昨日東京に移動。本日から３日間の激務に向けてゆっくり体力を涵養しておりました。写真はホテル周辺の住宅街を軽く散歩していて見かけた満開のサクラ。さらに散歩道にはツツジも咲き誇っております。
　この時期も南北に細長い日本列島の独特の「季節感」が感じられる極限期でしょうか。
　日本人の精神性の根っこの「もののあはれ」にとってサクラへの心情は格別の美感体験なのでしょう。
　日本列島の中で移動交流が顕著になってきた戦後社会ではさらにそこに南北格差というような複雑な要素も加わって、モザイク的な心象を形成してきている。もちろん他方で「北へ帰る」みたいな、北海道開拓以降の北国への浪漫も民族普遍にある。演歌では「津軽海峡冬景色」とか、小林旭の「北帰行」のような心象叙景が民族的に「沈殿」もしている。最近では新千歳空港からの海外客数がうなぎ上りで、完全に飛行場の番付で関西圏を抜いてしまって東京・関東にも迫ってきている。アジアでほぼ唯一の雪の景観は、これからも世界の人びとを惹き付け続けるでしょう。・・・こういうのも民族的心象風景になっていく。
　
　個人としては人生で地元北海道と関東・東京、さらに関西圏などをよく往復する生き方をしてきた。前記のことで言えば、日本列島モザイク型人間のような生き方だったと思える。そういうなかでも関東・東京は都合８年以上も過ごしていたので、空気感の身体感覚は持っている。
　なので北国人といっても真性の感覚とは言えないでしょうね。とくに高断熱高気密の住宅性能革命をリアルタイムで体験した最初の世代でもあるワケで、冬の極寒期でも家にいる分には寒さを体験することがないしそういう断熱感覚が常態化して数時間程度、屋外の極寒にさらされても揺らがない。断熱された空間以外で過ごすのは真冬の生活シーンの１割にも満たないでしょう。現代では冬の真性の寒さはむしろ温暖地域の家の内外で過ごす真冬なのかも知れませんね。
　ということで、３月末以来２週間ぶりのサクラとの再会でしたが、今週が終われば、ついに北海道の観桜シーズンも始まります。それを楽しみに、目前の任務に精励いたします（キッパリ）。さて体力は？

English version

[Spring weather in the capital, where cherry blossoms remain in splendid profusion]
Second encounter with sakura in the Kanto region this year. How will the ‘beauty of things’ be transformed in modern Japan, where people are increasingly moving from one place to another? Next week, we will welcome the sakura to Hokkaido. …

　Moved to Tokyo yesterday. I was slowly recharging my strength for the three days of hard work starting today. The photo shows cherry blossoms in full bloom, which I saw while taking a short walk in the residential area around the hotel. The azaleas were also in full bloom along the walkway.
　This is also the extreme period when you can feel the unique “sense of the seasons” of the Japanese archipelago, which is long and narrow from north to south.
　For the Japanese people, whose spirituality is rooted in the “beauty of things”, the feeling of sakura is an exceptionally beautiful experience.
　In post-war society, where mobile exchanges have become prominent in the Japanese archipelago, complex factors such as the north-south gap have been added to this, forming a mosaic of mental images. Of course, on the other hand, there is also a universal sentiment of nostalgia for the northern lands after the development of Hokkaido, such as “I’m going back to the north”. In enka songs, there are also ethnically “precipitated” mental images such as “Tsugaru Kaikyo Fuyunkei” and “Kitakawari Gyo” by Kobayashi Asahi. Recently, the number of overseas passengers from New Chitose Airport has been soaring, completely overtaking the Kansai region in the airfield rankings and closing in on Tokyo and Kanto. The snowy landscape, almost unique in Asia, will continue to attract people from all over the world. … These too will become national mental landscapes.

　As an individual, I have lived my life often going back and forth between my hometown Hokkaido, the Kanto and Tokyo regions, and the Kansai region. In terms of the aforementioned, it seems that I have lived like a mosaic-type person in the Japanese archipelago. I spent more than eight years in the Kanto and Tokyo regions, so I have a physical sense of the atmosphere.
　So I wouldn’t say I have a genuine sense of being a northerner. In particular, I was the first generation to experience the highly insulated and airtight housing performance revolution in real time, so even in the extremely cold winter months, I never experience cold when I am at home, and this sense of insulation is normalised and does not waver even when exposed to the extreme cold outdoors for a few hours. It is probably less than 10% of the midwinter living scene that is spent outside of an insulated space. In modern times, the genuine cold of winter might rather be the midwinter spent inside and outside the house in warmer areas.
　So, it has been two weeks since the end of March since we saw the sakura again, but once this week is over, the cherry blossom viewing season in Hokkaido will finally begin. Looking forward to that, I will devote myself to the task at hand. So, how’s your fitness?

Posted on 4月 15th, 2025 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 日本社会・文化研究