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【12才の太子、百済高官（二重スパイ？）と密談 法隆寺宝物館-5】




聖徳太子12才・583年のとき、来日していた百済国の高級官僚・日羅さんが偶然太子を見かけて、問答に及び、夜も更けるまで知的問答を繰り広げたとされるシーン。５隻10幅の「聖徳太子絵伝」壁画の第５隻の左下に記事配置されている。単純に太子の知的好奇心の発露の事例とされてきている。
この５隻には隋に派遣された大使である小野妹子が中国の衡山に出向き、太子の前世の持経を探したシーンや、太子が青龍車（祭りで使われる山車の一種だけれど、たぶん空想上の飛行高速移動手段）に乗って、前世での衡山で持っていた経文を取りに行くシーンなど、海外関係の事跡が集められたなかにある。
この日羅さんという人物も謎めいていて面白く、調べてみると「6世紀朝鮮半島にあった国家・百済の王に仕えた日本人、あるいは倭系百済官僚。父は肥後国の国造〜くにのみやっこ」というWiki記述が出てくる。この飛鳥時代当時では朝鮮半島国家と九州地域とはきわめて相関的な関係であったことが示されている。ヤマト王権の大和地域とも九州は相対的に異なった独自の認識・世界観を持っていたことが容易に想像できる。
さらに「日本書紀583年の条には敏達天皇の要請により来日して対朝鮮政策について朝廷に奏上。民を安んじ富ましめ国力を充実したうえで船を連ねて威を示せば百済は帰服するであろうことや、百済が九州に領土拡大を謀っているので防御を固め欺かれぬようにすべきことなど、百済に不利で機密性の高い情報交換内容だったとされる。その結果運命が暗転し同年12月に百済国役人らによって難波で暗殺された。」という国家安保上のトップシークレット案件も記されている。
高官が交流する関係でありながら、それはそのままスパイ活動である実態も明らかになっている。史実としては聖徳太子と話し込んだ年の年末に暗殺されているのだ。あるいはこの聖徳太子との密談に尾ひれがついて、国家の極秘情報の漏洩を怖れた百済関係者が刺客を送ったのかも知れない。
12才とはいえ、聖徳太子は国家主権者としての超英才だったことはあきらか。知的好奇心は旺盛でこういった立場の人物との会話は刺激に満ちた内容だったに違いない。そもそも「たまたま見かけた」から夜更けまで密談に及ぶのも奇異。会話内容の奥底を慎重に反芻しながら、深く興奮しつつ国益的な判断を迫られる怜悧な情報交換と推察できる。
こういった海外との機微な事情についても深い関心を持って思考訓練を重ねていたのだろうか。「もし万が一百済と日本が戦ったときにどういうことが起こり得るのか」リアリティに満ちた想像力を養っていたと言える。少なくとも仏教導入に身命を捧げた聖人君子という聖徳太子像とはかなり違和感のあるなまなましい現実政治家の実像がそこからは読み取れる。
後に「日出ずる処の・・・」というギリギリの国益追求リアリズム外交を実践する人物の本来の素性があらわれたエピソードか。こうした清濁を併せ持つ人物だからこそ、平和な国際関係を構築し得たのだとも思える。鎮護国家という仏教受容政策は日本の国体の基本として完全に根付き、その基本骨格を導入した政治指導者・聖徳太子への日本の民の評価は信仰にまで昇華した。かれのこうした政治家としての先見性・才能への民の側の評価も奥深く巨大だったのだと気付かされる。

English version⬇

The 12-year old prince secretly talks with a Baekje official (double agent?) The Gallery of Horyuji Treasures-5
A scene from a picture biography gives us a glimpse of diplomacy in those days. The actual situation of exchanging information with a high-ranking official of Baekje, Korea, although he was Japanese. The scene of a secret conversation with a spy

This is the scene in the lower left of the fifth panel of the “Shotoku Taishi E biography” mural painting, which consists of 10 panels in 5 panels, and is located in the lower left corner. It has been regarded simply as an example of the Taishi’s outburst of intellectual curiosity.
In these five paintings, there is a scene in which Ono Imoko, an ambassador dispatched to Sui Dynasty China, goes to Hengshan in China to search for the sutra of the Taishi’s previous life, and another scene in which the Taishi rides on a blue dragon cart (a kind of float used in festivals but probably an imaginary high-speed flying vehicle) to retrieve a sutra he had at Hengshan in his previous life. The person named Mr. Hira is also a mystery.
This character, Hira, is also mysterious and interesting, and when I looked him up, I found that he was “a Japanese or Japanese Baekje official who served the king of Baekje, a state on the Korean peninsula in the 6th century. His father was Kuninomiyakko, the king of Higo Province,” according to Wiki. The Asuka period shows that the relationship between the Korean peninsula state and the Kyushu region was highly correlated. It is easy to imagine that Kyushu had a unique perception and worldview that was relatively different from that of the Yamato kingdom’s Yamato region.
In addition, “In the 583rd year of the Chronicles of Japan, he came to Japan at the request of Emperor Toshitatsu to report to the Imperial Court on the policy toward Korea. It is said that the exchange of information was highly confidential and disadvantageous to Baekje, and included such matters as the fact that Baekje would be likely to surrender if the people were made comfortable and wealthy and the national power was strengthened, and that Baekje was planning to expand its territory to Kyushu, so the defenses should be strengthened to avoid being deceived. As a result, his fate took a dark turn and he was assassinated in Namba by Baekje officials in December of the same year. The article also contains a top-secret matter on national security, “The Baekje State was the first country in the world to exchange information on the Baekje Dynasty.
The fact that the relationship between the two countries was one of high official exchange and espionage is also revealed. The historical fact is that he was assassinated at the end of the year in which he talked with Prince Shotoku. Or, the secret talk with Prince Shotoku may have been traced back to him, and Baekje officials, fearing the leakage of top-secret national information, may have sent assassins to kill him.
It is clear that Prince Shotoku, although only 12 years old, was a super genius as a sovereign ruler of a nation. His intellectual curiosity was vigorous, and his conversation with a person in such a position must have been full of stimulation. It is also odd that they had a secret conversation late into the night because they “just happened to see each other. It can be inferred that it was a wise exchange of information that forced him to make a decision in the national interest while carefully ruminating on the depths of the conversation and becoming deeply excited.
I wonder if he was deeply interested in and trained to think about such sensitive matters with foreign countries. It can be said that they were cultivating their imagination filled with reality, wondering what might happen if Baekje and Japan fought each other. At the very least, we can read from this image of Prince Shotoku as a gentle and realistic politician, which is quite different from the image of Prince Shotoku as a saintly prince who devoted his life to the introduction of Buddhism.
This episode may have revealed the true nature of the man who later practiced realist diplomacy in pursuit of the national interest at the very last minute, as in “The place where the sun rises…”. It is precisely because he was a man who possessed both purity and turbidity that he was able to build peaceful international relations. The policy of accepting Buddhism as the foundation of Japan’s national identity as a state that protects and defends the nation has taken root in Japan, and the Japanese people’s appreciation of Prince Shotoku, the political leader who introduced this basic framework, has risen to the level of religious faith. We are reminded that the people’s appreciation of Shotoku Taishi’s foresight and talent as a statesman was also profound and enormous.

