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【日本的「坐る」文化格式表現 氷川神社末社・安楽寺庫裡-5】



昨日、日本の囲炉裏と西洋の暖炉について書いていて、家族からの率直な感想チェックで気付かされたこと。「坐る」文化と椅子の文化による違いという視点。言われてみて、あまりにも腑に落ちた次第。
しかし日本文化の特徴である囲炉裏は「食遊」の空間でもあったことが、西洋社会の暖炉文化とは大きく相違していったということか。暖炉では、たとえば肉を串刺しして輻射熱調理して食べるという文化は優勢ではない。一方、日本の囲炉裏では灰ガラをほどよく積層させそこに串を立てて調理する文化が根付いた。日本料理では肉類はあくまでも「鍋」のうまみとして食することが主流で、魚こそがこうした串刺し料理にふさわしく、海に囲まれ多様の河川に恵まれた風土によって支配的食文化になっていった。
暖炉には食文化涵養の痕跡は乏しいのではないか。さらに中国文化圏では囲炉裏はどうも多数派の生活文化にはなっていないように思う。むしろ暖炉の方に寄っていると思える。また朝鮮半島や北東アジアで一般的な床暖房のオンドルでの調理文化もあまり聞かない。このあたりはもうちょっと探索してみたい。
ちなみに暖炉のWikiページには以下のような記述。「暖炉は特に西洋では部屋の格式や、席次を決める上での重要な調度品であり、暖炉周りのマントルピースなどの装飾には力が注がれる 」とある。このあたりは、日本文化でも同様で,きのう書いたように席次による格式が顕著に存在した。
で、この「席次序列」の考え方・思考法は日本家屋全体にわたって展開していくことになる。いちばん上の写真はこの神仏習合庫裡のいちばんの格式空間、床の間付き座敷。
今日でもこうした空間に出会うと日本人は、席を譲り合うという独特の社会儀礼がある。
「○○さんは、ぜひこちらに」
「いえいえ、わたしなぞ末席を汚させていただきます、あなたこそこちらへ」
みたいな予定調和的言葉掛け、やり取りが日本人DNAには仕込まれている。「床柱が似合う」というような人物評価の言語表現も存在している。こういう「空気感」感受性こそが日本人「らしさ」の究極かも。
この席次序列の考え方が日本建築には色濃く伝承されていった。


わたしは北海道生まれであり、こういう席次序列文化による間取り構成住宅からは最初期に離脱した住文化社会に属している。しかし、日本人としてのDNAはまだこういう空間に反応したくなる部分がある。畳がお尻に微妙な繊維質感を伝えて、その快感にウットリするような(笑)。
椅子やソファでの暮らしで寒さ暑さから解放された高断熱高気密ライフスタイルに圧倒的に満たされながら、たまに外食するなら、炭火の囲炉裏端みたいな店内インテリアの空間で、できれば魚の串焼きに癒されたいという内奥からの欲求もあるのだ。ニッポン的ごちゃ混ぜ生活文化か(笑)。

English version⬇

Japanese “sitting” cultural prestigious expression: Hikawa Shrine and Anraku-ji Temple Kori-5
The family’s straightforward impression became clear to me. The Japanese architectural culture of sitting, a lifestyle culture derived from Irori (hearth), deeply engraved in our DNA. The Irori-derived lifestyle culture deeply imprinted in our DNA.

Yesterday, when I wrote about Japanese hearths and Western fireplaces, I was reminded by an honest feedback check from a family member. The difference between the culture of sitting and the culture of chairs. When I was told this, it became all too clear to me.
The hearth, a characteristic of Japanese culture, was also a space for “eating and playing,” which was very different from the fireplace culture of Western society. In the fireplace, for example, the culture of skewering meat and eating it cooked by radiant heat is not predominant. On the other hand, in Japan, the culture of cooking meat on skewers in a hearth with a good layer of ash and ash residue has taken root. In Japanese cuisine, meat is usually consumed as a “nabe” (pot), and fish is the most suitable for this kind of skewered food.
The fireplace may be a poor evidence of the cultivation of food culture. Furthermore, in the Chinese cultural sphere, the hearth does not seem to have become a dominant part of the lifestyle culture. Rather, it seems to be more in the direction of fireplaces. Also, I have not heard much about the cooking culture using ondol, a floor heating system commonly used in the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia. I would like to explore this area a little more.
Incidentally, the Wiki page on fireplaces has the following description. The fireplace is an important furnishing in determining the prestige of a room, especially in the West, and a lot of effort is put into decorating the mantelpiece and other parts around the fireplace. As I wrote yesterday, there was a pronounced hierarchy of seating in the Japanese culture as well.
This “seating order” concept and way of thinking developed throughout the Japanese house. The photo above is the most prestigious space in the kori, which is a combination of the Shinto and Buddhist temples, with a tokonoma (alcove).
Even today, when encountering such a space, Japanese people have a unique social ritual of giving up their seats to each other.
“Please come this way, Mr. XX.
No, no, no, I’m sorry to make a mess of your seat, you go this way.
Such scheduled exchanges of words and phrases are ingrained in the DNA of the Japanese people. There is also a verbal expression of character evaluation, such as, “You look good in the tokonobashira. This kind of “airiness” and sensitivity may be the ultimate in Japanese “character.
This concept of the pecking order has been passed down strongly in Japanese architecture.

I was born in Hokkaido, and belong to a housing culture society that has moved away from this type of floor plan structure in the early stages of its history. However, as a Japanese, there is still a part of my DNA that wants to respond to this kind of space. The tatami conveys a subtle fiber texture to the buttocks, and the pleasant sensation makes me swoon (laughs).
While overwhelmingly satisfied with the highly insulated and airtight lifestyle of living on chairs and sofas, free from cold and heat, there is also a desire from deep within to eat out occasionally, preferably in a space with a restaurant interior like a charcoal sunken hearth edge, and to be soothed by grilled fish skewers. It is the Nippon way of life and culture, a mixture of the two.

