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【四国「雲の上のまち」梼原と隈研吾のかかわり-1】




さて四国シリーズ、今回から建築家・隈研吾建築との出会い編であります。今回の四国旅では淡路での安藤忠雄建築、そして高知での竹林寺の堀部安嗣氏の建築を巡って、四国の山岳地域の梼原(ゆすはら)での多数の隈研吾建築群というように探訪したのです。
なかでも隈さんの建築が6つも集中的に建築されていて梼原のアイデンティティにまで昇華しているという。その様子を取材したいという動機にかられてもいた。
隈研吾建築については、これまでもいろいろ遭遇し記事にも取り上げてきています。わたしとしては北海道の十勝に建てられた「メーム」がいちばん印象に残っております。このブログの2012年6月15日と16日版で詳報しています。http://kochihen.replan.ne.jp/blog2/?p=6910 http://kochihen.replan.ne.jp/blog2/?p=6900 。ぜひごらんください。
アイヌチセにインスピレーションを受けて、化学的な建築外皮によってアイヌ語で湧水池を意味する「メム」と対比させながら風景としての建築を作っていた。


一方で、隈研吾といえば木を生命感に満ちた表情でデザインする手法が特徴的。そういう建築家としての原点として、この四国高知の山岳地・檮原の公民館舞台建築「ゆすはら座」とのかかわりを自ら語っている。以下、四国電力広報誌『ライト&ライフ』から要旨抜粋。氏はこの建物の保存運動に取り組んでいた地元建築家から強く誘われたという。
〜初めて梼原町を訪ねたとき、長いトンネルを抜けるとパッと別世界が現れたという不思議な感覚を抱きました。当時の私は「今後、自分はどんな建物を造ったらよいのか」と悩んでいました。それを払拭してくれたのが「ゆすはら座」。地域の人たちの建物への愛情と木造建築の素晴らしさを肌で感じ、自分がやるべきことの答えを見つけることができました。そして、足しげく梼原町へと通ううちに、当時の町長さんが「公衆トイレを設計してみますか」と声をかけてくれました。施主や職人さんと話し合いながら進めたその仕事が実に楽しくて、それが「雲の上のホテル」に結びついたのです。この町は私を初心に還らせてくれた場所であり、仕事で迷いが生じたときにはここで感じたこと、得た知恵を判断基準にしてきました。後に私は梼原町を「物差しのような場所」と呼ぶようになったのはそんな経緯があるからです。〜
上の写真3枚は、その「ゆすはら座」の様子。そういった経緯から少し集中的に「まちと建築家」との関わりとしてブログシリーズで掘り下げてみたいと思います。

English version⬇

Kengo Kuma’s Relationship with Yusuhara, Shikoku’s “City Above the Clouds”-1
Kengo Kuma’s buildings have been sublimated into the city’s identity. This is a record of an exploration of Yusuhara’s “Yusuhara-za,” which Kuma himself describes as his “starting point. Yusuhara

This is the Shikoku series, starting with an encounter with the architecture of architect Kengo Kuma. On this trip to Shikoku, I visited the architecture of Tadao Ando in Awaji, the Chikurinji temple in Kochi, and the many Kengo Kuma buildings in Yusuhara, a mountainous region of Shikoku.
Among them, six of Kuma’s buildings are concentrated in Yusuhara, and they have been sublimated into the identity of Yusuhara. I was also motivated to cover the situation.
I have encountered and written about Kengo Kuma’s architecture in a number of articles. For me, “Meme,” built in Tokachi, Hokkaido, left the strongest impression. I reported on it in detail in the June 15 and 16, 2012 editions of this blog.http://kochihen.replan.ne.jp/blog2/?p=6910 http://kochihen.replan.ne.jp/blog2/?p=6900 Please take a look.
Inspired by the Ainu chise, he created architecture as landscape, contrasting it with “mem,” the Ainu word for a spring-fed pond, by means of a chemical building envelope.

On the other hand, Kengo Kuma is known for his characteristic method of designing wood with a life-like expression. As the starting point of his work as an architect, Kuma himself talks about his involvement with the Yusuharaza community center stage building in Yusuhara, a mountainous area in Kochi, Shikoku. The following is an excerpt from “Light & Life,” a public relations magazine of Shikoku Electric Power Co. Mr. Yusuhara was strongly invited by a local architect who was working on a campaign for the preservation of this building.
〜When I visited Yusuhara for the first time, I had the strange sensation that I had exited a long tunnel and was suddenly in a different world. At the time, I was wondering, “What kind of buildings should I build in the future? Yusuhara-za” was the place that dispelled my doubts. I experienced firsthand the local people’s love for their buildings and the beauty of wooden architecture, and I was able to find the answer to what I needed to do. Then, as I frequently visited Yusuhara, the mayor of the town at the time asked me if I would like to design a public restroom. I really enjoyed working with the client and the craftsmen as we discussed the project, and that led to the “Hotel Above the Clouds” project. Whenever I had any doubts about my work, I used what I felt and the wisdom I gained here as the basis for my decisions. This is why I later came to call Yusuhara “a place like a yardstick. ~.
The three photos above are of the “Yusuhara-za. I would like to delve a little more intensively into this background in a blog series as a relationship between the town and architects.