Posted on 6月 2nd, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 日本社会・文化研究, 歴史探訪 | No Comments »

【少年聖徳太子 同時に10人の話を理解？ 法隆寺宝物館-4】



さて、聖徳太子絵伝の中身・内容に分け入ってみよう。
写真のこのシーンが有名な「同時に10人の話をそれぞれに明瞭に聞き分け、理解していた」という常人を超えた太子の天才能力の発露とされる説話。子ども同士の会話であり内容自体はたわいのない日常的話題だっただろうから大略の内容は把握していたことはわかるけれど、しかし10人というのはやはり驚く。現代では「聞く力」をキャッチに使う人物もいるが（笑）。
そしてこういう説話を壁画全体の中でいちばん最初の隻に配置させたことで、聖徳太子の事跡全体にインパクトを一気通貫させる意味合いが込められたのだろう。後世の人間としては、太子没後400年近くになった平安時代の人びとにこのようにアナウンスして、それが以後の民族史全体に情報拡散されて一定の信用性を持っていた事実が面白い。


上の写真は全体として５隻10幅（５せき10ぷく。壁面絵画として３面の壁面に各部が配置されている）である壁面画のうちの第１隻。このなかで矢印の位置に、聖徳太子11歳のときの事跡として子どもたちと車座になって談笑している様子が描かれている。
この日本社会に登場した「絵伝」というものが果たした役割として、始原的な「情報メディア」であったことがよくわかる。絵伝という情報伝達形式は四天王寺などがこの時代までに活用していたという。仏教というものが日本社会に深く根付いていった過程で、このような伝達ツールについても独自開発・進化していったものと考えられる。
はじめは中国仏教の絵画形式が日本社会に導入されたといわれるけれど、やがて日本独自の「やまと絵」スタイルが確立してこのような形式に至っていたとのこと。そのように見てみると、この全体的な「迷宮のような事跡ニュース配置形式」は、現代の新聞などのメディアの「記事配置」と照合しているというようにもとらえることができるかと。
識字普及率が江戸期のようには高くないことがあきらかな平安時代、こういったメディアスタイルの採用には蓋然性が高いと思う。先日、迷宮のようなユニークな形式と絵伝について評した米識者の意見を書いたけれど、現代の新聞メディアでもそれぞれの情報について印象操作するために紙面に大きくバランス付けをしている。よく似ているのではないだろうか。雑誌人としては意図がよくわかる。
じっくり見てくるとここのように情報メディアである意味合いがつよく感じられてくる。日本で鎮護国家思想が貫徹され成功裡に仏教が国民に根付いていった過程には、こういう情報伝達についての進化発展が大きく与っていたと言えるのだろうと思う。
もちろん印刷拡散という段階ではなく法隆寺の一建築内でのコーナー展示であり、それもたぶん一般民衆よりも支配階級向けのものであったとはいえ、太子の少年らしい表情の表現は深い好感をひとびとに、体験型のメディアとして時間を掛けて情報拡散されていったのではないか。

English version⬇

Shotoku Taishi: Understanding Ten People’s Stories at the Same Time? The Gallery of Horyuji Treasures-4
I was tempted to say, “Really?” (laugh), but the expression on the cute boy’s face was so deeply favorable that it permeated the history of the people. …

Now, let’s take a look at the contents of the Shotoku Taishi Pictorial Biography.
This scene in the photo is the famous story of Prince Shotoku’s genius, which is said to have been manifested in his ability to hear and understand 10 people’s conversations at the same time, which is beyond ordinary people. The conversation was between children, and the content itself was probably a trivial everyday topic, so it is clear that he had a general grasp of the content, but 10 people is still astonishing. In modern times, some people use the “power of listening” as a catchphrase (laugh).
The placement of these stories on the first ship in the entire mural painting is probably meant to convey the impact of the whole of Prince Shotoku’s life. As a person of later generations, it is interesting to know that this kind of announcement to the people of the Heian period, nearly 400 years after the death of Prince Shotoku, was spread throughout the entire history of the people and had a certain degree of credibility.

The photo above shows the first of the five vessels (5 seki-10puku, each section of which is arranged on three walls as a wall painting). The photo above shows the first of the five vessels and ten panels (5 seki 10 puku, each section of which is arranged on three walls as a wall painting). In this painting, the arrow indicates that Prince Shotoku was 11 years old when he was sitting in a circle with his children and chatting with them.
The role played by the pictorial tradition in Japanese society can be clearly seen as a primitive form of “media. The pictorial tradition was utilized by Shitennoji Temple and others by this time. As Buddhism became deeply rooted in Japanese society, it is thought that such a communication tool was developed and evolved in its own way.
It is said that Chinese Buddhist painting styles were first introduced into Japanese society, but eventually a uniquely Japanese “Yamato-e” style was established, leading to this form of painting. In this way, the overall “labyrinthine news layout” can be seen as a reference to the “article layout” of modern newspapers and other media.
In the Heian period, when it was clear that the literacy rate was not as high as in the Edo period, it is highly probable that this kind of media style was adopted. The other day, I wrote about the opinion of an American expert who described the unique labyrinth-like format of the pictorial traditions, but even today’s newspaper media heavily balance their pages to manipulate the impression of each piece of information.
If you take a closer look at it, you will realize that it is a media of information. I think it is fair to say that the development of this type of information transmission contributed greatly to the process by which the idea of the state as a guardian nation was carried through in Japan and Buddhism successfully took root among the Japanese people.
Of course, the exhibition was not at the stage of being printed and disseminated, but rather it was a corner exhibition within a building of Horyuji Temple, and although it was probably intended for the ruling class rather than the general public, the boyish expressions on the Taishi’s face were deeply appreciated by people, and the information was disseminated over time as an experiential medium.

Posted on 6月 1st, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 日本社会・文化研究, 歴史探訪 | No Comments »

【聖徳太子がモデル？仏像２体 法隆寺宝物館-3】



奈良の東大寺大仏など公開されているものもあるけれど、法隆寺の本尊仏像というのはわたしは見たことがなかった。なんとなくボーッと見ていたのか（笑）。一方で飛鳥寺では本堂に入ったらすぐに「飛鳥大仏」さんが迎えてくれる。気軽に迎えてくれる感じで、止利仏師作と伝わるその表情がなんとも言えずに好きになった。で、今回デジタル法隆寺宝物館展示で、紹介されていた「釈迦三尊像」の中心の仏様の表情を見てこちらも、やはり止利仏師作という説に審美眼的に確信を持てた次第。
なにがどうとは言えないけれど全体としての雰囲気に共通性を感じさせられる。やはり顔の造作、作られよう、バランス感覚的に共通項がきわめて多く、親和性を感じる。
写真上が釈迦三尊で下が飛鳥大仏。飛鳥大仏の方が先に作られその評判から、同じ制作者に発注されたのかと推測できる。止利仏師は鞍作鳥という名前の示すとおり、本来は乗馬用の鞍の制作がかれの本業だったそうだが、仏教伝来期の専門家不足からなのか、その制作レベルの高さを見込まれ、あるいはむしろこの仕事のために半島から移住したかして、これらの仏像制作に当たったとされてきた。
この国家事業の発注責任者だった聖徳太子自身がその仏像モデルではないかというのが一般的な通説。だとすれば、飛鳥寺大仏も聖徳太子の支援者であった「蘇我氏」によって造営された最初期の仏教寺院とされるので符合する部分があるのでしょうか。