【囲炉裏火力調節のお魚デザイン 氷川神社末社・安楽寺庫裡-4】




現代生活で失われた日本人のライフデザイン要素として囲炉裏がある。囲炉裏は日常食の食卓であり、家族の中での自然な「座り位置」関係の表現まで含めて日本人の意識を潜在的に規定してきた。
最上位の位置は、土間方向に向かっていちばん座敷側になる位置。左右に家族が座って、もっとも上座の場所に家族でのいちばんの権威者が座っていた。通常は戸主がその座を占めていた。わが家の古い記憶では家長としての祖父がその場に常にいたように記憶している。しかし、そうであっても家族団欒の象徴的な場所であることは間違いがなく、筋を通しながら、家族のいのちと共感を繋ぐ空間だった。
そういう囲炉裏に掛ける鍋類を「腕木」で火力を調整した。煮立てるまでは火に近づけて、煮たってしまったら、今度は温度維持に変化させたのだ。言ってみれば火力の段階調整具。
この装置のデザインでは圧倒的に「お魚」さんが主流を形成した。
日本人のタンパク源取得が圧倒的に魚類だったことが関係しているのか、あるいは鍋料理としては基調的な味覚はさかなが支配的だったことに起因しているのか。いずれにせよ、そのデザインは魚が主流。どうして魚なのだろうか?また外国ではそもそも囲炉裏や自在鉤ってあるのだろうか、どうなのか?
「魚は水に通じるということで火事を避けるお守りの意味があり、また魚には瞼がないことから眠らないー居眠りして火を絶やさないとか、目を離して火事を起こさないという意味がある」という説。これが主流の解釈のようです。しかし鍋料理の主役が魚であることの方がしっくりと馴染む気がする。
またこのテーマでWEB検索してみても、中国雲南省の民家で囲炉裏が見られる程度で、欧米の場合はやはり「暖炉」であって囲炉裏という暖房兼用の調理文化は見られないようだ。
そのように考えてくると、囲炉裏という文化自体が日本人の精神性形成に非常に大きな影響をもたらした生活文化であることが見通せてくる。欧米人と比較して「家」意識が濃厚なのが日本人だと思うけれど、個人主義とは相当に乖離のあるこうした倫理意識が、日本人の本質なのかも知れない。武士たちは、家の存続のために自分のいのちを賭けて戦っていた。自分が死んでも家が存続していくために命をなげうったのには、囲炉裏を囲んで常に家意識を高め続けた生活文化が大きいのかも知れない。
そういう囲炉裏火力で、ユーモラスなお魚さんがキーデザインになっていることも面白い。縄文以来、海の幸、川の幸の主役として日本人の心の底に魚の残像が刻印され続けてきたようですね。

English version⬇

Fish Designs for Irori Fireplace Heat Adjustment: Hikawa Shrine’s Yuhisha and Anrakuji Temple’s Kori-4
Fish is the mainstay of the pot dish that hangs over the hearth as a folk tradition. This unconscious area continued to be imprinted at the base of the Japanese sense of home. The…

One element of Japanese life design that has been lost in modern life is the hearth. The hearth is the dining table for daily meals and has subconsciously defined the Japanese consciousness, including the expression of the natural “sitting position” relationship within the family.
The highest position is the one that is farthest toward the earthen floor on the tatami room side. The family members sat on either side, and the person with the most authority in the family sat in the most senior position. Usually, the head of the household occupied this position. In my family’s old memories, my grandfather as the patriarch of the family was always present. Even so, there is no doubt that it was a symbolic place for family reunion, a space that connected the family’s life and sympathy while making sense of it.
The pots and pans that hung over such a hearth were adjusted in terms of fire power with an “arm tree. The pots and pans were placed close to the fire until they were simmering, and once they were simmering, the temperature was maintained at a constant level. In other words, it is a device that adjusts the heat power in stages.
Fish” formed the overwhelming mainstream in the design of this device.
Perhaps this is due to the fact that fish was the predominant source of protein for the Japanese, or perhaps it is due to the fact that fish was the dominant taste in nabe dishes. Either way, its design is dominated by fish. Why fish? And in foreign countries, do they have hearths and free-standing hooks, or not?
The theory is that “fish is connected to water, which means it is a talisman to avoid fire, and since fish have no eyelids, it means that they do not sleep – they do not doze off and keep the fire going, or that they do not take their eyes off the fire and cause it to burn. This seems to be the mainstream interpretation. However, I think it is more fitting that fish is the main ingredient in nabe dishes.
In addition, a web search on this theme shows that hearths can only be found in private homes in China’s Yunnan Province, and it seems that in the West, the hearth is still a “fireplace” and not a hearth, a cooking culture that doubles as a heating system.
In this way, we can see that the hearth culture itself is a lifestyle culture that has had a very significant impact on the formation of the Japanese mentality. The Japanese have a strong sense of “home” compared to Westerners, but this sense of ethics, which is quite different from individualism, may be the essence of the Japanese people. Samurai warriors fought for the survival of their families, risking their own lives. Perhaps the reason why they sacrificed their lives to ensure the continuation of the family even after their own deaths was due in large part to their culture of living around the hearth, which constantly heightened their sense of family.
It is interesting to note that humorous fish are a key design element of such hearth fire power. It seems that since the Jomon period, the afterimage of fish has continued to be imprinted deep in the hearts of Japanese people as the mainstay of seafood and river food.

【ひとをやさしく迎える食の空間 氷川神社末社・安楽寺庫裡-3】




日本的伝統である神仏習合の寺院の庫裡住宅訪問その3であります。
こうした寺院併設の集会機能空間は、日本人の精神性に於いては地域社会の「公民館・会所」的な役割を果たし続けてきたと思われる。公的な性格を濃厚に持った地域の「寄り合い」の空間だったのだと思う。きのう「ひとびとの倫理感の揺りかご」と表現したけれど、この埼玉県さいたま市の一地域にとってみると、神仏習合のこの空間はそのような性格を持っていた。
わたし自身の現場体感では建築外観としてのひとつの典型をみるような思いだった。ヨーロッパ社会ではキリスト教という一神教の精神規範が常識だけれど、日本社会はまったく別の、しかし民族独特の無上な「倫理感」が支配していた。その精神性の実質が、茅葺きの大屋根、せがい造りの外観にシンプルに生きている。帰依するという感覚ではなく、身が引き締まる、こころが無私になる、というような感覚の倫理感。・・・
そういう集会機能のためにはひとびとの食を満たす装置も不可欠。上の写真群は土間にしつらえられたカマド、正面の「流し装置」、そして囲炉裏を囲んでの食堂空間。

無私の精神によって集ったひとびとをやさしく迎え入れる癒やしの装置群。たぶん集会者たちがさまざまな食材を持ち寄って、このカマドや流しを使って調理して、囲炉裏空間で食事したのだろう。やさしく加熱される食材から立ち上る煙、その食材独特の香りが、空間を支配してひとびとのこころを解き放っていったに違いない。この場はそういう共同体意識の結束装置の基盤であるのかも知れない。
「これ、けさ釣り上げた魚があるんだけど・・・」
「おお、それじゃぁ、朝取りの山菜と取り合わせで」
「じゃぁ〆は地鶏なべで(笑)」
食を介した共生感がその寄り合いの度に深まっていった。そういった社会意識が日本人には強く涵養され続けてきたのだと思われる。その機縁が多様な宗教的価値観・八百万の神への信仰であり、みほとけへの尊崇のこころだった。
そういった社会性の再確認の場として日本建築はあり続けたのだろうけれど、日本建築は木造軸組が基本であり、構造材がそのまま表れるのが一般的。正直な木組みが「筋を通して」こうした社会性を無意識下で日本人の精神性を支えていたのだと思う。建築構造もまた素朴な民族的倫理感を構成したに違いない。
ちなみに「筋を通す」という公正性の言語表現はどうも日本独特のようにも思われる。WEBで翻訳コンニャクしてみた。「筋を通す→proceed in a logical manner」語感では日本語と違い「合理的」「ロジカル」というニュアンスが強い。日本語の「誠実さ」といったニュアンスは感じられない。
日本人の精神性と建築の関係もまた、きわめて興味深い。