【四国の清流・仁淀川と「沈下橋」】




北海道人であるわたしが本州以南地域を旅するのにはいろいろな心理的動機があるのでしょう。東京関東圏には首都機能・人口密集地としての活力をみるし、関西圏の歴史を背景とした時間の重層性など、さまざまな「ニッポン」との出会い感がある。
そういうなかでちょっと不思議な心理に至るのが四国との出会い。就職が決まって最初に会社のみなさんと共同行動を経験した「原体験」的なことはあるけれど、その後、ほぼ数十年経過して家族旅・夫婦旅を重ねてみると、温暖地域の中でもっとも「自然豊か」ということに癒されていることがわかる。
中央構造線が四国を東西に走ることでそれに沿って山岳地域が形成される。北側の瀬戸内海地域の方が人口集積が大きい。しかし全体として人口規模がそれほどでもないことから山地には巨大な森が保存され続け、そこで蓄えられた豊かな水量が流れるとき「清流」を生み出している。その名前の印象深さから四万十川が有名だけれど、清流を教えてと高知で街の方に聞いたら「仁淀川」と即座に答えられた。
さらにその清流には「沈下橋」という聞き慣れない橋が架けられているという。「なにそれ」であります(笑)。字の通りに考えると水の下に消えてしまう橋。そんなの橋の用を足さないではないか、という素朴な疑問。ということで探索に向かった次第。それが写真のような状況であります。
沈下橋は低水路・低水敷と呼ばれる普段水が流れているところだけに架橋され、また床板も河川敷・高水敷の土地と同じ程度の高さとなっていて、低水位の状態では橋として使えるものの増水時には水面下に沈んでしまう橋のこと。河川行政的には「潜水橋」という。写真のこちらは名越屋沈下橋という橋。
背景としての清流は奇跡の清流と呼ばれる仁淀川。国土交通省による水質調査結果で何度も「水質日本一」に選定。透明度が高いため水面と川底が青く輝く「仁淀ブルー」の愛称でも親しまれている。


わたしはさすがにチャレンジしませんでしたが、この橋をクルマで通行する人もいた。歩道と車道の区別も特段なく、速度はひとの歩く速度に自然と合わせられているように感じる。そういうのがまた、いかにも独特の雰囲気を醸し出してくれる。あとで調べたら、北海道内でもいくつかこの沈下橋はあるのだそうです。
どうもひたすら高速道路に合わせた時間感覚の中でわたしたちは日常生活を送っている。そういうことにこれら清流や沈下橋は、「まぁちょっと待てや」と言ってくれているように感じられた。

English version⬇

Niyodo River, a clear stream in Shikoku, and a “submerged bridge.
A submerged bridge that hides in the water flow when the water level rises. Symbiosis with the abundant water volume rivers of the Shikoku mountainous region. I feel that human society has a mindset of obedience to nature. …

As a Hokkaido-native, there are probably a variety of psychological motivations for me to travel to areas south of Honshu. In the Tokyo-Kanto area, I see the vitality of the capital city and its dense population, and in the Kansai area, I feel a sense of encounter with various aspects of “Japan,” such as the multilayered nature of time against the backdrop of its history.
In this context, the encounter with Shikoku is a little strange. Although I had the “original experience” of working together with everyone at my company when I first started my career, after about half a century has passed and I have traveled with my family and as a couple, I find that I am most comforted by the “richness of nature” in the warmer regions.
The Median Tectonic Line runs east to west across Shikoku, forming a mountainous region along it. The Seto Inland Sea region to the north has a larger population concentration. However, because the overall population size is not so large, huge forests continue to be preserved in the mountainous areas, and the abundant amount of water stored there produces “clear streams” when they flow. The Shimanto River is famous for its impressive name, but when I asked a person in Kochi to tell me which clear stream he was referring to, he immediately replied, “The Niyodo River.
He also told me that there is an unfamiliar bridge called a “sunken bridge” across the clear stream. What is that? If you think of it literally, it is a bridge that disappears under the water. (Laughs.) A simple question: “Wouldn’t such a bridge serve no purpose? That is why we set out to search for it. The situation is as shown in the photo.
A submerged bridge is a bridge that is constructed only where water normally flows, called a low waterway or low water bed, and the floor plate is the same height as the land of the riverbed or high water bed, so that it can be used as a bridge when the water level is low but sinks below the water surface when the water level rises. In river administration terms, it is called a “submerged bridge. This one in the photo is called the Nagoshiya Submerged Bridge.
The clear stream in the background is the Niyodo River, which is called a miraculous clear stream. It has been repeatedly selected as the “best water quality river in Japan” according to the results of water quality surveys conducted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. The river is also known by the nickname “Niyodo Blue” because of its high transparency, which makes the surface and bottom of the river glow blue.

I did not challenge the bridge, but there were some people who drove their cars over the bridge. There is no particular distinction between sidewalks and roadways, and the speed of traffic seems to naturally match the speed of people walking. This also creates a unique atmosphere. I found out later that there are several sunken bridges like this in Hokkaido.
I think that we are living our daily lives with a sense of time that is constantly adapted to the expressway. I felt as if these clear streams and sunken bridges were telling us to “wait a minute.

【WBC熱戦の狭間(笑) 土佐竜の浜景観で一服】




昨日は夫婦で朝食を摂っていたら自宅のテレビリモコン不調という息子がひょっこり。「ははぁ、WBCで盛り上がろうということか(笑)」と直感。そこからはほぼ全国民同様に頭が完全に野球に支配されておりました。
3点リードを許した時点で、カミさんの要望で出掛けざるを得なくなっていましたが、頭の60%ほどはオールジャパンが支配して一喜一憂の展開。クライマックスでは外出先でひとり狂喜乱舞。息子に電話して、電話越しのハイタッチ。まことに神さまが造形したとしか思えないドラマに心酔させられていた。
白状すると同点に追いついた直後、ふたたびリードを奪われた時点で一ファンとしては覚悟は固めていた。しかし、代表たちは決して諦めてはいなかったですね。個人的には8回の無死1−2塁の好機に冷静に送りバントを決めて最低限の加点をして、メキシコにプレッシャーを掛けた時点で、希望が完全に復活していた。
・・・ということで本日はついに日米決戦という頂上対決のステージに立つことができた。このブログ記事は早朝5時前後に書いているので、本日もふたたびどうなるか、波乱の予感が現在進行形。ドキドキ。

ということで通常のブログシリーズ、住環境探訪にすぐにアタマとハートは復帰しにくい(泣)。なので本日は南国土佐の夕景と朝焼けの海岸線風景写真をお届けします。夕景の方は「土佐竜の浜」から西の太平洋を見晴らしたところ。いかにも南国風のラベンダーの色彩がこころを癒してくれる。
一方の山の上に月が掛かっているのは、東側を見た朝焼けの様子。そして、写真のサンドイッチとして高知名物「田舎寿司」を挟んでおきました。
本日も、ハラハラドキドキが仕事の合間に連続するのでしょうが、みんなで心静かに代表たちの活躍を祈念していたいと思います。しかし、ここまで来られればあとは運を天に任せるだけ。こういう日米決戦という舞台を作り上げられたことで、いまの世界情勢のなかでも、この構図は十分に示唆的な意味があるのではと思っています。
がんばれニッポン!