飛鳥寺の創建は596年。593年に聖徳太子が推古天皇の摂政となり、その後法隆寺の創建は607年。
この時代の大きな動乱としては587年7月の崇仏派と排仏派の戦いがある。崇仏派の蘇我馬子は排仏派の物部守屋追討軍を派遣して厩戸皇子（聖徳太子）などの皇族や諸豪族の軍兵を率いて河内国渋川郡の守屋の館へ進軍しこれを討ち果たした。この結果、仏教導入が国策決定し飛鳥寺、四天王寺、法隆寺などの国家的寺院建設事業が旺盛に始められることになった。
この時代、事実上仏教が世界宗教として隆盛し同時にアジア世界に強大な隋・唐の統一国家が出現したことに対応して、崇仏派はその世界共通思想基盤としての仏教を国策導入しようとしたのだと思う。
外圧に対して対抗していくには積極的に導入して対外関係を強固にすべきという勢力。一方で既存の分権的国家でいいと考える勢力・物部氏一派との対立だったのか。その後の日本の歩みを見てもこういう政治選択・二元論は常にあった。
こうして国内争闘に勝利した崇仏派であった聖徳太子だが、一方かれが派遣した遣隋使・小野妹子に日本は隋と同等国であるとしたたかに宣命させる。「日出る処の天子、書を日没する処の天子に致す。つつがなきや」と。隋の皇帝はその不逞な態度に怒ったとされるが、国際関係では高句麗対応の必然性もあって事実経緯としては日本の独立性は尊重された。外交的には勝利を得たと言えるだろう。
開明派でありながら、外交では独立対等外交にこだわったのだ。むしろこのあたりが聖徳太子が長く日本人に愛され崇拝されてきた大きな理由なのではないか。大陸国家に対してどう向き合うのか、それがいまに至るも日本という国のアイデンティティの骨格部分なのかも知れない。

English version⬇

Two Buddhist Statues Modeled after Shotoku Taishi? Two Buddhist statues, The Gallery of Horyuji Treasures-3
Two of the earliest works in the art genre of Buddhist statues in Japan. The admiration for their models. The role they played in imprinting the teachings of Buddhism on the minds of the Japanese people. The role they played in imprinting the teachings of Buddhism in the hearts of the Japanese people.

Some of the statues, such as the Great Buddha of Todaiji Temple in Nara, are open to the public, but I had never seen the main statue of Buddha at Horyuji Temple. I guess I was just kind of staring at it in a daze (laughs). On the other hand, in Asukadera Temple, you are greeted by the “Great Buddha of Asuka” as soon as you enter the main hall. I felt welcomed easily, and I liked the expression on his face, which is said to have been made by Buddhist priest Toributsuji. And when I saw the expression of the Buddha in the center of the “Shakyamuni Sanzon Zo” that was on display at the Digital Gallery of Horyuji Treasures, I was aesthetically convinced that it was also made by the master.
I cannot say what it is about the statues, but the overall atmosphere of the statues is similar. The facial features, the way they are made, and the sense of balance have a lot in common, and I feel a sense of affinity with them.
The upper photo shows the three images of Shakyamuni and the lower photo shows Asuka Daibutsu. The Asuka Daibutsu was built before the Shakyamuni Buddha, and its reputation leads us to assume that the same creator was commissioned to make the Asuka Daibutsu. As the name “Kurazakudori” suggests, the original saddle maker’s main occupation was to make saddles for horseback riding, but it is said that he was expected to produce these Buddhist statues because of the shortage of specialists during the period of the arrival of Buddhism, or because of his high level of production, or rather because he emigrated from the peninsula to do this work.
The general consensus is that Prince Shotoku himself, who was in charge of ordering this national project, may have been the model for these Buddhist statues. If so, is there a point of coincidence since the Asukadera Great Buddha is also considered to be the first Buddhist temple built by the “Soga clan,” which was a supporter of Prince Shotoku?

Asuka-ji Temple was built in 596; Prince Shotoku became regent of Emperor Suiko in 593, and Horyu-ji Temple was built later in 607.
One of the major upheavals of this period was the battle between the Chūbutsu and Exclusionist factions in July 587. Soga Umako, a member of the Chūbutsu faction, dispatched an army to defeat Mononobe Moriya, a member of the Zeng-butsu faction, and led a military force of the Imperial Family, including Prince Umamado (Prince Shotoku) and other powerful clansmen, to Moriya’s mansion in Shibukawa County, Kawachi Province. As a result, the introduction of Buddhism became a national policy, and national temple construction projects such as Asukadera, Shitennoji, and Horyu-ji were vigorously undertaken.
In this period, Buddhism virtually flourished as a world religion, and at the same time, the powerful united states of Sui and Tang appeared in the Asian world.
The Chongbulists believed that in order to oppose external pressure, they should actively introduce Buddhism to strengthen their foreign relations. On the other hand, was this a confrontation between the Mononobe clan and those who thought that the existing decentralized state was sufficient? Looking at Japan’s subsequent history, this kind of political choice and dualism has always existed.
Prince Shotoku, who was a member of the Chōbutsu faction, was thus victorious in the domestic struggle, but he had his envoy to the Sui Dynasty, Ono Imoko, declare that Japan was a nation on par with the Sui Dynasty. The Prince of Heaven where the sun rises and the book is given to the Prince of Heaven where the sun sets. This will be done without fail. The Sui Dynasty emperor is said to have been angered by this intransigent attitude, but in international relations, Japan’s independence was respected as a matter of fact, partly due to the necessity of dealing with the Goguryeo Dynasty. Diplomatically, it can be said that Japan won a victory.
Although he was an open-minded man, he insisted on independent and equal diplomacy in foreign affairs. In fact, this may be a major reason why Prince Shotoku has long been loved and worshipped by the Japanese people. How to deal with a continental nation may be the backbone of Japan’s identity to this day.

Posted on 5月 31st, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 歴史探訪 | No Comments »

【デジタル「聖徳太子絵伝」 in 法隆寺宝物館-2】


昨日建築を紹介した「法隆寺宝物館」。東京上野の東京国立博物館敷地の奥にある展示施設。明治11年に法隆寺から皇室に献上された宝物群を展示公開。いわば国民共有の文化財産。当然、私的所有という概念には似つかわしいものではなく、すべて共有されている。歴史的に貴重な知的文化資産を民が共有し、その価値感を進化発展させるのは民主主義の基本だと思う。
宝物館には多数の仏像などの品々が展示されているけれど、ちょうど訪問したとき「聖徳太子絵伝」のデジタル公開が行われていた。日本人と法隆寺、そしてその核心に存在する「聖徳太子信仰」がいきなり直球で展示されていた。
日本の王権が諸外国のような革命政変ではなく、比較的に温和なカタチで王権と政権の分離というような柔軟な政権交代を実現してきた根源には「鎮護国家」思想の成功、広い民衆の支持があると思う。「篤く三宝を敬え」とされる仏教政策を順守してきたことで、社会崩壊の危機を乗り越えてきた。皇統が少なくとも千数百年存続してきたことは、世界の奇跡。聖徳太子はその実在について論争があるけれど、王権の正統性根拠において枢要な存在だと思う。