English version⬇

A space for food that gently welcomes people: The Anrakuji Temple Kori, a branch of the Hikawa Shrine – 3
The Japanese sense of ethics originates from the polytheistic fairness of Shintoism and Buddhist syncretism. We will look at the traces of this in the relationship between the individual and society. …

This is the third part of our visit to a temple kori residence in the Japanese tradition of Shinto/Buddhist syncretism.
These meeting spaces attached to temples are thought to have continued to play the role of “community centers and meeting places” in local communities in the Japanese spirituality. I believe that they were spaces for local “huddling” that had a strong public character. Yesterday I described it as a “cradle of people’s sense of ethics,” and for this area of Saitama City in Saitama Prefecture, this space with its Shinto/Buddhist syncretism had such a character.
In my own experience at the site, I felt as if I was seeing a typical architectural appearance. In European society, Christianity, a monotheistic spiritual code, is the norm, but in Japanese society, a completely different, yet unique, ethnocentric “sense of ethics” prevails. The substance of this spirituality lives simply in the exterior of the thatched roof and the segai-zukuri style. It is not a sense of devotion, but a sense of ethics that makes you tense up and your mind become selfless. The temple is not a place for devotion.
For such a gathering function, it is also essential to have a place where people can eat. The photos above show a kamado (a bamboo stove) on the earthen floor, a “sink” in front of the house, and a dining space with a sunken hearth around the fireplace.

A group of healing devices that gently welcome the gathered people with a spirit of selflessness. Perhaps the participants brought a variety of foodstuffs, cooked them in these kamado and sinks, and ate them in the sunken hearth space. The smoke rising from the gently heated food and the unique aroma of the food must have dominated the space and freed people’s minds. This place may be the foundation of a cohesive device for such a sense of community.
Here, I have some fish I caught this morning…”
“Oh, well, I’ll have some of the morning’s wild vegetables with it.
Then we’ll finish it off with a chicken stew.
The sense of symbiosis through food deepened with each gathering. It is believed that such a social consciousness has been strongly cultivated among Japanese people. The opportunity for this was the belief in a variety of religious values and the belief in the eight million gods, and the reverence for the mihotoke.
Japanese architecture may have continued to exist as a place to reaffirm such sociality, but Japanese architecture is based on wooden framing, and the structural materials are generally expressed as they are. I believe that honest wood framing “through the muscles” supported the Japanese mentality of such sociality in an unconscious way. The architectural structure must have also constituted a simple ethnic ethic.
I tried to translate the Japanese word “musu-suji” into Japanese on the web. The word “suji wo koru→proceed in a logical manner” has a strong nuance of “rational” and “logical,” unlike the Japanese word “sincerity. It does not have the nuance of “sincerity” in Japanese.
The relationship between Japanese spirituality and architecture is also extremely interesting.

【端正なフォルムと陰影感 氷川神社末社・安楽寺庫裡-2】




この家はさいたま市南区大谷口にあった安楽寺で庫裏として使用されていた住宅。建築年代としては1858年の墨書が確認されているので、165年前のもの。江戸時代の末期に建てられたけれど、その後の明治維新によって「王政復古」されたことで同時に「廃仏毀釈」の社会運動が激しく燃えさかった時代に遭遇してしまった。
一方で大谷口氷川神社の神主も兼ねていた神仏習合だったことで、非常に複雑な背景事情がこの家を襲ったことが想像される。結果として仏教寺院としての安楽寺は消滅し、この建物は庫裡である実質を失った。寺の住職としての立場は捨てたことで主人は「還俗」して野口氏に名前を変えたのだという。
わたしたち現代人にとっては第2次世界大戦での対米戦争の敗戦というのが巨大エポック民族体験だけれど、この明治の政変も社会に大きな変革をもたらしたと思う。とくにこの日本人にとってこの廃仏毀釈の宗教的大変動は大きなインパクトだった。
日本人の宗教観は歴史変動によって大きく変化してきた。縄文の世以来、自然崇拝的な信仰心は日本人の心的原風景として「八百万」の神々信仰があっただろう。そのベースに対して神武以来の王統が根付いてその正統性を証すような神社信仰が広がっていった。
そこに王統自身による仏教の導入政策があって、聖徳太子による基本的な国家体系整備が進められた。その仏教導入時にも「八百万」信仰が柔軟な社会的受容性を担保したのだろう。
戦国期には仏教勢力が石山本願寺など過激な行動主義と反権力という名の権力主義に取り憑かれていたと言えるけれど、それは政治体制としての幕府武力権力の確立とともに骨抜きされ収斂していった。江戸期の安定社会の実現までのプロセスではそうした民族体験の積層があった。
神と仏という多神教社会が実現して相互に尊重し合う社会が形成されていった。政治制度としての戦後民主主義というものもこういった日本民族の多神教受容性の一環だったとも思える。
こうした文化宗教体験の結果として日本人には同調性志向が深く根付いているのではないか。

建築としてのこの家の特徴としては大きな屋根と、正面部分に掛かっている瓦屋根、せがい造りのプロポーションの端正さが強く感じられる。江戸期の寺院の庫裡では多様な集会、寄り合いなどの機会の場としてこの建物は機能していただろう。高温多湿な気候風土の中で安定的な室内環境を生み出す大きな茅葺き屋根のボリューム感、安定感は民族的心性の揺りかごになったように思える。
こうした大きな茅葺き屋根の美感からは日本社会の安定、ひとびとの倫理感の揺りかごのような印象が強く感じられる。

English version⬇

Neat form and a sense of shading: Hikawa Shrine’s Yuhiken Shrine and Anraku-ji Temple’s Kori -2
The thatched roof and the aesthetic sense of the segai-zukuri style create a Japanese-style orientation toward a sympathetic society. It makes us feel the fundamental sense of ethics. ・・・・・・.