English version⬇

Between the heated WBC games, a smoke at the beach scenery of Tosa Ryu.
The passion of the Japanese representatives is heating up the world. It is an event in the world of baseball, but it is also unexpectedly suggestive of the situation. …

Yesterday, while we were having breakfast as a married couple, our son came up to us and said that the TV remote control at home was malfunctioning. My intuition told me, “Ha ha, you mean you want to get excited about the WBC (laughs). From that point on, like almost the entire nation, my mind was completely dominated by baseball.
When we allowed a three-run lead, I had to go out at my wife’s request, but about 60% of my mind was dominated by All Japan, and I was both happy and sad. At the climax of the game, I was out and about, and I was madly in love with myself. I called my son and gave him a high-five over the phone. I was so intoxicated by the drama that I could only think that God had created it.
I must confess that as a fan, I was ready to give up when we lost the lead again right after we had tied the game. But our representatives never gave up. Personally, my hope was completely restored in the 8th inning, when we put Mexico under pressure by scoring the minimum number of runs on a bunt with no outs.
…So today, we finally reached the summit stage of the battle between the U.S. and Japan, the decisive game. I am writing this blog post around 5:00 a.m., so I have a feeling that today’s battle will be a bit more chaotic than before. I am very excited.

So it’s hard to get my mind and heart back to my regular blog series, “Exploring the Living Environment,” right away (I cry). So today, I’m going to share with you the sunset and morning glow scenery of the coastline of Tosa, a tropical island. The evening view is from “Tosa Ryu no Hama” overlooking the Pacific Ocean to the west. The color of lavender, which is very tropical, soothes the heart.
The moon over the mountains on the other side is the morning glow looking east. And as a sandwich for the photo, I put Kochi’s specialty “inaka-zushi” (country sushi) between the two.
Today, too, I am sure there will be a series of harrowing moments in between work, but I hope everyone will remain quiet and pray for the success of the delegates. However, if we can make it this far, all that remains is to leave the luck to the heavens. Having been able to create this kind of stage for a decisive battle between Japan and the U.S., I believe that the composition of this event is suggestive enough in the current world situation.
Good luck, Nippon!

【空海は平安期仏教界の大谷翔平か? 「青龍寺奥の院」-2】





遣唐使という先進文化移植が日本国家の喫緊の課題だった時代。日本国家として世界での地位を確立していくためには、大陸中国国家から先進の技術や文化の導入が不可欠だったことでしょう。
建築では最新の仏教寺院建築が聖徳太子によって四天王寺や飛鳥寺、そして法隆寺など建立されていった。現代にまで朝鮮半島からの大工技術集団、日本最古の工務店・金剛組というカタチで生き残って存続している。仏教という宗教建築の仕様詳細が技術伝達され、在来の木造技術とフュージョンが巻き起こった。畿内地域でのこの先進技術が全国各地に「国分寺・国分尼寺」建設事業として推進され全国隅々まで重層的に技術文化拡散していった。
そういうなかで平安初期・大同元年(806)帰朝した遣唐使最大の「成功者」空海は未曾有の存在。当時の最先端仏教宗派、長安の青龍寺で師匠・恵果和尚から密教のコア秘法を習得し授かって「真言第八祖」となって帰朝した。そのことに日本社会は大きくどよめいたのだと思う。天才的な語学力と人間力で世界の文化中心のコアを鷲づかみして帰ってきたということだったのだろう。
現代でアナロジーするとすれば野球文化での大谷翔平君がいちばん似つかわしい。野球文化の最先端・大リーグを揺り動かすコアが日本人から生まれたという感覚。そういう存在が平安初期、国を挙げて文化導入に取り組んできた仏教界での空海という存在だったのではないか。


国を挙げてこの空海さんの快挙に対してそれを寿ぎ、賛同する空気が充満したのだろう。天皇もそのムーブメントを称揚し、中央政治も追随した。
当然、かれの出身地域・四国でも盛大なブームが起こり、いまに至る「八十八箇所」という文化が生成した。そういうなかで空海自身の体験、多少バイアスのかかった認知が、むしろ地域としては大きなアナウンス材料に変換されていったのではないか。
この青龍寺奥の院には空海が長安で投げた独鈷杵(とっこしょ)がこの地まで飛来したという伝承が伝わる。空海自身に放り投げ記憶があり「この思い、故郷に届け」というこころの叫びがこの地でフラッシュバックして、それが実際の風景に刻印された。青龍寺奥の院の崖地の老松に独鈷杵が「見えた」と感受したのでしょうか。本殿建築の奥の断崖から太平洋を見れば、樹間から朝日が昇っていくときの「キラキラ」がそのような体験を想起させることは自然にあり得るでしょう。
地元の人びとにとってはこういう空海さんの心中での「フラッシュバック」は恰好の「縁起」として説得力を持って受け入れられたことだろう。宗教が科学的認知に優先する時代であれば、理解できると思う。

English version⬇

Is Kukai the Shohei Otani of Heian Buddhism? Seiryu-ji Temple, the Inner Sanctuary of Seiryu-ji Temple-2
Ancient Japan was full of eagerness to introduce cutting-edge technology and culture. Kukai, a very successful man who appeared at the place where he studied abroad. This is a flashback. …