その太子の生涯を伝える「聖徳太子絵伝」は1069年・平安時代に制作された絵画。上の絵はデジタル処理された現存の絵伝の内の一幅。多数の太子の事跡が時系列がやや前後しながらまるで迷路のように描画されている。アメリカの哲学者、ネルソン・グッドマン氏によると「全体として60の事跡がねじれた物語として構成されている」。不思議な絵画構成感覚といえるだろうか。
法隆寺創建（607年）からは相当の歴史経過を経ている。この時期に法隆寺では「舎利殿」とともに「絵殿」が新設され、その絵殿にこの絵画が障壁画のようにぐるっと一覧展示されていたのだとされる。

いまは模画が法隆寺絵殿に写真のように展示されているという。法隆寺の記録にはこの制作経緯についても明確な記述があり、絵師は摂津国大波郷の住人・秦致貞と明記されている。
まことにタイムトラベル風に時代回想を呼び起こされる（笑）。世は藤原氏の摂関政治全盛期ということができる。天皇家王権は象徴的存在であり、それを統御するシステムとして貴族層の頂点に藤原氏が存在していた時代。ただ、そういう藤原氏の政権独占に対して院政を対置して王権の執政回復を狙った白河帝がこの時期、皇太子になっている。やがて武士の興隆を招く直前の時代だろう。
そういう時代の中で、法隆寺としては日本仏教の根源地として、その創建に深く関わった聖徳太子の事跡を広く広報することで、日本社会での格別な地位を維持発展させようとしたものだろうか。また、平安後期には成立していた「郷絵師」秦致貞という存在にも強く興味を掻き立てられる。〜以下つづく。
＜参考／金沢美術工芸大学紀要・大田昌子氏「法隆寺絵殿本・聖徳太子絵伝の語りの構造」＞

English version⬇

Digital “Shotoku Taishi E biography” in The Gallery of Horyuji Treasures-2
The miraculous acceptance of Buddhist thought in Japanese society as a “state of tranquility and protection”. What is the “faith” of Horyu-ji Temple and its founder, Prince Shotoku? …

The Gallery of Horyuji Treasures, whose architecture was introduced yesterday. This exhibition facility is located at the rear of the Tokyo National Museum grounds in Ueno, Tokyo. The museum exhibits and displays a group of treasures presented to the imperial family by Horyuji Temple in 1878. In other words, the treasures are the common property of the people. Naturally, it does not resemble the concept of private ownership, but is entirely shared. It is the basis of democracy for the people to share historically valuable intellectual and cultural assets and to evolve and develop their sense of value.
The Treasure House has many Buddhist statues and other items on display, and when I visited the museum, the “Shotoku Taishi Eden” was being digitally displayed. The Japanese people, Horyu-ji Temple, and the “Shotoku Taishi faith” that exists at the core of the temple were suddenly on display in a direct manner.
I believe that the success of the “Shinko-no-Kokoku” philosophy and the broad support of the people are at the root of the flexible change of government in Japan, where the separation of power and administration has been achieved in a relatively mild manner, rather than through revolutionary changes of government as in other countries. The adherence to the Buddhist policy of “reverence for the three treasures” has helped the country to overcome the crisis of social disintegration. The fact that the imperial lineage has survived for at least a thousand years is a miracle of the world. Although there is some controversy over the existence of Prince Shotoku, I think he is a pivotal figure in the basis of the legitimacy of royal authority.

The “Shotoku Taishi E biography” tells the story of the life of Prince Shotoku, a painting created in 1069 during the Heian period (794-1185). The painting above is one of the existing digitally processed paintings. It is a labyrinth of numerous traces of the Taishi, with the chronological order of events slightly backward and forward. According to Nelson Goodman, an American philosopher, “Sixty events are arranged as a whole in a twisted narrative,” which is a curious sense of composition.
A considerable amount of history has passed since the founding of Horyuji Temple (607). It is said that the paintings were exhibited in the E-den (Picture Gallery), which was newly built along with the Shariden (Hall of Relics) at Horyu-ji during this period, and that the paintings were displayed in the E-den like a wall painting.

A reproduction of the painting is now on display in the Horyuji Picture Hall, as shown in the photo. The Horyuji record clearly describes how the painting was created, and the painter is clearly identified as Hata Chisada, a resident of Ohnami, Settsu Province.
It is truly a time traveler’s recollection of the times (laughs). The era can be said to be the heyday of the Fujiwara family’s regal government. The emperor’s royal authority was symbolic, and the Fujiwara clan existed at the top of the aristocratic class as a system to control it. However, the Emperor Shirakawa, who aimed to restore the royal regency by countering the Fujiwara’s monopoly of power with the Insei government, became the crown prince during this period. This was probably the period just before the rise of the samurai.
In such an era, Horyu-ji Temple, as the root of Buddhism in Japan, may have sought to maintain and develop its exceptional status in Japanese society by widely publicizing the memory of Prince Shotoku, who was deeply involved in its founding. The existence of Hata Chisada, a “goeji” painter who was established in the late Heian period, also arouses strong interest. To be continued.
＜Reference: Kanazawa College of Art Bulletin, Masako Ota, “Narrative Structure of the Illustrated Biography of Shotoku Taishi in the Horyuji Eden Hon” >.

Posted on 5月 30th, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 日本社会・文化研究 | No Comments »

【端正なモダニズム「法隆寺宝物館」探訪-1】


地方にいていちばん「格差」を感じざるを得ないのが、芸術とか文化性との距離感。面白いと思える展覧会とか、希少な展示などが地方で開かれる、公開されるというのはほぼない。
日本人に生まれて多少なりとも歴史とかに興味を持てば、法隆寺の宝物というものには一度は触れてみたいと思うものだと思います。まぁもちろん東京や近郊に住んでいても、興味がなければ行かないだろうけれど（笑）。わたしは上野の東京国立博物館での企画展示などは機会があれば、参観しています。
しかし、公園敷地のやや奥まった位置にあるこの「法隆寺宝物館」には足を運んでいなかった。先日、はじめてこの建物と遭遇して、内部も参観することができました。
建物は水盤越しに端正なモダニズムの外観で迎えてくれる。水盤の右側中央に動線通路があって、通っていくとちょっとした「結界」を感じさせてくれる。


シンプルなコンクリート建築で水盤に向かって大きく開口部があけられている。静謐な雰囲気を表現し展示物との出会いを坦々と演出してくれている。建築と展示の目的は案内写真の通り。
さすがに国家的な文化展示なので、写真撮影はストロボなどの手法を使わなければ、自由にできる。確認してから写真撮影させていただいた。その展示物写真群を自宅でときどき見返してみる機縁をいただけるのはたいへんありがたい。現物と接してそのあと、丹念にその情報を反芻して深く理解できるというのは素晴らしい体験機会。
ちょうど聖徳太子に関する「絵伝」をデジタル技術を活用して展示していて、強く興味を惹かれた。日本人がふつうにリスペクトしてきた精神性部分がこういった展示物には凝集されているのでしょう。
建築としては訪問者の心理をしずかに落ち着かせるような仕掛けを感じさせられました。
いろいろな機能性が建築にはあるでしょうが、これはこれ。日本人と法隆寺という関係性には似つかわしい空間性だったように思います。展示物の参観に十分集中することができました。

PS：昨日６回目のワクチン接種。いろいろ考え方もあるでしょうが、わたし自身としては加齢のこともあり、社会的にご迷惑を掛けないようにと受けた次第。副反応の軽微なることを願う次第。