This house was used as a korori (storehouse) at Anrakuji Temple in Oyaguchi, Minami-ku, Saitama City. As for the building date, the ink signature of 1858 has been confirmed, so it is 165 years old. It was built at the end of the Edo period (1603-1868), but it was destroyed by the “restoration of the monarchy” during the Meiji Restoration (1868-1912), which was followed by the social movement to “abolish Buddhism” that flared up violently.
The family was also the head priest of the Oyaguchi Hikawa Shrine, which was a syncretism of Shinto and Buddhist teachings, and one can imagine that the background of the family was very complicated. As a result, Anrakuji Temple as a Buddhist temple ceased to exist, and this building lost the substance of being a koryu. The owner, having abandoned his position as the temple’s abbot, “returned to the priesthood” and changed his name to Mr. Noguchi.
For us modern people, the defeat in World War II against the U.S. is a huge epochal national experience, but I believe that the political upheaval of the Meiji period also brought about a great change in society. Especially for the Japanese, the religious upheaval caused by the abolition of Buddhism had a great impact.
The Japanese view of religion has changed greatly due to historical changes. Since the Jomon period, nature-worshipping belief in the “eight million” gods has been a part of the Japanese people’s spiritual landscape. The royal lineage since the Jinmu period took root against this base, and shrine worship spread as a testimony to its legitimacy.
The royal lineage itself introduced Buddhism, and Prince Shotoku promoted the development of a basic national system. The belief in “eight million” probably ensured flexible social acceptability at the time of the introduction of Buddhism.
During the Warring States period, Buddhist forces such as Ishiyama Honganji were obsessed with radical activism and anti-authoritarianism, but these were suppressed and converged with the establishment of the Shogunate’s military power as a political system. In the process of achieving a stable society during the Edo period, there was a layering of such ethnic experiences.
A polytheistic society of gods and Buddha was realized and a society of mutual respect was formed. Postwar democracy as a political system seems to have been a part of this acceptance of polytheism among the Japanese people.
As a result of these cultural and religious experiences, a syncretic orientation may be deeply rooted in the Japanese people.

The house is characterized by its large roof, the tiled roof over the front portion, and the neat proportions of the segai-zukuri style. This building would have functioned as a place for various meetings and gatherings in the koryu of temples during the Edo period. The volume and stability of the large thatched roof, which creates a stable indoor environment in the hot and humid climate, seems to have served as a cradle for the spirituality of the people.
The aesthetics of these large thatched roofs give a strong impression of the stability of Japanese society and the cradle of people’s sense of ethics.

【日本人の宗教実態とは? 氷川神社末社と安楽寺庫裡-1】




日本社会というのは本当に不思議な社会だと痛感する。先週末から一昨日まで東京・関東にいたのですが、実はSUICAカードを紛失してしまっていた(泣)。で、移動交通にさっそく支障が出るので善後処置としてすぐに紛失を届け出て、使えるSUICAを別途購入した。
けれどその紛失カードについて2日後さっそく顛末が解明された。わたしがある宗教施設参観時にポケットから小銭入れを出して賽銭として投入したときに、同じポケットに入れていたSUICAカードが落下して気付かなかったらしいのです。そのSUICAについて、わたしが札幌に帰還した翌日のきのう、最寄りの交番から電話連絡があって詳細をお知らせいただいた次第。<届け出たことで電話番号が判明もしたのでしょう。>
この面白い顛末についてはまだ進行中なので決着後、再度まとめてお知らせしたい。
なんですが、わたしの感動は「落とし物が発見されて届け出られる」日本社会の精神性・倫理性への驚きであります。よく言われているし、わたしも数回そういう経験をしているけれど、これは本当にすごい社会成熟度を表しているのか、それともまた別の国民性に由来するのか、不思議だと思う。
で、やはり日本に根付いた宗教性との関わりがやはり大きいと思えるのです。
神社信仰と仏教思想ということですが、島国という特殊環境の中でそういう精神性がほぼ純粋培養されて倫理感の均一性をもたらしてきているのではないか。そんな風に思われるのです。
八百万の神は日本の空気の中に普遍的に存在し、衆生救済のみほとけはあまねく人を救済する。神仏というように複数の宗教性を許容しながら、ひとびとの倫理感は極限まで高まっている。
今回取材対象にした住宅は浦和にある古民家園のなかの1軒ですが、この「旧野口家」は江戸期1649年に「社領10石」を拝領した記録が残っている大谷口氷川神社(武蔵一宮・氷川神社の同名末社)の「別当寺院」安楽寺住職の庫裡であった家なのだそうです。
神仏習合ということがごく自然にこの地域社会では継続されてきていた証のようです。
この家自体は寺の庫裏だけれど、同時に大谷口氷川神社の神職でもあった。野口家は1864年に安楽寺の住職になり、1871年に大谷口氷川神社の祀職となり当社は村社に列した。その後、明治初期の廃仏毀釈の流れの中で還俗して野口家になったと記録に残っている。
こういう神社であり仏教寺院でもあるという多神教世界として日本社会は熟成していた。一神教社会からは信じがたい「いい加減さ」と映るだろうけれど、しかし民のモラル意識は落とし物が多数届け出られるほどに非常に高い社会倫理を熟成させた。
日本人と宗教、そして倫理感をテーマにしながらこの野口家住宅をあす以降、見てみたい。

English version⬇

What is the Religious Reality of the Japanese People? Hikawa Shrine and Anrakuji Temple
Although there is no international comparison in terms of the rate of reporting lost and found items, the high level of “ethics” among the Japanese is remarkable. Let’s look into it from the perspective of Shinto/Buddhist syncretized houses. …

I am keenly aware that Japanese society is truly a strange society. I was in Tokyo and Kanto from last weekend to the day before yesterday, and actually lost my SUICA card (tears). So, as a precautionary measure, I immediately reported the loss and purchased a usable SUICA card separately, since it immediately interfered with my mobile transportation.
Two days later, however, the details of the lost card were quickly revealed to me. It seems that when I was visiting a religious facility, I took the coin purse out of my pocket and threw in some money, and the SUICA card I had in the same pocket fell out and I didn’t notice it. Yesterday, the day after I returned to Sapporo, I received a phone call from the local police box informing me of the details of the SUICA card. <I guess they found out my phone number when I reported the incident. >I am still working on this interesting story.
I would like to report the details of this interesting incident again after it is settled, as it is still in progress.
I am still in the process of finalizing the details of this interesting incident, so I will report it to you again after the case is settled. This is often said, and I have had this experience several times, but I wonder if this is an indication of a truly great level of social maturity, or if it stems from a different national character.
I think it has a lot to do with the religiosity that has taken root in Japan.
In the special environment of an island nation, such spirituality is almost purely cultivated and has brought about a uniform sense of ethics. It seems to me that this is the case.
The eight million deities are universally present in the Japanese air, and the mihotoke, the savior of all sentient beings, provides salvation for all. While allowing for multiple religions, such as Shintoism and Buddhism, people’s sense of ethics has been raised to the utmost limit.
The house we interviewed for this report is one of the houses in an old private house garden in Urawa. The “old Noguchi family” used to house the abbot of Anrakuji Temple, a “separate temple” of the Oyaguchi Hikawa Shrine, which has a record of having received “10 koku of shrine territory” in 1649 (the last shrine of the same name at Hikawa Shrine in Musashi Ichinomiya Shrine).
It seems to be a proof that the Shinto/Buddhist syncretism had been continued in this local community quite naturally.
Although the house itself is a kori (storehouse) of the temple, it was also a Shinto priest of the Oyaguchi Hikawa Shrine. In 1864, the Noguchi family became the head priest of Anrakuji Temple, and in 1871, they became the head priest of Oyaguchi Hikawa Shrine, and the company was listed as a village shrine. Later, during the movement to abolish Buddhism in the early Meiji period (1868-1912), the Noguchi family was returned to the priesthood and became the Noguchi family, according to records.
Japanese society had matured into a polytheistic world that was both a shrine and a Buddhist temple. Although this may seem unbelievably “lax” to a monotheistic society, the moral consciousness of the people has matured to such an extent that many lost and found items are reported to the authorities.
I would like to visit the Noguchi family residence in the morning and later on, while discussing the theme of Japanese people, religion, and ethics.