This was a time when the urgent task of the Japanese nation was to transplant advanced culture in the form of Japanese envoys to the Tang Dynasty. In order for Japan to establish its position in the world, the introduction of advanced technology and culture from mainland China would have been essential.
In architecture, the latest Buddhist temple buildings were erected by Prince Shotoku, including Shitennoji Temple, Asukadera Temple, and Horyuji Temple. Even to the present day, a group of carpenters from the Korean peninsula, the oldest construction company in Japan, survived and continues to exist in the form of the Kongo-gumi. The details of the specifications of the religious architecture of Buddhism were transmitted, and fusion with native wooden construction techniques took place. This advanced technology in the Kinai region was promoted throughout Japan in the construction of Kokubunji and Kokubun nunnery temples, and the technology and culture spread in layers to every corner of the country.
In this context, Kukai, the most “successful” Japanese envoy to the Tang Dynasty, who returned to Japan in 806, the first year of the Daido Period in the early Heian period, was an unprecedented figure. He returned to Japan as the “Eighth Patriarch of Shingon,” having learned and received the core secrets of esoteric Buddhism from his master, monk Keika, at Seiryuji Temple in Chang’an, the most advanced Buddhist sect at that time. I believe that Japanese society was greatly moved by this fact. He must have returned home with the core of the world’s cultural center in his prodigious linguistic and human skills.
If we were to make an analogy today, Shohei Otani would be the most appropriate person to represent baseball culture. The core of the baseball culture, the core that shakes the big leagues, is born from a Japanese person. In the early Heian period, Kukai, a Buddhist monk, was probably the one who was involved in the national effort to introduce Buddhism to Japan.

The whole country must have celebrated Kukai’s accomplishment, and an atmosphere of approval must have filled the air. The emperor also praised the movement, and the central government followed suit.
Naturally, Shikoku, Kukai’s birthplace, also experienced a great boom, giving rise to the culture of “88 temples” that has continued to this day. In this context, Kukai’s own experience and somewhat biased perception may have been converted into a major publicity material for the region.
The legend tells that the Tokkosho, or pestle, that Kukai threw in Chang’an flew to this place in the inner sanctuary of Seiryu-ji Temple. Kukai himself had a memory of throwing the pestle, and the cry of his heart, “Deliver this thought to my hometown,” flashed back to him here, and it was imprinted on the actual landscape. He may have “seen” the Tokko pestle in an old pine tree on the cliff at the inner sanctuary of Seiryu-ji Temple. If you look at the Pacific Ocean from the cliff behind the main temple building, it is natural that the “sparkle” of the morning sun as it rises through the trees would evoke such an experience.
For the local people, this kind of “flashback” in Kukai’s mind would have been convincingly accepted as a fitting “omen. In an age when religion takes precedence over scientific cognition, this would be understandable.

【空海が見た豊穣の海 四国36番札所「青龍寺奥の院」-1】




加齢とともに素朴に旅を愛するようになってきた。最近のブログシリーズはことしの正月休暇で訪れた四国への旅が主なテーマになっています。実際に体験してきてその場所の空気感に触れた上で、そのあと、こういうブログ記録を書き進めておくと、追体験もできて個人的に記憶が豊かになる。人間一個のいのちの時間は限りがあるけれど、それを記録しておくことは意味があると思います。ブログって、正直に記録するという意味で、他者以上に自分自身に対してまっすぐ向き合う感じがある。
期せずして四国八十八箇所の霊場のうちすでに数カ所訪問していることになる。四国・佐伯氏の出自と伝えられる空海さんはまさに日本史上の「巨人」と呼ぶにふさわしい。その空海さんが、中国長安での仏教修行を終えて身に持っていた仏教法具「独鈷杵〜とっこしょ」を日本の方角に向かって投げたという。独鈷杵というのは本来古代インドの武器で、密教では煩悩を打ち砕く意味で用いられる。

その長安から投げた独鈷杵が飛来した地が、この四国土佐市の「青龍寺奥の院」なのだという伝説。現実としてはありえないことだけれど、宗教的な意味合いが込められているのでしょう。そういえば「空海」という名前は、四国の土佐国の太平洋を見晴らす洞窟で宗教的な悟りに至って開眼したときに、空と海だけがそこにあった、ということから自ら名付けたのだと伝承される。どうも空海さんは海が好きだったのではないか。
というような情報記憶があって、カミさんを駐車場の車内に置いたままひとり奥の院まで参詣した折、礼拝堂のさらに奥の森を辿りたくなったのです。いちばん上の写真は、東の方向を向いて木立の間から木漏れ日として登っていた朝日を写し撮ってみた次第。
そもそもこの奥の院は目的地ではなく「あ、こんなとこにあるんだ」と偶然遭遇した次第。土佐市の海岸添いのホテルから見上げたときに山上にイタリアンリゾート風の面白いホテル建築があり、そこに向かったら偶然発見したという経緯。生来、好奇心旺盛で、多少は真言宗徒としての自覚もあるので、一瞬で空海さんに関係していると直感したのです。

やはり奥の院なので、こころで感受させていただくのがいちばんいいのではと思った。たしかに「空と海」という悟りの空気感はほんの少し伝わってきた(笑)。
ということでさっぱり宗教施設空間の写真掲載スペースがなくなったのであした、写真とともに記事掲載させていただきます。悪しからず。

English version⬇

The Sea of Abundance as Seiryu-ji Temple, Shikoku’s 36th temple, is located in the inner sanctuary of Seiryu-ji Temple.
When he became enlightened and opened his eyes, there was only the sky and the sea. I stood on a cliff further inside the inner sanctuary, knowing that the name “Kukai” is said to have such a legend. …

As I age, I have come to love traveling in a simple way. The main theme of my recent blog series has been a trip to Shikoku, which I visited during my New Year’s vacation this year. After actually experiencing and feeling the atmosphere of the place, writing this kind of blog record afterwards will allow me to relive the experience and enrich my personal memory. The time of a human being’s life is limited, but I think it is meaningful to record it. Blogging is a way of honestly recording things, and I feel that I am facing myself more directly than others.
Unexpectedly, I have already visited several of the 88 sacred places in Shikoku. Kukai, who is said to have come from the Saeki clan in Shikoku, is truly a “giant” of Japanese history. It is said that Kukai, after completing his Buddhist training in Chang’an, China, threw his Buddhist tool “Tokkosho,” or tokko pestle, toward the direction of Japan. The dokko, originally a weapon from ancient India, is used in esoteric Buddhism to destroy vexations.