English version⬇

Exploring the Neat Modernism of the Gallery of Horyuji Treasures
Japanese people have had a long relationship with Buddhism. The treasures in the museum are a collection of the history of Buddhism. The treasures are an opportunity to talk with the ancestors who believed in Buddhism rather than to talk with the treasures. The Treasure House of Horyuji Temple

One of the biggest “disparities” I feel when I am in a rural area is the distance between art and culture. There are almost no interesting or rare exhibitions held or exhibited in the countryside.
If you are Japanese and have some interest in history, you would like to see the treasures of Horyuji at least once. Of course, even if you live in Tokyo or the suburbs, you probably wouldn’t go if you weren’t interested (laughs). I visit the special exhibitions at the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno whenever I have the chance.
However, I had not visited the Gallery of Horyuji Treasures, which is located in a slightly secluded part of the park grounds. The other day, I encountered this building for the first time and was able to visit the interior as well.
The building greets visitors with a neat modernist exterior over a water basin. There is a flow passage in the center of the right side of the water basin, which gives you a bit of a “boundary” as you walk through.

It is a simple concrete structure with a large opening toward the water table. It expresses a tranquil atmosphere and provides a peaceful encounter with the exhibits. The purpose of the architecture and exhibits is as shown in the guide photo.
As this is indeed a national cultural exhibition, visitors are free to take photos as long as they do not use strobe lights or other techniques. I was allowed to take pictures after checking it out. I was very grateful to have the opportunity to look back at the photos of the exhibits from time to time at home. It is a wonderful experience to be able to come in contact with the actual objects and then carefully ruminate on the information and understand it in depth.
I was fascinated by the exhibition of the “Pictorial Biographies of Prince Shotoku,” which utilizes digital technology. I believe that the spirituality that Japanese people have usually respected is concentrated in such exhibits.
As for the architecture, I felt that it was designed to calm the visitor’s mind.
There may be various functionalities in architecture, but this is one of them. I think the spatiality was appropriate for the relationship between the Japanese people and Horyu-ji Temple. I was able to fully concentrate on visiting the exhibits.

PS: Yesterday I was vaccinated for the sixth time. I am sure there are various ways of thinking about it, but for myself, I received the vaccine because of my aging and in order not to cause any inconvenience to the society. I hope that the adverse reactions will be minimal.

Posted on 5月 29th, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 日本社会・文化研究 | 19 Comments »

【木質・自然系デザイン in　新木場駅周辺】


先日の東京ビッグサイトでのAIイベント出張時、都内と会場との往復移動でどうしたらいいかと考えた結果、はじめて「新木場駅」を経由することにした。ちょうど会場往復後の訪問先のことを考慮してクルマを借りていたので、新木場駅周辺での駐車場に入庫後、往復に出掛けた。
で、駐車場が地下だったのでいったん１階に上がって駅に向かおうとしたら、上の写真のようなフロントディスプレイに遭遇した。一見して、皇居のような巨大な森が窓越しに見えるかと錯覚した。
しかしよく見ると、これは木製の額縁で仕切って壁面緑化手法で自然の植物なのだと気付かされた。その生命感が新鮮で、単に自然から切り取って貼り付けました，という様子ではない。しっかりとこの体勢で「根付いて」いて、その状態で新鮮な発芽があり枝葉が生育しているのだと望見できた。
壁面緑化という手法によってコンクリートで固めた現代建築が醸し出す空気感に「うるおい」を与えようという試みをよく見聞きしていたけれど、それは一定の自然光受容があって成立すると思っていた。それに対してこれはものすごく「自然」に馴染んでいるのだけれど、どう考えても室内なのでよく考えると「不思議」感はあった。
そう考えてさらによく見てみると、どうも採用されている植物群は玄関のガラス面からの微弱な太陽光でもそれなりに生育可能なものなのかも知れないと想像できた。
壁面緑化というのは、東京のような極度密集地域では面積を必要としないで自然を復元させていくためのひとつの「解」でもあると思うので、こういった試みは大変有意義だと思った次第。少なくともわたしのようなエトランゼにも、強い好感として伝わった。

このビルを出てみたら、今度はとなりのビルではこんな試みも行われていた。木質建材によるコンクリート建築への「付加」外皮の様子。機能としては日射遮蔽のひとつの手法なのだろうと思える。コンクリートだけが外皮を構成するのと比べると、やはり人間の目にうるおい感は感じさせられる。
たぶん都の防火の規定でも一定の「外壁後退」が確保されれば木質建材使用は条件クリアすることができるのだろう。
壁面緑化にせよ木質外皮にせよ、こういった試みは大いに盛り上がって欲しい。昔の江戸の街では町人街で植木鉢などの連続などのちょっとした工夫で緑の演出がされていた様子が伝えられている。最近のこういった都市緑化の挑戦は、江戸期からのDNAが復権してきているようにも感じる。

English version⬇

Woody and natural design in Shinkiba Station area
In the tenement district of Edo (1603-1867), flowerpots were lined up along the street to ensure greenery that was easy on the human eye, based on the concept of mutual aid. There is no reason why such wisdom and ingenuity cannot be applied today. …

On a recent business trip to an AI event at Tokyo Big Sight, I wondered what I should do when traveling to and from the venue in Tokyo, and decided to go via “Shinkiba Station” for the first time. I had rented a car in consideration of my destination after the event, so I parked at a parking lot around Shinkiba Station and went out for the round trip.
As the parking lot was underground, I went up to the first floor to go to the station and encountered a front display like the one in the photo above. At first glance, I was under the illusion that I could see a huge forest like the Imperial Palace through the windows.
However, upon closer inspection, I realized that these were natural plants, partitioned by wooden frames and using the wall-greening technique. The sense of life is fresh and fresh, and it does not look as if it were simply cut from nature and pasted on the wall. It was firmly “rooted” in this position, and I could see fresh germination and growth of branches and leaves in this state.
I have often seen and heard of attempts to give “moisture” to the atmosphere created by modern concrete-framed buildings through the use of wall greening, but I had thought that such attempts were only possible with a certain amount of natural light. In contrast, this work is very much in tune with “nature,” but it is indoors, so when I thought about it more closely, I felt a sense of “strangeness.
After thinking about it and looking at it more closely, I could imagine that the plant group employed might be able to grow to a certain extent even in the weak sunlight coming from the glass surface of the entrance.
I think that wall greening is one of the “solutions” to restore nature in extremely dense areas such as Tokyo without requiring a large area. At least, even for an étranger like myself, I felt a strong positive impression of the project.

When I left this building, I found that the building next to it was also experimenting with the following. This is a view of an “added” exterior skin to a concrete building using wood building materials. It seems to me that this is a method of shielding the building from the sun. Compared to a building with an exterior skin composed only of concrete, it still gives a sense of lusciousness to the human eye.
Perhaps the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s fire prevention regulations also allow the use of wooden building materials as long as a certain amount of “exterior wall setback” is secured.
Whether it is wall greening or a wooden skin, I would like to see these kinds of attempts gain a lot of momentum. In the old days in Edo (old name for Tokyo), the streets of the townspeople’s districts were decorated with greenery through a series of flowerpots and other small efforts. I feel that these recent attempts at urban greening are restoring the DNA that has been present since the Edo period.