【遮光器土偶の「遮光器」を人生はじめて確認(汗)】



人間の刷り込まれた「固定観念」というのは怖ろしいなぁと深く反省の一件。
写真の「遮光器土偶」は日本史のなかでもとりわけ有名な一品。たとえてみれば本能寺の変とも並び立つほどの、信長級の超ポピュラー大スターだと言えるでしょう。
わたしがこの土偶の画像とめぐり会ったのはたぶん小学校低学年の時期だろうと思います。「これはシャコウキドグウと言って、縄文時代の遺跡から発見されました」みたいに教科書で習ったのだろうと思います。
子どもこころに圧倒的なその視認印象が強烈で「これはどうみても地球に降り立った宇宙人に間違いない」と深くこころに沈殿した。
肝心の「遮光器」についての詳細な説明はその当時なかったのではないかと記憶している。いや、先生は補足説明したのかも知れないが、あまりに異星人的な印象が強烈で、そのまま刷り込まれてしまって、それは先史時代への強烈な探究動機ゾーンに仕舞い込まれてしまったのかも知れない。
恥ずかしながら、先日はじめて「遮光器」という実物と対面して説明を聞いてしまった。
現代でも北方民族のみなさんは冬の雪原からの反射光への基本対策として強烈なその乱反射から目を守るのに「遮光」する木製メガネを使っているという説明。
「おお」であります。
少年期に刷り込まれた「印象の固定化・誤謬」からついに解放されてしまった(笑)。
北海道の冬の雪原での視覚体験はたっぷりと積層しているし、その反射光から目を守るのにゴーグルをする人がいることも知っているのに、まったく不意を突かれてしまった。
下の写真は北海道立北方民族博物館資料目録3の木製雪眼鏡。使用民族はエスキモーで米国/アラスカ 1890-1930年 8.5㎝という説明文が付けられている。
「極北の長い冬がおわり、陽射しが高くなるにつれて、雪原の照り返しが強くなる。このような季節には、紫外線から目を保護する必要がある。狩猟や旅行では長い時間、雪原や氷上で行動するため、エスキモーは木や骨などを利用してこのようなスリット状の穴を開けた雪眼鏡を作り目を守ってきた。日本の遮光器土偶の名称に使われた遮光器がこの雪眼鏡のことである。」と明記されている。
幼少年期からの呪縛・凝り固まった「宇宙人」イメージがようやく破砕された。なんもさ、であります。そうならそうと早く言ってくれよ、というところですが、やはり初見の人間の印象というのは重いのだとも気付かされる。また、この宇宙人イメージがあったことで無上の吸引力で歴史への興味が喚起され続けたとも言える。
ただ、その後の日本人はこういう遮光器を民具としてもほぼ伝承していない。
縄文の時期はむしろ現代よりも温暖だった時期の方が長いともされている。
信長の本能寺は徐々に解明されつつあるけれど、遮光器土偶の解明はやはりなかなか進展しませんね。むしろ興味の吸引装置としてはこのような状態の方が望ましいとも思える。

English version⬇

[First time in my life I confirmed the “light shielding device” of the light shielding clay figurine (sweat).
First encounter with the wooden light-shielding glasses inherited by modern northern peoples. Is this the clarification of the truth similar to the true culprit of the Honnoji Incident? …

This is a case that makes me deeply reflect on the fearful nature of the “stereotypes” that are imprinted on human beings.
The “Shakogu Dogu” in the photo is one of the most famous items in Japanese history. It is a very popular star of Nobunaga’s level, comparable to the Honnoji Incident.
I think I first came across the image of this clay figurine when I was in the early grades of elementary school. I think I learned from my textbooks that “this is a Shakokidogu, which was found at a Jomon-era site.
The overwhelming visual impression of the object made a deep impression on me as a child, and I was deeply moved by the thought, “This is definitely an alien that has landed on the earth.
I remember that there was no detailed explanation of the “light shielding device,” which was the most important part of the telescope, at that time. Perhaps the professor may have given a supplementary explanation, but the impression was so strong and alien that it was imprinted on my mind, and it may have been stored in the zone of my strong motivation to explore prehistoric times.
I am ashamed to admit that the other day I came face to face with an actual “light-shielding device” for the first time and listened to its explanation.
He explained that even today, northern peoples use wooden glasses to protect their eyes from the intense diffuse reflections of reflected light from snow fields in winter as a basic measure.
Oh,” he said.
I was finally freed from the “fixed and erroneous impressions” imprinted on me as a boy (laugh).
Although I have plenty of laminated visual experiences in the winter snow fields of Hokkaido and know that some people wear goggles to protect their eyes from the reflected light, I was caught completely off guard.
The photo below shows wooden snow goggles from the Hokkaido Museum of Northern Peoples’ Materials Catalog 3. The description of the glasses reads, “The people who used them were Eskimos from the United States/Alaska, 1890-1930, 8.5 cm.
The long winter in the Arctic is over, and as the sun shines higher in the sky, the snowfield becomes more reflective. During these seasons, it is necessary to protect the eyes from ultraviolet rays. Because of the long hours they spend hunting and traveling on snowfields and ice, Eskimos made snow goggles with slit holes in them out of wood or bone to protect their eyes. The snow goggles are the light shields used to name the Japanese light shielding clay figurines. The article clearly states, “The snow goggles were used to protect the eyes.
The “alien” image that had been spellbound and hardened since my childhood was finally shattered. I am not an “alien” at all. If that’s the case, you should have said so earlier, but it also made me realize that the impression of a person who sees something for the first time is a heavy one. It can also be said that the presence of this alien image has continued to arouse interest in history with unparalleled power of attraction.
However, Japanese people did not inherit this kind of shading device as a folk tool until later.
It is also said that the Jomon period was rather longer than the present day, when the climate was warmer.
Although Nobunaga’s Honnoji is gradually being elucidated, the elucidation of the light-shielding clay figurines is still not progressing very well. In fact, it seems that this state of affairs is more desirable as a device for attracting interest.