The legend says that the place where the Tokko-kogane (a pestle and pestle) was thrown from Cho-an flew to is the “inner sanctuary of Seiryu-ji Temple” in Tosa City, Shikoku. Although it is impossible in reality, it must have religious connotations. Speaking of which, the name “Kukai” is said to have come from a legend that he named himself after a cave overlooking the Pacific Ocean in the Tosa Province of Shikoku, where he attained religious enlightenment and opened his eyes to the sky and the sea, which was all there was. Kukai must have loved the sea.
I left my wife in the car in the parking lot and went to the inner sanctuary by myself, and I felt like going further into the forest behind the chapel. The photo above is a shot of the morning sun rising through the trees, looking toward the east.
This inner sanctuary was not my destination in the first place, but rather a place I stumbled upon by accident. When I looked up from my hotel on the coast of Tosa City, I saw an interesting Italian resort-style hotel building on the mountain, and when I headed for it, I found it by chance. Being curious by nature and somewhat aware of being a Shingon sect member, I instantly had a hunch that it was related to Mr. Kukai.

Since this is an inner sanctuary, I thought it would be best to let my heart perceive it. Indeed, I could feel a little bit of the atmosphere of enlightenment, “the sky and the sea” (laugh).
I have run out of space to post pictures of the religious facilities, so I will post an article with pictures in the morning. I apologize for the inconvenience.

【えっ? あの「イタドリ」がソウルフード in 南国土佐】




「ええーっ、イタドリ、土佐の人みんな食べるの?」「え、美味しいしょ」「へーっ、そんなら北海道から無尽蔵に送るよ、航空便ですぐに満載だわ。」「ほー、さすが北海道。でもホント食べないんだ?」
まさにところ変われば、であります。上の写真はWEB上にあった高知でのイタドリ食紹介からピンナップしてみた。基本的には北海道でのアスパラとよく似た食べ方で、油炒めなどに使うようですが、嵌め込み写真のように高知の地元食「田舎寿司」ネタとしても食されている。3枚目の写真はわたし撮影の札幌での自生の様子。
2番目の写真は売られていた魚抜きの「田舎寿司」。みょうがやコンニャクなどが定番で、野菜としてイタドリも使われるそうです。写真の緑のものはイタドリではなく「りゅうきゅう」のようでした。これはサトイモ科の野菜で茎部分をたべるのだそうです。これはこれで北海道では見たことない。

イタドリは上の分布図のように東アジア地域の在来種野草。明治初期に来日したイギリス人が持ち帰って栽培したところ、瞬く間に繁茂してしまって嫌われ野草の代表格になったと言われる。わたしのブログでも過去に「イギリスでは以前の女性首相が政敵世論から攻撃されるとき「イタドリ」と蔑称されていたというほどの嫌われぶり。まぁあのときは、支持率が下がっているのにしぶとく居座っている、その様子に対して、嫌われ者のイタドリがアナロジーされていた」と書きました。
そのイタドリですが、南国土佐では地域のソウルフードなのだと高知市内の休日市場で初めて知った(!)。と言っても実際の売られている姿はお目にかかれなかった。すぐ「売り切れ」とのこと。高知とはいえ1月だったので出荷が多くはなかったのでしょう。で、売り子の女性に情報を聞かせてもらった次第。


イタドリって言われて、それが野草だと気付けるのはそこそこ自然豊かな地域の住民に限られると思います。関東とか関西圏とかの人口密集地域では、ほとんどまったく目にすることがないでしょう。札幌の都会っ子育ちが素性であるわたしも高齢化して早朝散歩が習慣化してから、はじめてそれが厄介な野草で、札幌に大量に自生していることを知った。
イタドリっていう名前の由来は「痛みを取る」というもので、漢方的な民間療法の一種として利用されてきたということも知識を得た。しかしその生命力・繁殖力はハンパなく、道路管理者のみなさんは苦労されている様子を日頃から見ています。
高知県地元の食生活の一端を知ることができて、この青空市場、たいへん勉強になった次第。ますます高知大好きになっていく・・・。

English version⬇

What? That “Japanese knotweed” is soul food in Tosa, Tropical Japan
Tosa, a southern island of Japan, has been vigorously eating Japanese knotweed, which is synonymous with annoying wildflowers. We would like to send it from Hokkaido to Kochi as a representative product to deepen friendly exchanges between the regions (laughs). …

“Wow, do people in Tosa eat itadori?” “Yes, it’s delicious!” “Well, if that’s the case, we’ll send an inexhaustible supply from Hokkaido. If so, I’ll send you an inexhaustible supply of itadori from Hokkaido. “Wow, that’s Hokkaido. But you really don’t eat it?
It is true that things change from place to place. The photo above was taken from a web page that introduced itadori (Japanese bitter melon) in Kochi. Basically, it is eaten in a similar way to asparagus in Hokkaido, and is used for frying in oil, etc. However, as shown in the photo above, it is also eaten as a local dish in Kochi called “inaka-zushi” (country-style sushi).
The second photo shows “inaka-zushi” without fish. Myoga (myoga) and konnyaku (konjak) are the standard ingredients, and itadori (bitter gourd) is also used as a vegetable. The green one in the photo is not itadori but “ryukyu,” a vegetable of the taro family. This vegetable belongs to the taro family, and the stem part is eaten. I have never seen this kind of vegetable in Hokkaido.

