本日は昨日のブログテーマの続き。この時期のさっぽろ市民の興味は家の周りの融雪状況。わが家はほぼ正面は北面していてなお角地なので公的除排雪でも前面道路の堆雪が除去されにくい。固い結氷雪が積層せざるを得ない。春の融雪も黙っていては融けにくい悪条件立地。で、出張前に雪割りしそれを建物側に積み上げて時間を掛けて融雪させようという作戦です。
　昨日の札幌は午前中は雨がかなり強く降って、気温は一昨日と比べて２−３度ほど低下。写真の一番下がその気温状況。午後からはおおむね晴れ間も覗く天気でした。こうした天候条件での１日の融雪状況についてきわめて対比的に写真撮影できたので比較してみました。
　目視的には総量は３割以上減ったように思われます。とくに写真手前側では明確に凍結雪氷が融けて、そのラインが後退していることがわかる。また雪山の高さも低くなっている。三寒四温というコトバがありますが、いまの時期の札幌は「二寒五温」くらいの感じなので、この調子でいけば来週月曜までの東京移動中におおむね消雪しそうであります。ほっとひと安心。
　わが家は本当はこの写真のレンガ床面にはロードヒーティングを敷設してあって34年前の新築当時には、降雪があったらすぐにセンサーが働いて融雪のため加温させるように装置してある。しかしその後の灯油燃料の価格高騰もあり、稼動させることに徐々に気分が重たくなってきて、いつしかスイッチを切ってきていました。そういう心理の一方、前向きな冬場の健康維持行為として除雪作業の意義が自分の中で高まっていった。案外除排雪って、無心に取り組める体動営為なのです。
　ただそうすると堆雪ぶりはその年その年の降雪具合に振り回されて千変万化する。そういう戸建て住宅の外部への対応がいつか、北国人として独特の感性を涵養する機会だと思えるようになってきた。たぶん温暖地域で庭の草木といろいろに語りかけ対話するのと、まったく違うけれどある意味通じているように思えてくる。わたしの場合、庭づくりはレンガの敷込み床面造作・その美感で建築的に完結しているのかも知れません。
　写真のような光景もその対話の最終形として、得がたい印象的なエンディングだと思えるのです。単なる高齢生活者の詠嘆かなぁ（笑）。
　

English version

The highest temperature is 7 degrees Celsius in Sapporo, and the snow melts in one day.
The last thing to do in winter is to watch the quiet conversation between the frozen snow and the rising temperature. The last thing you want to do in winter is to watch the quiet conversation between the freezing snow and the rising temperatures. …

　Today we continue with yesterday’s blog theme. At this time of year, the interest of the citizens of Sapporo is the state of snow melting around their houses. Our house faces north and is on a corner plot, so it is difficult to remove the snow from the front road even with official snow removal. The hard icy snow has to be piled up. The location is in a bad condition, which makes it difficult to melt the spring snow if we don’t do anything. So the strategy was to break up the snow before the business trip, pile it up on the side of the building and let it melt over time.
　Yesterday in Sapporo, it rained very hard in the morning and the temperature was 2-3°C lower than the day before yesterday. The bottom of the photo shows the temperature situation. The weather was generally sunny in the afternoon. We were able to take very contrasting photos of the daily snowmelt under these weather conditions and compared them.
　Visually, the total amount of snow seems to have decreased by more than 30%. Especially in the foreground of the photo, it can be seen that the frozen snow and ice has clearly melted and the line has receded. Also, the height of the snow mountains is getting lower. There is a saying that there are three cold and four warm days, but at this time of year Sapporo feels like it is two cold and five warm days, so at this rate it is likely that the snow will generally disappear during the trip to Tokyo until next Monday. It’s a relief.
　Our house is actually equipped with a road heating system on the brick floor shown in this photograph, which was installed 34 years ago when the house was newly built, so that when snow falls, a sensor is immediately activated to heat the floor to melt the snow. However, due to the subsequent rise in the price of paraffin fuel, the feeling of having to operate the system gradually became heavy, and the system was switched off at some point. On the other hand of this mentality, the significance of snow removal work as a positive winter health maintenance activity grew in my mind. Surprisingly, snow clearing is a physical activity that can be done mindlessly.
　However, the snow composting process is subject to change depending on the snowfall conditions from year to year. I have come to think that this kind of response to the outside of a detached house is an opportunity to cultivate a unique sensitivity as a northerner. It is probably quite different from, but in a way similar to, talking and communicating with the plants and trees in the garden in warmer regions. In my case, the creation of a garden may be completed architecturally with the laying of bricks and the construction of the floor surface and its aesthetics.
　The scene shown in the photo is the final form of this dialogue, and I think it is an impressive ending that is hard to obtain. Is this just the lamentation of an elderly person (laughs)?
　

Posted on 3月 27th, 2025 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 日本社会・文化研究