broken blood vessel after being attacked by a meme jellyfish.
　Shigeru Mizuki lost one hand in the war.
　In “Nejishiki” as a dream drama, the film ends with a scene in which the main character, in a motorboat, is speeding through the sea with his blood vessels seemingly converted to a screw type. I now strongly feel that this was an expression of the “missing link” between Mizuki and Tsuge. What do you think?

●Notice
My book “The Writer and the Living Space” is published by Gentosha as an e-book.
Please visit Amazon for more information.

Posted on 6月 22nd, 2025 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 日本社会・文化研究 | No Comments »