【東京ビッグサイトと宗教建築デザイン】



最近の東京・関東出張では東京ビッグサイトを訪問することがメッチャ多い。わたしが関係する住宅などのイベントの常打ち会場であることが多いワケなのですが、それ以外の興味領域でも使用される割合が多く実感的にはほぼ毎回顔を出している状況です。正面外観は毎度、こんな顔で迎えてくれる。
なんとなく馴染みになってくる感覚があってキライではない。
東京湾の埋め立て地に立地していて、新橋からゆりかもめで大体30分程度。広大な敷地と室内空間面積の「展示場施設」としての利便性は高い。いま考えれば合理性もあるけれど、沿革を見ると以下。
「延床面積は約25ヘクタール総展示面積は約9.5ヘクタール。 建築総工費は1985億円。 東京都が1995年に世界都市博覧会(都市博)の会場として建設したが、青島幸男都知事の判断で都市博が中止になったため、中央区晴海(はるみ)にあった東京国際見本市会場を移転する形で開業した。」
で、見ているうちに、形態について深層心理みたいなことを想起するようになって、日本の宗教建築の屋根の張り出し、せり上がりがこの三角プロポーションとアナロジーさせられるようになって来た。4つ足の立柱と三角錐とのバランスが腑に落ちるようになってくる。下の写真は鹿島神宮桜門。
設計は(株)佐藤総合計画という現在所員数324名という組織設計事務所。

設計当初のプロポーザル案はこちらのような形態で、どうも「天空の城ラピュタ」がイメージとしてあったのだそうです。東京都のプロポーザル案件だったので、審査員には「多様な見方」を反映する意味で建築専門家以外のひとも多いことを見越して「わかりやすい」点を重視したモノでしょう。
ただその後、実施段階になってドンドン脚部が膨らみ、ズングリムックリ型になっていったとのこと。そして当初のイメージとは変容して日本的宗教建築のプロポーションに近づいていったのか。
埋め立て地域なのでとくに外観意匠にはチタン素材などの錆びない建材が多用されている。形態がどんどん宗教建築に近づいていったのに、そう感じさせずにモダンデザイン風に受け取ってきていたのには、そういった素材感からの「パッと」見の要素が大きいでしょうね。
ちょうどガウディの宗教建築・サグラダファミリアの設計趣旨展示会も東京近代美術館で開かれていて、建築デザインの趣旨説明をいろいろな側面からひもといていたので、それとの対比での「日本建築」としての見方をこのビッグサイト外観に当てはめてみた次第です。
まぁ、建築は出来上がってしまえばだれからも公平に端的に、見られる存在になるので、思った感じたことは、自由に論じあうべきものだと思います。わたしはこういう建物、悪くないと思う。

English version⬇

Tokyo Big Sight and Religious Architectural Design
Gaudi created the Sagrada Familia from the historical design of Christian and Islamic architecture in a unique way. What is the sense of form that is common to modern Japan? ……

On my recent business trips to Tokyo and the Kanto region, I have been visiting Tokyo Big Sight quite often. The site is often a regular venue for housing and other events that I am involved with, but it is also used for many other areas of interest as well, so I feel that I am visiting the site almost every time I am there. The front exterior greets us with a face like this every time.
It is not bad, as it has a sense of familiarity.
Located on a reclaimed land in Tokyo Bay, it takes about 30 minutes from Shimbashi by Yurikamome. It is highly convenient as an “exhibition facility” with its vast site and indoor space. The history of the building is as follows.
The total floor space is approximately 25 hectares, and the total exhibition area is approximately 9.5 hectares. The total construction cost was 198.5 billion yen. It was built by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in 1995 as the venue for the World Urban Exposition (Urban Expo), but when Governor Yukio Aoshima decided to cancel the Expo, the Tokyo International Trade Fair Center was relocated to Harumi, Chuo-ku, and opened.
As I looked at the building, I began to think about the deep psychology of form, and began to make analogies between the triangular proportions of the overhanging and overhanging roofs of Japanese religious buildings and the balance between the four-legged standing columns and the triangular pyramid. The photo below shows the Kashima Jingu Shrine.
The design is by Sato Sogo Keikaku, an organizational design firm with 324 members.

The initial design proposal was based on the image of “Laputa: Castle in the Sky. Since this was a Tokyo Metropolitan Government proposal project, the jury members included many non-architectural specialists in order to reflect “diverse views,” and the emphasis was probably placed on “easy-to-understand” points.
However, the legs of the building swelled and became larger and larger as the project progressed to the implementation stage. The proportions of the building were transformed from the original image and became closer to the proportions of a temple building.
Because this is a reclaimed area, titanium and other rustproof construction materials were used extensively, especially for the exterior design. The fact that the form of the building was getting closer and closer to religious architecture, yet it was received in the style of modern design without giving that impression, must have been largely due to the “poof” factor from the texture of such materials.
The exhibition of the purpose of Gaudi’s religious building, Sagrada Familia, was also being held at the Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, and I was looking into the design of the building from various aspects, so I tried to apply my view of “Japanese architecture” to the exterior of the Big Sight in comparison with the exhibition.
Well, once the architecture is completed, it will be seen fairly and straightforwardly by everyone, so I think we should freely discuss what we think and feel about it. I think this kind of building is not bad.

【初夏の道東-札幌円山オオウバユリ残照】




7/15からの3連休で道東に行っていました。最近は自分自身が取材などで道内出張する機会はほとんどないので、久しぶりの自然とのふれあい、空気感をカラダいっぱいに受け止めて、自分の中身が蘇ってくるような独特の感覚に包まれていました。
上の2枚の写真は宿泊していた中標津の路傍で見かけていたオオウバユリ。わたしのこの個人的なブログで札幌円山の散歩道でこの植物に深くシンパシーを感じていることはお分かりかと思いますが、そういう体験の積層から、独特の感覚で自生地がわかるので、ついクルマを停めて、たくさん「面会」してきました(笑)。「え〜、こんなとこで、急に!」とカミさんからは悲鳴が上がっていた(笑)。
このアイヌの人びとのソウルフードについてはもう10年近く地元札幌、それも散歩道の円山周辺でウォッチしてきていると思いますが、注意を向けるようになって以降、この時期に道東を走ることがなくなっていたので、ほとんど初対面のような出会い感でありました。
1枚目2枚目が道東中標津の路傍のヤツで、一方の3枚目が同時期の札幌円山地域のヤツ。あきらかに花房の量感がまったく違う。
さすがの圧倒的ボリューム感で訴えてくる中標津と、なんともスリムな札幌の自然。
花を見ると言うことで、人間のこころというのはどういう化学変化、反応を見せるものなのかはまったくわかりませんが、この両者の視覚体験の相違、視認心情の違いはわかりやすい。
たぶん自然の地力の違いが如実に表れているということなのでしょう。十数年前、札幌円山でもこの中標津での個体のような輝きも見ていたように思う。
花というのはいのちの精一杯の輝きであり、自然造形が生み出すドラマそのものでしょう。その個体がこの世にいのちを享けて生き抜いたという「叫び声」のようにも聞こえる。たぶん音楽的感受性ともっとも近いような視覚感性で受け止めているのでしょう。それはイキモノとしての同質性に強く訴求されてきて、その叫び声がこちら側と深く共振するような部分。
やはり圧倒的な中標津の自然の奥行き感に圧倒される。
一方で普段見慣れている札幌円山の痩せ細った個体の必死さにも深い共感を覚えさせられる。
これは比較対照するようなことではなく、それぞれの地でこの種が必死に次世代にいのちを継承しようとしている実証なのでしょう。先週にはほとんどの個体が花房を落として果実の結果に向かって変貌していました。本格的な夏の到来ですね。