Posted on 5月 28th, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 日本社会・文化研究 | No Comments »

【ゲリラ開催、社長食堂・臨増「カツオたたき篇」】




さて住宅についてのわかりやすい情報の編集・加工生産プロセス、大車輪で作業中であります。わが社は感染症以降、リモートワークを積極的に導入して「あたらしい働き方」に移行してきていて、そういう環境下での生産性のコントロールに取り組んできています。
それはそれでいいのですが、社長食堂というような取り組みはなかなか再起動させるのがスムーズには行かない。全スタッフが一堂に会してワイワイというのはリモートワーク体制ではなかなか調整がたいへん。しかし、仕事のONのコミュニケーションはそれでいいとしても、いわば意識をOFFにしての会話機会も得がたい全的コミュニケーションが可能。
そういうことなので、ムリせず「できるときにやる」ということにしての臨時開催。
わたし自身はリモート体制下でも、魚の捌き方を余市の魚屋さんに弟子入り（笑）して、手ずから教えていただき、見よう見まね、たのしく修行中。お魚は常時買い置き、解体、さばいているので、急遽開催でも対応可能。
そういうことなので、きのうは全部で９名のスタッフが出社しているなか、お昼ご飯にカツオたたき＆ソイ刺身＆ドデカおにぎり製造・提供いたしました。
カツオたたきでは、わたしはぜひ「藁焼き」に挑戦したいと思っているのですが、カミさんと娘から「そんなメンドいことはやめよ！」という厳しいレッドカード警告。やむなくキャンプ用のバーナー装備での焼きこがしという手法で取り組んでみました。しばらくぶりでYouTube動画にアップしてリンクを張っておきましたが、見ていただけるものかどうか。早送りでご覧ください。
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KI0Kxq0fRs
カツオは先日札幌市内のお店でかわいい姿を見かけて、その愛らしさと値段の手頃さ（たしか記憶では１匹7-800円）に惹かれて、動画解説をみながら解体して、冷凍保存させていました。家族で食べまして、準備訓練はしていたので、急遽対応でも問題なし。バーナーでの炙りはカツオの皮の焼けっぷりが楽しいのでスタッフを呼んで見てもらった次第。煉瓦と網だけのワイルド調理。
久しぶりのスタッフの屈託ない笑顔を見られました。これからもときどきゲリラ的に好き勝手に臨時開催で料理の腕を少しずつ上げていきたいと思います。やるぞ！

English version⬇

Guerrilla event, President’s Dining Hall, Rinzou “Katsuo-no-Tataki” (Bonito Tataki)
The straw grill is a mendacious thing, and a camp burner-like device can be used for multiple purposes. The smiling face of food that supports information production. The smile of food that supports the production of information.

We are working hard on the process of editing and processing easy-to-understand information about housing. Since the infection, our company has been actively introducing remote work and moving to a “new way of working,” and we have been working to control productivity in such an environment.
That is all well and good, but it is not easy to smoothly restart such an initiative as the president’s cafeteria. It is difficult to coordinate a remote work system where the entire staff can get together and have a good time. However, while this is fine for on-the-job communication, it is also possible to have a conversation with the staff with their minds off the job, so to speak, and have a chance to communicate with the entire staff in a way that is unobtainable.
Therefore, I decided to hold this event on a temporary basis when I could, without being unreasonable.
Even though I am working remotely, I have apprenticed myself to a fishmonger in Yoichi, who taught me how to process fish, and I am learning as I go along. We always have a supply of fish on hand, so we are always ready to serve even if we need to hold a party on short notice.
So yesterday, with a total of nine staff members at work, we made and served bonito tataki, sashimi of sea bream, and huge rice balls for lunch.
As for the bonito tataki, I would love to try the straw-roasted bonito, but my wife and daughter gave me a stern red card warning: “Don’t do such a tedious thing! I was given a stern red card warning by my wife and daughter, “Don’t do such a tedious thing! I had no choice but to try it with a camping burner. I uploaded the video on YouTube and put a link to it, but I’m not sure if you can watch it or not. Please watch it in fast forward.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KI0Kxq0fRs
I saw a cute little bonito at a store in Sapporo the other day and was attracted by its loveliness and affordability (7-800 yen per fish, as I recall), so I dismantled it and had it frozen while watching the video commentary. We ate it as a family, and since we had done the preparation training, it was no problem to deal with it on short notice. Searing the bonito on the burner was a fun way to see how the skin of the bonito was burned, so I called the staff over to watch. Wild cooking with only bricks and nets.
It had been a while since I saw the carefree smiles on the staff’s faces. I would like to continue to improve my cooking skills little by little by holding occasional guerrilla-style events as I please. Let’s do it!

Posted on 5月 27th, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: おとこの料理＆食 | No Comments »

【魂はふるさとの土に帰る〜間宮林蔵生家-11】




さて長く間宮林蔵さんの事跡に沿って連載記事になってしまいました。人間と住宅、それも北海道に深く関係した歴史的人物についてのことだったので、実際に現地を訪れられたことをきっかけにして思わず深掘りすることになりました。
で、間宮林蔵生家から歩いて数分の場所には間宮家の菩提寺「専称寺」もあって一隅にある「間宮家」の墓参することもできた。要するにその人物の誕生から墓場まで一覧できたという印象を持てた。
ながく待望されてようやく授かったひとり息子。愛情に恵まれて育ったかれは神童と呼ばれ、幕府の土木工事に際して才気あふれる提案をして採用されると同時に、その器量を見込まれて、幕府に出仕してその理工系の才気を活かして、折からの北辺の危機状況の打開のための調査活動に身命を捧げ、日本を救うような決定的な事跡を残した。そして幕臣としての定めに生きて江戸で死去した。
この墓は、かれが樺太探検に向かう前に専称寺の一隅に生前葬というようなカタチで自分の墓を建てたものだという。墓に記された「間宮林蔵墓」の文字はかれが自筆したものだと伝わっている。ひとり息子でありながら家を継ぐことができない親不孝をわび、生家には親族からの養子を取って継がせて、自分は「死んだ」ことにして墓を建てた。ということか、あるいは北辺の樺太探検に向かうのにその「決死」の覚悟から、そのようにしたのか。伝わってくる心事はどちらもあったのだろう。ただ間宮林蔵には北海道でアイヌ女性との縁があって、その子孫も現存されているという。最近明らかになったとのこと。
この墓の隣には両親の墓も建ててある。生まれ育った家で与えられた愛情に深く感謝し、その両親と共に眠っている様子がなんともほほえましくもあり、一方でその無念の心事も伝わってくる。
しかし、人間、その生まれた家の近くの土地、ふるさとの景色の中に土塊となって眠るというのは、ひとつの理想型でもあるように思える。林蔵少年はこの専称寺の住職から読み書き算盤を学んだのだという。地域の中で人材を育んだ様子もわかる。写真に見えるお寺の生け垣の外には川が流れ、その川は絶えることなくこの地の農業を支え続けているのだろう。そしてこの川で魚を捕ったりもしたことだろう。まさに故郷。

住宅メディアの仕事をしてきている自分ですが、こういういわば揺りかごから墓場までという、家と人間のルポというタイプの「取材」は得がたい体験。家は人間のくらしの器であり、そのこころを揺籃するものだということが現実体験できた気分。
自分が加齢してくるとだんだんこういう住宅行脚、ルポが興味深くなってくる。