Japanese knotweed is a native wildflower of East Asia, as shown in the illustration. It is said that when an Englishman who came to Japan in the early Meiji period (1868-1912) brought it back to Japan and cultivated it, it quickly flourished and became a representative of the hated wildflowers. In my blog, I have written in the past, “In England, when a female prime minister was attacked by her political rivals, she was derogatorily called ‘itadori’ (Japanese knotweed), which is so detestable. Well, at that time, I wrote that the hated weasel was analogized to the way she stubbornly stayed in office despite her declining approval rating.
I learned for the first time at a holiday market in Kochi City that itadori is a local soul food in Tosa, a southern island of Japan (!). I was surprised to find out that itadori is a local food in Tosa, a southern country. However, I did not see it actually being sold. I was told that they were sold out immediately. Even though it was in Kochi, it was January, so there must not have been many shipments. So, I asked the woman selling them to give me some information.

I think that only residents in areas with abundant nature would recognize it as a wildflower when told that it is a Japanese knotweed. In densely populated areas such as the Kanto and Kansai regions, you will hardly see it at all. I, who grew up as a city kid in Sapporo, learned that it was a troublesome wild plant and that it grows wild in large quantities in Sapporo only after I became a habitual early morning walker in my old age.
The name “itadori” comes from the Japanese word “itadori” meaning “to take away pain,” and I learned that it has been used as a kind of folk medicine in Chinese medicine. However, its vitality and reproductive power are not strong, and I have seen road administrators struggling with it on a daily basis.
I learned a lot from this open-air market, and I learned a lot about the dietary habits of the common people. I am becoming more and more fond of Kochi.

【南国土佐の子育て応援「親子狛犬」 竹林寺探訪-8】




この竹林寺には境内に「日枝神社」があってその門番として、この「親子狛犬」はある。
通常は雌雄・阿吽一対であるところ、これは親子になっている。右の狛犬は親がこどもを守る姿。左の狛犬はこどもを戒める姿。子を守る慈しみと、しっかりきびしく育てる様が表現されている。
獅子はこどもを千尋の谷に突き落とし、それを這い上がってきたものだけを育てるといわれるけれど、そういった優しさときびしさの両面を表している。
そういう説明書きに沿って見ていたけれど、首に掛かった赤い布に隠れて、こども狛犬の様子がよくわからなかった。上の写真では辛うじてこどもの狛犬がわかる。
スフィンクスは狛犬の原初ではないかと言われているけれど、たぶんいま世界で存続してきているのは日本の宗教施設だけということになるのだろう。神域に対してそれを守護する存在という概念は、人類に普遍的にあったのだろうけれど、いまの日本が特殊に受容している。島国だから文化のガラパゴスになりやすいことを表しているのかも知れない。このことは良い面もあるけれど悪い面もあるだろう。

ほかにも竹林寺には「子安地蔵」も置かれているので、寺院全体として子育てを応援しようとする姿勢を表現していると思える。昨日、岸田首相の会見があって国策として子育て支援、人口減少対策を発表していたけれど、この「親子狛犬」はそんなシンボルにもなり得る。長い人類史の中で子育ては最重要な課題であったことは疑いがない。
一方で土佐高知といえば「はりまや橋」の歌で「坊さんかんざし、買うを見た」。この坊さんは竹林寺の学僧だったと言われる。かれが寺で行われていた信心学習機会に参加していた信者女性に恋をしたが、彼女をめぐって僧侶2名が微妙な三角関係に陥ってしまった。移ろいゆく彼女の歓心を得たい一心で、繁華街のはりまや橋で、かんざしを購入してプレゼントしたのだという。
ところが彼女はもう一方の年上の教師役の僧侶に強く惹かれ、この求愛を振り切って駆け落ちした。なんとか土佐の国境を越えようとしたが捕縛され公衆に「面さらし」されて僧侶は土佐から国外追放された。仲を裂かれた女性も高知からは追放されたが、土佐国内の鄙で子だからにも恵まれ人生をまっとうしたのだという。その僧侶も伊予国で寺子屋の教師として生き長らえて妻帯もしたと言われる。
親子狛犬の像からは親子愛と男女愛という人間の根源が強く絡まり合う。

English version⬇

A pair of guardian dogs symbolizing child-rearing in Tosa, Tropical Japan.
A pair of guardian dogs symbolizing child-rearing. They are the incarnation of love and education. On the other hand, there is the tragic love story of “Bossan Kanzashi” on Harimaya Bridge. It is truly the true nature of human beings. The true nature of human beings.

The Chikurin-ji Temple has the Hie Shrine within its precincts, and this “Oyako Komainu” is the gatekeeper of the shrine.
Normally, there is a male and female A-Un pair, but this pair is a parent and child. The right guardian dog on the right is a parent protecting a child. The left guardians are guarding their children. The left guardians on the left are guarding their children, and the right guardians on the right are protecting their children, and the left guardians are strictly nurturing their children.
It is said that the lion pushes the children down into the valley of a thousand questions and raises only those who crawl out of the valley.
I was looking at the lionesses according to the explanation, but the red cloth around their necks obscured the child guardian dogs. In the photo above, you can barely make out the child guardian dogs.
The sphinx is said to be the original guardian dog, but it is probably the only religious site in Japan that has survived in the world today. The concept of a guardian deity for a Shinto shrine may have existed universally among humans, but Japan is the only country in the world that has accepted it. This may be an indication of the fact that Japan is an island nation, which tends to be a cultural Galapagos. This may be a good thing in some respects, but it may also be a bad thing.