English version⬇

Early Summer in East Hokkaido – Sapporo Maruyama Oubayuri Afterglow
Glamorous beauty and delicate beauty. Is it the difference between Nakashibetsu and Sapporo’s geographical strength or the difference in the natural power of the entire environment? But both are divine, desperately holding on to life. …

I was in East Hokkaido for three consecutive holidays starting on July 15. Since I rarely have the opportunity to travel within Hokkaido for interviews these days, I was surrounded by a unique feeling of being in contact with nature for the first time in a long time and receiving the atmosphere with all my energy, as if my innermost self was being revived.
The two photos above are of day lilies that I saw along the roadside in Nakashibetsu, where I was staying. As you may know from my personal blog, I have been deeply sympathetic to this plant on my walks in Maruyama, Sapporo, and I have a unique sense of knowing where it grows naturally, so I stopped the car and “visited” it a lot (laugh). (Laughs.) “Oh my God, here so suddenly! my wife screamed (laughs).
I have been watching the soul food of the Ainu people in my hometown of Sapporo for almost 10 years now, especially in the Maruyama area, but since I started paying attention to the Ainu people, I have not been driving in the east of Hokkaido during this season, so it was almost as if I was meeting them for the first time.
The first and second pictures are from a roadside in Nakashibetsu, while the third picture is from the Maruyama area of Sapporo at the same time. Obviously, the volume of the flower clusters is completely different.
Nakashibetsu’s flowers are overwhelmingly voluminous, while Sapporo’s are very slim.
I have no idea what kind of chemical changes or reactions the human mind undergoes when looking at flowers, but the difference in the visual experience and the difference in the perceived emotional state between the two is easy to understand.
Perhaps it is a true expression of the difference in the power of nature. I think I also saw the same kind of brilliance as this individual in Nakashibetsu more than ten years ago in Sapporo Maruyama.
Flowers are the fullest expression of life and the drama of nature’s formations. It sounds like the “cry” of an individual who has lived out his or her life in this world. Perhaps we perceive it with a visual sensibility that is closest to our musical sensitivity. It is a part that strongly appeals to our homogeneity as a creature, and its cry resonates deeply with our side.
The overwhelming sense of depth of Nakashibetsu’s nature is overwhelming.
On the other hand, the desperation of the emaciated individuals of Sapporo’s Maruyama, which we are accustomed to seeing in everyday life, also makes us feel deep sympathy for them.
This is not a matter of comparison and contrast, but rather a demonstration of how desperately this species is trying to pass on its life to the next generation in each location. In the last week, most of the individuals have dropped their flower clusters and transformed toward fruit results. Summer is in full swing.

【江戸期農家/間取りとひとの暮らし 浦和の開発農家-5】




この蓮見家住宅は江戸中期の農家住宅の典型的な仕様だと言われる。広間型三間取、寄棟造、茅葺。桁行七間(16.8m)梁間三間半(5.5m)。江戸市中では庶民は長屋に住み住み暮らしていた時代。一般的にはこういった農家の次男三男層は、この生家を離れて江戸に向かい、そこで職を見つけて長屋に住み、立身することを夢見ていたが、その多くは夢破れて帰る故郷もないまま、刹那的な人生を生きた時代。
広島県東部で暮らしていたわが家の江戸期の過去帳などを見てみても、身分制固定化社会での生きにくい現実の断片を証立てる現実に突き当たって、胸苦しさを覚えたりもする。夢見がちな幼少年期を過ぎてくれば、こういった現実に早々に放り出されただろう。そうであっても盆暮れなどには帰省することもあり、いっとき親子兄弟、幼なじみたちと屈託のない時間を過ごせただろうか。
しかし生家を継ぐ長男層としても厳しい年貢取り立て圧力のなかで苦しい生き様だったことはあきらか。そういうなかで、なんとか自作地を工夫して商品作物、この地域では幕末期などには輸出産業として活性化した養蚕業のためのクワを栽培して生き延びてきたのだろう。開国して経済的に自立できることへの期待感というのは民の側に大きかったに違いない。幕末期に自然発生した社会運動「ええじゃないか」の真実か。
住宅内部は間取り図の向かって右に間口の半分以上の土間を取り、土間に沿って梁間いっぱいに板の間のヘヤ、その上手にオクと、その裏側にナンドを配した、いわゆる三室広間型の間取り。ヘヤには囲炉裏を設け、囲炉裏に接し土間側に板敷きの床を張り出していて、このヘヤ後方には戸棚を造りつけている。だいたい計算してみるとこの「板敷きの間」は収納のナンドを含めて10坪程度20-22畳程度だろう。日本人の生活空間とは基本的にこのような形式であって、戦後普遍化した「個人主義」的な個室間取りというものとは無縁。
よく見てみるとこの板敷きのヘヤにだけ天井が張られている。やはり主要な生活空間では「断熱」の切実な工夫として密閉化を図った痕跡だろう。仕上げ的には竹簀子天井になっており、囲炉裏には火天がある。

唯一の畳敷きのオクには天井が張られておらず、屋根の裏側を直接見ることになる。座敷飾りとして床の間と仏壇、戸棚が設けられている。どのように使われたかの記録はないが、基本的には冠婚葬祭的なハレの場として利用されて、普段は寝室的な利用をされたものだろうか。
面積103㎡(約31坪)。正面から見て右側が馬屋の入口、左側が土間の入口となっている。土間と馬屋の間は柱が1本立っているだけで、馬屋に柵が設けられておらず、床も土間と一体となっている。
具体的な江戸期の庶民の暮らしようが立ち上ってくるたたずまい。

English version⬇

Edo Period Farmhouse / Floor Plan and People’s Lives: Development Farmhouse in Urawa-5
The state of the common farmhouse in the middle Edo period. The division of how the eldest son and the second and third sons stand. The severe way of life of each can be seen. ・・・・.