English version⬇

The Soul Returns to the Soil of the Hometown – Rinzo Mamiya’s Birthplace – 11
The soil of his hometown, where he learned to read, write, and do arithmetic and where his character was nurtured, concludes his life. The scene of his eternal rest, embraced by the love of his parents and the land. …

Well, it has been a long series of articles along the trail of Rinzo Mamiya. Since it was about a historical figure who was deeply related to human beings and houses, and also to Hokkaido, it was a good opportunity for me to actually visit the site. So, within a few minutes’ walk from Rinzo Mamiya’s birthplace, there was also a family temple of the Mamiya family called “Sensho-ji,” and I was able to visit the grave of the Mamiya family in a corner of the house. In short, I had the impression that I was able to see the entire history of the Mamiya family from its birth to its gravesite.
After a long wait, he finally had a son, an only child. He was called a child prodigy, and was called a child prodigy when he proposed a brilliant idea for a civil engineering project of the Shogunate, which was adopted. He left a decisive mark that saved Japan. He died in Edo (Tokyo), living up to his destiny as a shogunate vassal.
This tomb is said to have been erected in a corner of Senjyo-ji Temple before he left for Sakhalin expedition, as a kind of a prenatal burial. The words “Mamiya Rinzo Tomb” inscribed on the grave are said to be in his own handwriting. Rinzo Mamiya was sorry for his lack of filial piety as the only son who could not take over his family, so he adopted a son from his relatives to take over his family of birth and built his own grave, pretending that he was “dead”. Or, did he do this because he was determined to “die” on his way to explore Sakhalin on the northern frontier? Both of these may have been the message conveyed to the audience. However, Rinzo Mamiya had a connection with an Ainu woman in Hokkaido, and some of her descendants are said to be alive today. This has recently been revealed.
His parents’ graves were also erected next to this grave. It is heartwarming to see her resting with her parents, deeply grateful for the love they had given her in the house where she was born and raised, and at the same time, it conveys her regret.
It is an idealistic image of a human being to be laid to rest as a lump of earth in the landscape of his hometown, the land near the house where he was born. Rinzo learned to read, write, and do arithmetic from the priest of Senjyo-ji Temple. It also shows how the temple nurtured human resources in the community. Outside the walls of the temple, which can be seen in the photo, is a river, which continues to support the agriculture of the area. The people must have caught fish in this river. This is truly a hometown.

I have been working in the housing media, but this type of “reportage” on houses and people from cradle to grave is a rare experience for me. I felt as if I could actually experience that a house is a vessel for human life and a cradle for the soul of a person.
As I get older, this type of house tour and reportage becomes more and more interesting.

Posted on 5月 26th, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 住宅取材＆ウラ話 | No Comments »

【後半生の幕吏「隠密」活動〜間宮林蔵生家-10】




北海道・樺太の探索によって北辺の領土確定という国事に功をなした間宮林蔵。上の写真２枚はわたしの毎日の散歩道コース・参拝社である「開拓神社」（北海道神宮の末社）。ここでは北海道の現在のありようを規定した功績のあった人物37人の御柱が祀られている。間宮は上段の左から２人目に上げられている。
ほかには高田屋嘉兵衛や伊能忠敬、松浦武四郎、最上徳内などの名前が記される。知らず知らず、こうした人物名とその事跡には強い興味を持ち続けているのは、毎日のこういう習慣が大きく深層心理に染み込んでいるのかも知れない。
このように永く顕彰されている間宮だけれど、後半生は幕吏としての立場に立っての事跡が知られている。ひとつが国禁とされていた日本地図を国外に持ち出したことで多くの幕臣とシーボルトが罰せられた「シーボルト事件」でのかれの行動。今日であれば、地図情報が国禁にされていたということの方が意味不明となるけれど、専制権力体制下である幕府機構としてはきわめて秘匿性の高い情報。国家主権の根幹に関わる事象だった。歴史性を強く帯びざるを得ないことがらだと言える。
北辺の国境線についての情報を幕吏として、いわば公益に資するものとして幕府にもたらしたことで、かれの立場は幕府内で強くなったことだろう。そういうなかで政治的に幕府の方針に従う行動を取るのは自然なのだろう。シーボルトから送られてきた書簡や小包を開封せずに幕府に提出して「異人に対して私的に交流することは国禁を冒すことになる」姿勢を示したと言われる。その結果、シーボルトに対して日本地図情報を提供した同輩幕吏の高橋景保は逮捕処刑され、シーボルトは国外追放処分を受ける。
その後のかれは「幕府隠密」活動の事跡を残している。晩年には西国大名への密偵活動が知られている。シーボルト事件は1828年でかれは49歳。そこから1844年65歳で江戸の自宅で死去するまでの時間に相当する。情報というものへの態度が歴史的に政治情勢で変動した。その狭間で起こり得た事象なのか。ちょうど時代は幕末の政治動乱期に突入していく。
しかしこういう背景事実もあるけれど、国外追放されたシーボルトはヨーロッパ世界に日本の北方域の地図を発表したとき「間宮海峡」と明確に紹介している。そもそもシーボルト自身もオランダ商館員という立場を持った情報工作員であったことも事実。
そういった立場としてシーボルトは間宮に対して、特段の感情を持っていたとは言えないだろう。むしろある種のリスペクトは持っていたに違いない。国際的な立場の違いだとも思える。後世の人間にはこうした行動への判断はしにくい。

English version⬇

Rinzo Mamiya’s Birthplace – 10
Rinzo Mamiya lived as a shogunate official from the Siebold Affair to his covert activities. However, he was later enshrined as a mihashira at the Kaitakushi Shrine. The…

Rinzo Mamiya, who made a great contribution to national affairs by exploring Hokkaido and Sakhalin to determine the territory of the northern part of Japan. The two photos above are of the Kaitakushi Shrine (a branch of the Hokkaido Shrine), which is my daily walking route and shrine. The shrine enshrines the 37 Gobashira, or “pillars,” of the people who made Hokkaido what it is today. Mamiya is the second person from the left in the upper row.
Other names on the shrine include those of Kahei Takataya, Tadataka Ino, Takeshiro Matsuura, Tokunai Mogami, and others. Perhaps it is because of this daily habit that I have always had a strong interest in the names of these people and their legacies, without even realizing it.
Although Mamiya has been honored for a long time in this way, his achievements in the latter half of his life as a shogunate official are well known. One example is his actions during the Siebold Incident, in which many shogunate officials and Siebold were punished for taking a map of Japan out of the country, which had been banned by the government. Today, it would be more meaningless to say that the map information was prohibited by the government, but it was highly confidential information for the Shogunate organization under the tyrannical power system. It was an event that involved the very foundation of the nation’s sovereignty. It can be said that this information has a strong historical significance.
As a bakufu official, he brought information about the northern border to the shogunate as something that would contribute to the public interest, and this must have strengthened his position within the shogunate. Under such circumstances, it was natural for him to act politically in accordance with the policies of the shogunate. It is said that he submitted letters and packages sent by Siebold to the Bakufu without opening them to show that “to communicate privately with a foreigner would be to violate the national prohibition. As a result, Takahashi Kageyasu, a fellow shogunate official who provided Siebold with information on Japanese maps, was arrested and executed, and Siebold was deported.
After that, he left traces of his “Shogunate covert” activities. In his later years, he was known to spy on the feudal lords of western Japan. The Siebold affair took place in 1828, when he was 49 years old. This corresponds to the time from 1828 to his death in 1844 at the age of 65 at his home in Edo. Attitudes toward information have historically fluctuated in political situations. Could this be an event that could have occurred in the intervening time? The period was just entering the period of political upheaval at the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate.
However, despite this background fact, when Siebold, who was exiled from Japan, presented a map of the northern area of Japan to the European world, he clearly introduced it as the “Straits of Mamiya”. It is also a fact that Siebold himself was an information agent with a position as a member of the Dutch trading post.
As such, it cannot be said that Siebold had any particular feelings toward Mamiya. Rather, he must have had a certain respect for him. It seems to me that this is a difference in international standing. It is difficult for future generations to judge such behavior.