The Chikurin-ji temple also has a “Ko-yasu Jizo” (a guardian deity of children), which seems to express the temple’s overall attitude of support for child-rearing. Yesterday, Prime Minister Kishida held a press conference in which he announced a national policy of supporting child-rearing and countermeasures against population decline, and this “parent-child guardian dog” could be a symbol of such support. There is no doubt that child-rearing has been the most important issue in the long history of mankind.
On the other hand, speaking of Tosa-Kochi, it is said that the monk who sang “Harimaya-bashi” in the song “Harimaya-bashi” (Harimaya Bridge) was a Buddhist monk at Chikurin-ji Temple. He fell in love with a female believer who was participating in a religious study program held at the temple, and two monks fell into a delicate love triangle over her. In a single-minded effort to win her shifting affections, they bought her a kanzashi (hairpin) and gave it to her as a gift at Harimayabashi in downtown Tokyo.
However, she was strongly attracted to the other, an older Buddhist monk who served as her teacher, and she eloped with him, shrugging off his courtship. She managed to cross the border into Tosa, but was captured and publicly “humiliated,” and the monk was deported from Tosa. The woman with whom he had a falling out was also expelled from Kochi, but she lived out her life in the countryside of Tosa. The monk is said to have survived as a teacher at a temple in Iyo Province and even married.
The two statues of the father-and-child guardian dogs strongly suggest the human roots of love between father and son and between man and woman.

【一気に雪融け、一直線の北国の春】



 本州各地からは桜の開花、満開の話題が増えてきていますね。WBCの日本代表の戦いもあって、ことしの春の躍動感が高まっている。まことに喜ばしい。がんばれニッポン、がんばれヌートバー!
 遅ればせながら札幌でも融雪が一気に進んできて、ちょっと前までメイン道路でも1車線ノロノロだったのが快適3車線に復元してきています。
 そんなことから冬の間のひたすら「除雪」限定運動から本格的に早朝の散歩が復活してきております。力仕事と地道な忍耐力レースの縛りから抜け出して、開放的なリズムに乗ってきています。ほぼ日常的なコース選択で、北海道神宮参拝から周辺の円山公園、円山登山道入口の慈母を思わせる観音さんへの参拝などが日課のコースになってきています。
 道中ではさまざまなスポットを巡っていくのですが、なかでも円山公園のメム(アイヌ語での水辺・沼)に棲息するカモやオシドリたちの様子も楽しみであります。冬の間はメムも結氷していて、かれらの姿は確認できませんでした。どうやら無事に越冬できたようで、まだ寒さに耐えているような様子ですが、元気そう。
 2枚目の写真は冬の終わり2/28のわが家近辺の公園の様子ですが、いかにも「光の春」っぽい。陽光が増してきて雪原にそれが反射してまばゆいのですが、ことしはこの期間がごく短くあっという間に通り過ぎた。ちょっとさみしい部分もあった。梅やサクラの開花もすばらしいのですが、この雪国の乱反射する陽光は、体奥にまで染み込んでくる感覚がある。雪の本当の美しさというようにも言える。


 こちらはわが家周辺、発寒川公園の様子。3/13ころの様子と2/28の様子の対比であります。上流での融雪があきらかに水量となって現れている。
 自然のリズム感はこれでもかと重奏してきています。仕事面でも1年半以上取り組んできた案件が、本日おおむね着地点に到達できた。さてこれからさらに頑張るぞと。WBCでも、頑張れニッポン!

English version⬇

Spring in the North with a straight line of snow melting at once
This year, the period of “spring of light” was very short, and the snow melted all at once. It is a little disappointing to see the spring of light. The early morning walk in the woods is also starting the symphony of the woodpeckers. …

From all over Honshu, we are hearing more and more about the blooming and full-blooming of the cherry blossoms, and with the Japanese national team in the WBC, the spring of this year is becoming more vibrant. I am truly delighted. Go Nippon, go Nutbah!
 Although it is a little late, the melting of snow has been progressing at a rapid pace in Sapporo, and what used to be one slow lane on the main road just a short while ago has been restored to a comfortable three lanes.
 This has led to a resurgence in my early morning walks, which had been limited to “clearing snow” during the winter months. We are getting out of the shackles of hard work and steady patience racing and getting into a more open rhythm. Almost daily course selections have become routine, from a visit to the Hokkaido Shrine to the nearby Maruyama Park and a visit to the Kannon (Goddess of Mercy)-reminiscent of Jibo at the entrance to the Maruyama Trail.
 On the way, we visit various spots, but we especially enjoy watching the ducks and mandarin ducks living in the memu (waterfront or swamp in the Ainu language) of Maruyama Park. During the winter, the memu is frozen over, so we could not see them. They seem to have wintered over safely, and although they still seem to be enduring the cold, they look healthy.
 The second photo shows the park near our house at the end of winter on February 28, and it looks like “spring of light. It was like a “spring of light.” The sunlight was increasing and the reflections on the snowfield were dazzling, but this time this period was very short and passed in a blink of an eye. It was a bit lonely in some parts. The blooming of plum and cherry blossoms is wonderful, but the diffuse reflection of sunlight in this snowy country gives me a sensation that penetrates deep into my body. It can be said that this is the true beauty of snow.

This is a comparison between the scene around 3/13 and 2/28. The melting of snow upstream is clearly visible as the volume of water.
 The sense of rhythm of nature has been playing again and again. In terms of work, the project that I have been working on for more than a year and a half has almost reached its conclusion today. Now, let’s work even harder…even in the WBC, go Nippon!