This Hasumi family residence is said to have typical specifications of a mid-Edo period farmhouse. It is a three-room, wide-plan house with a hipped roof and thatched roof. It has a girigakukan of 7 ken (16.8 m) and a beam span of 3.5 ken (5.5 m). In the Edo period, common people lived in row houses. Generally, the second and third sons of these farmers left their birthplace and headed for Edo, where they found jobs and lived in tenements, dreaming of a successful life, but many of them lived a transitory life without a home to return to.
When I look at the Edo period ledgers of my family, who lived in the eastern part of Hiroshima Prefecture, I sometimes feel a sense of bitterness as I come face to face with a reality that testifies to the fragments of a reality where life was difficult in a society with a fixed status system. If I had passed through my dreamy childhood, I would have been thrown out of this kind of reality as soon as possible. Even so, I would have returned home at the end of the Bon holidays and spent some carefree time with my parents, siblings, and childhood friends.
However, it is clear that even for the eldest sons who succeeded to the family of their birth, life was difficult under the severe pressure of collecting tribute. In such a situation, they must have managed to survive by devising ways to cultivate their own land to grow commodity crops, such as mulberry for sericulture, which became an active export industry in this region at the end of the Edo period. There must have been a great sense of anticipation on the part of the people that they would be able to open up the country and become economically independent. Is this the truth of the “ee-jana-nai” social movement that spontaneously emerged at the end of the Edo period?
The interior of the house has an earthen floor more than half the size of the frontage on the right side of the floor plan, a wooden floor with a hearth between the beams along the earthen floor, an oku (a small wooden box) on the upper side, and a nando (a wooden stand) on the back side, in a so-called three-room, wide-room layout. The hearth is set in the hearth, and a wooden floor is placed on the earthen floor side of the hearth, and a closet is built behind the hearth. The “itashiki-no-ma” is about 20-22 tatami mats, including the storage nandos, and is about 10 tsubo (about 1.5 square meters) in area. Japanese living space is basically in this form, and has nothing to do with the “individualistic” private room layout that has become universal since the end of World War II.
If you look closely, you can see that the ceiling is stretched only over this wooden floor. It is probably a trace of the attempt to seal the main living space as an earnest device for “heat insulation. The ceiling is finished with bamboo screens, and there is a fire pit in the sunken hearth.

The only tatami-matted oku does not have a ceiling, and the view is directly behind the roof. An alcove, a butsudan (Buddhist altar), and a cupboard are installed as part of the tatami room decorations. There is no record of how it was used, but it is likely that it was basically used for ceremonial occasions such as weddings and funerals, and was usually used as a bedroom.
The area is 103 square meters (about 31 tsubo). The entrance to the stable is on the right when viewed from the front, and the entrance to the earthen floor is on the left. There is only one pillar standing between the stable and the earthen floor, and the stable is not fenced in, and the floor is integrated with the earthen floor.
The floor is also integrated with the earthen floor. This is the kind of appearance that brings to mind the lifestyle of ordinary people in the Edo period.

【300年前の調理煮炊き空間 浦和の開発農家-4】




浦和の開発農家・蓮見家の台所空間。
土間に隣接して囲炉裏が板の間にあってそのすぐ近くに「流し」がある。土間と裏口をはさんでカマドが対置されている。現代の間取りでいえばシステムキッチンとダイニングの空間に相当している。というか、およそ300年前の調理空間だけれど、現代と通底する面が非常に多いと思う。
流しでの作業では水瓶から取水しながら食材を洗い包丁で裁断しながら、一方で加熱調理火力は基本的にはカマドでメイン食材を調理し、補助的に囲炉裏火力も利用したのだろう。それらの動線がたいへん合理的な間取りで構成されていることが一目瞭然。
これより古い時代の戦国期の調理の場の復元などを見る機会があったけれど、そこでは流しが「座った」姿勢で作業するスタイルが取られていた。広い板敷き空間でたくさんの女性たちがほぼ座った体制で、調理作業に向き合うというのがより原初的であるのかと思わされたけれど、この江戸中期の時代・関東の農家住宅では「立って」食材と向き合うスタイルになっている。時代の進化だろうか。作業効率的にどう考えても、座ったままの状態では力仕事的な調理作業などにはあまり合理的とは言えないだろう。まぁ一方でその分、盛り付け作業などの繊細な部分についてはこの座作業で日本的気遣い文化が盛り上がった可能性がある。
日本の家庭料理文化にこのポイントがどのように影響を与えたのか,興味深い。
台所の作業空間にはその時代での女性を中心としたライフスタイルが顕著に反映していると思う。最近の家事と間取りの関係を見ると、夫婦共働きを前提にして、洗濯と乾燥、衣類の整理作業が非常に合理的に、時間節約的になっていてファミリークローゼットが主役化してきている。台所は食卓と一体化してより作業効率的な合理化が進展していると思います。
この江戸期農家住宅でも基本的に女性は「共働き」が前提でしょう。室内空間のおよそ半分を占める土間空間は基本的に農作業のための主要装置であり、生業である農業の核心作業空間。早朝からの屋外作業のための準備から夜なべ仕事としての「縄」などの植物繊維加工作業まで、朝から夕方、夜まで基本的には農作業が延々と続く毎日。これら土間での農事作業との時間節約型での「連続性」が大きな「解決課題」だった様子がわかる。当然日々の農事に関連した食材が食卓に上っただろうから、一体化は必然でもあった。
まぁ、現代では食の空間以上に洗濯乾燥仕舞などの作業も肥大化してきているので、まことに「世に連れて」家事作業の解決方法は変化してきていると思う。
いずれにしてもこうした先人の生活痕跡には深くリスペクトさせられる。

English version⬇

300-year-old cooking and boiling space Urawa development farmer-4
How did the rational change of “sink” from sedentary to standing work affect the Japanese lifestyle? …

Kitchen space of the Hasumi family, a development farmhouse in Urawa.
Adjacent to the earthen floor is a sunken hearth on a wooden floor with a “sink” in the immediate vicinity. A kamado is placed across the earthen floor and the back door. In a modern layout, this space would correspond to a system kitchen and dining room. Although the cooking space is about 300 years old, it has many similarities with the modern kitchen.
In the sink, food was washed and cut with a knife while water was drawn from a water bottle, while the main food was basically cooked in a kamado and hearth heat was used as an auxiliary heat source. It is obvious at a glance that these lines of flow are composed of a very rational floor plan.
I had an opportunity to see a reconstruction of a cooking area from the Warring States period, which was much older than this, where the sink was used in a “sitting” position. I thought it was more primitive to have a large number of women sitting down in a large wooden floor to face the cooking work, but in this farmhouse in the Kanto region during the mid-Edo period, they are “standing” to face the foodstuffs. Is this an evolution of the times? In terms of work efficiency, sitting down is not very reasonable for heavy-duty cooking. On the other hand, the Japanese culture of care and attention to detail in such delicate tasks as serving may have been enhanced through the use of this sitting style of cooking.
It is interesting to see how this point influenced the Japanese home cooking culture.
I think that the kitchen workspace reflects the lifestyle of the time, especially that of women. Looking at the relationship between housework and the floor plan these days, based on the assumption that both husband and wife work, washing and drying and organizing clothes have become very rational and time-saving tasks, and the family closet has taken on a leading role. The kitchen is integrated with the dining table, and I believe that more efficient rationalization of work has progressed.
Even in this Edo period farmhouse, women are basically supposed to “work together”. The earthen floor space, which occupies about half of the interior space, is basically the main equipment for farm work, and is the core work space for farming, which is the livelihood of the farmers. From early morning preparation for outdoor work to nighttime work processing plant fibers such as “rope,” farm work basically goes on and on from morning to evening and into the night. It is clear that time-saving “continuity” with the farm work in the earthen floor was a major “problem to be solved. Naturally, food related to the daily farm work would have appeared on the dining table, so the integration of the two was inevitable.
Well, nowadays, washing, drying, and putting away clothes has become even bigger than the space for food, so I think that the solution to housework has changed “with the times.
In any case, I deeply respect the traces of our ancestors’ lives.