Posted on 5月 25th, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 歴史探訪 | No Comments »

【北方探検成功に沸く世論と親への愛〜間宮林蔵生家-9】




幕末期以降に北海道に寄せられた日本国家・国民からの熱視線はすさまじいものだった。相次いだ列強諸国からの開国・侵略圧力の中で、日本社会は明治以降の開拓のための国民世論醸成を進めていたとも言える。いまに至っても北海道が一種「特別な地域」認識を持たれていることのルーツには、こういった心情の部分にあるのではないだろうか。いわば独立と国運を左右する寒冷気候との日本民族の戦い、その最前線的な。
間宮林蔵は「出世」を願ったとされるけれど、その出世とは沸騰する海外からの圧力に対して「国のために身を捧げたい」という内心からの発露だったと思える。
かれの北方探索の事跡は樺太の測量の成功と、その後のデレンでの対外接触によって一段落を迎えることになった。20歳からひたすら北方探索・測量に捧げた時間が32歳になった時点で「東韃地方紀行」「北夷分界餘話」「北蝦夷ヶ島地図」などが作成・報告書提出された。
写真は上梓された報告書。また、北方探索に当たってかれが愛用したとされる頭巾や毛布。いずれも温暖地・日本社会にとって異界ともいえる北海道・樺太・北東アジアの旅に欠かせない「防寒」グッズたち。単純に日本列島とは隔絶した寒帯気候に立ち向かった足跡が伝わってくる。
1811年、32歳になった段階で、これらの報告資料を幕府に提出して幕臣としての立場からの退職を願い出たとされている。・・・当時の「世論」のなかでかれの北方探索の功績を称える雰囲気は強かったに違いない。後に水戸藩主・徳川斉昭が自藩での北海道開発を構想したとき、その情報の第一人者である間宮をいわば師範として招聘した事実が残っている。たぶんかれの事跡に対しての賛辞が世論として盛り上がっていたことが想像される。
一方でこうした国事への「奉公」に一段落付けたいという心情には父母の様子が気に掛かる、農家の一人っ子としての心情があったようにも思える。

この書簡はかれが国事に奔走するに当たって保証人・養父の立場として支援した隣村の有力者・飯沼甚兵衛に宛てて幕府奉公して６年後、任地蝦夷地から送ったもの。故郷に残った父母を心配する心情が書かれていると。かれの経歴を見るとこの翌年、23歳時点で一度「病気」で職を辞している。そしてその翌年には「病が癒えて」復職している。
想像だけれど、両親の健康と家の存続のことなどに悩んでその整理整頓を果たそうとしたのではないかと。故郷の「間宮家」には養子縁組がされ、かれ自身は江戸に本拠を移している。
・・・どうも間宮林蔵の事跡を辿ると熱が入ってしまう（笑）。本来は住宅がテーマのブログですが北海道人としてこの地に多くの人が住み始めた始原期のことが自然に知りたくなる。以前明治期の北海道開拓と寒冷地住宅事始めみたいなブログ探究をした経緯から、この間宮林蔵たちが活躍した先史部分にも、つい熱が入ってしまう次第です。ご容赦を。

English version⬇

Public Opinion and Love for Parents Boosted by Success of Northern Expedition – Rinzo Mamiya’s Birthplace – 9
The results of the Sakhalin expedition that reached Edo. The results of the survey that prevented Russian invasion. Amidst the outpouring of praise, Rinzo Mamiya’s heart yearns for the relatives he left behind in his hometown. …

Since the end of the Edo period, Hokkaido has been the focus of intense attention from the Japanese nation and its people. Amidst the pressure from a succession of powers to open the country to the outside world and invade, it can be said that Japanese society was fostering public opinion for the development of Hokkaido from the Meiji era onward. The fact that Hokkaido is still recognized as a “special region” may have its roots in this kind of sentiment. Hokkaido is the front line in the Japanese people’s battle against the cold climate, a battle that would determine the nation’s independence and national destiny.
Rinzo Mamiya is said to have wished to “rise in the world,” but it seems to me that his desire to rise in the world was an expression of his inner desire to “devote himself to the service of his country” in the face of the boiling pressure from abroad.
His exploration of the north came to an end with the successful survey of Sakhalin and his subsequent contact with the outside world in Deren, and at the age of 32, after devoting his entire time to exploring and surveying the north since the age of 20, he produced and submitted reports such as “Travels in the Eastern Lands,” “Hokiibunkai Buwa” and “Map of Northern Yezo Islands.
The photo shows the published reports. Also shown are the hoods and blankets he is said to have used during his exploration of the north. All of these “winter protection” goods were indispensable for his travels in Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and Northeast Asia, which were considered a different world from the warmer climate of Japanese society. They show the footprints of his efforts to confront the frigid climate, which was simply isolated from the Japanese archipelago.
It is said that in 1811, at the age of 32, he submitted these reported materials to the shogunate and asked for his retirement from his position as a shogunate retainer. …There must have been a strong atmosphere of admiration for his northern explorations in the “public opinion” of the time. Later, when Tokugawa Nariaki, the feudal lord of the Mito domain, conceived the idea of developing Hokkaido in his domain, he invited Mamiya, who was a leading authority on the subject, to serve as his mentor. It is likely that public opinion was in favor of Mamiya’s work.
On the other hand, it seems that Mamiya’s desire to settle down in his “service” to national affairs was also motivated by his concern for the condition of his parents as the only child of a farming family.

This letter was sent from Ezo to Iinuma Jinbei, an influential man from a neighboring village who supported him as a guarantor and foster father in his efforts to take care of national affairs, six years after he was appointed to the shogunate. The letter is said to express his concern for his parents who remained in his hometown. According to his biography, he resigned from his post the following year at the age of 23 due to an “illness. The following year, he “recovered from his illness” and returned to work.
I imagine that he was concerned about his parents’ health and the survival of the family, and tried to put things in order. He was adopted by the Mamiya family in his hometown, and he himself moved his home base to Edo.
I am very enthusiastic when I trace the history of Rinzo Mamiya (laugh). Although the theme of this blog is originally housing, as a person from Hokkaido, I naturally want to know about the early days when many people started to live in this area. I have previously written a blog about the development of Hokkaido in the Meiji period (1868-1912) and the beginning of cold-weather housing in Hokkaido, so I am also very passionate about the prehistoric period in which Rinzo Mamiya and his family were active. Please forgive me.

Posted on 5月 24th, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 歴史探訪 | No Comments »

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