【日本建築・空間文化と北海道 竹林寺探訪-7】




現代の建築は日本の建築文化にとってどんな存在なのだろうか。ふと考えることがある。日本の建築・空間への感受性の文化伝承は、この竹林寺には豊富に積層している。
写真は竹林寺本坊と名勝庭園の様子。庭と建物の関係は日本ではこのような美的昇華が図られていって、日本文化の底流に沈殿している。このような様子を見ると建築構造本体は、切り取られた風景としての自然のなかで「息をしている」存在のように感じられる。
人間が造作する建物は外皮であって自然と向き合うとき五感と一体化している感覚がある。対して庭もまた、人為的に空間構成された自然であり、建物とは違う成り立ちではあるけれど、人間の美的選択眼に即して展開構成しているもの。
やはり「家庭」というような日本人の言い方は、いかにも日本文化的な表現なのだと思う。
こんなふうに先人たちは仏教寺院などに託して、それぞれの時代の美的感覚をピンナップして、連綿とわたしたちに建築文化を伝えてきてくれているのだと思う。その舞台装置として寺院という存在はそれこそ、この世とあの世の臨界点としてあり続けたのだろう。
そういう文化背景のなかで現代の建築家・堀部安嗣さんは、先日まで観た「竹林寺納骨堂」を作り上げていった。そのときの端正な創造姿勢がなんとなくわかるような気がする。

玄関にはこんなふうな豪華な花が生けられてもいた。日本各地域のこうした名刹寺院などで日本的感受性を沈殿させ続けてきたのがこの国の文化風土なのでしょう。
ひるがえって、北海道はこういう「自然とのウチソト空間連続性」のようなことに難しさがある。
こんなふうな庭との空間開放体験を一般化しにくい。初期の北海道建築でそれでもこうした「一体化」を志向した建築の流れもあったけれど、半年間に近い寒冷気候とそれによる建物の障害要因によってこうした建築と同じようなライフスタイルはやはり取れなかった。この建物を撮影したのは1月の初旬なのだ。北海道では雪に庭が閉ざされ、また寒気が居住空間を襲撃する。
庭との対話も3重ガラスなどによる厳重な空間保護が前提化する。場合によっては屋根からの落雪堆積が眺望全体を潰滅させる。
しかし、そういう自然環境の中でも、わたしたちは日本人なのだ。創意工夫しながら「拡張する花鳥風月」を暮らしの中で楽しみたいと念願している。困難はむしろ発展の最大の資産だと無理矢理にでも、考えたい。

English version⬇

Japanese Architecture, Spatial Culture, and Hokkaido: Chikurinji Temple Visit-7
Japanese architectural design was made possible by a dialogue with the gentle climate. The northern part of Japan wants to share its essence and challenge a new Japanese design.

What kind of presence does contemporary architecture have in Japanese architectural culture? I sometimes think about this. The cultural legacy of Japanese sensitivity to architecture and space is richly layered in this Chikurinji temple.
The photo shows the main temple of Chikurin-ji and its famous garden. The relationship between garden and building has been aesthetically sublimated in Japan in this way, and has been precipitated in the undercurrent of Japanese culture. In this way, the architectural structure itself seems to “breathe” in the nature as a cutout landscape.
The human-made building is an outer skin, and when confronted with nature, there is a sense of being united with the five senses. A garden, on the other hand, is also nature artificially created in space, and although it has a different origin from a building, it is developed and structured in line with the human eye for aesthetic selection.
I believe that the Japanese way of saying “home” is a very Japanese cultural expression.
In this way, our predecessors have passed on their architectural culture to us through Buddhist temples, pinning down the aesthetic senses of their respective eras. As a stage set for this, the existence of temples has been a critical point between this world and the next.
It was against this cultural background that the contemporary architect Yasutsugu Horibe created the “Chikurinji Ossuary,” which I saw the other day. I think I can somehow understand his neat creative attitude at that time.

The entrance was decorated with such gorgeous flowers. The cultural climate of this country has continued to precipitate Japanese sensibilities at such famous temples and other places in various regions of Japan.
Hokkaido, on the other hand, has difficulty with this kind of “uchisoto spatial continuity with nature.
It is difficult to generalize the experience of opening up space with a garden in this way. Although there was a trend in early Hokkaido architecture toward such “integration,” the cold weather of nearly half a year and the resulting building obstacles made it impossible to achieve the same lifestyle as this type of architecture. It was early January when I photographed this building. In Hokkaido, the garden is closed by snow and the cold air attacks the living space.
The dialogue with the garden is also premised on the strict protection of the space with triple glazing and other measures. In some cases, the accumulation of snow falling from roofs destroys the entire view.
However, even in such a natural environment, we are Japanese. We wish to enjoy the “expanding beauty of flowers, birds, wind, and the moon” in our daily lives with our ingenuity and ingenuity. We would like to think, even if forcibly, that difficulties are the greatest asset for development.

【建築再生・文化継承に賭けた魂魄 竹林寺探訪-6】





さて日本建築学会賞作品賞を2016年度受賞した堀部安嗣設計による「納骨堂」建築を見て来ましたが、このような建築家に依頼する側、竹林寺という存在について思いが及んでいます。
どうしてこのような話題になる建築を設計依頼したのか。ふつうに考えると寺院建築だから伝統に安住して保守していればいいのに、堀部安嗣氏のような気鋭の建築家にわざわざ依頼するその動機のようなものに強い関心を持った次第です。
いま人口減少局面に世界が直面し、その最先端に日本は立っている。そういう時代になってくれば建築もまた、新築から再生の方向に向かっていく必要がある。日本全体としてもそうであるけれど、わたし自身も道庁の住宅施策審議委員の経験から、建築再生の気運がどうしたら盛り上がるかに、強い関心を持っている。行政側の発想では技術的側面での制度設計に向かっていくことが一般的。それは当然としても、わたしとしてはむしろ「動機の盛り上げ」の方がはるかに重要なのではと考えるのです。
そんな思いを持ちながらこの竹林寺を参観していて、随所に面白い試みを発見した。釈迦像も斬新な「衣装」をまとっているし、本堂内部の額絵もよく見たら那須与一の屋島合戦での様子。どうして竹林寺という高知の寺で高松・屋島合戦が描かれるのかと疑問に思ったのですが「わかりやすさ」「話題性」という寺院経営的な側面が大きいのではと思い至った。

この建物は「船岡堂」という建築。由緒書きでは明治年代、経営的に衰亡を究め老朽化・廃屋化が進んでいた竹林寺の住職・船岡芳信氏が建築再生、寺院経営立て直しの努力を重ねた様子が記録されていた。明治30年当時、現在の費用で20億円ほどが再生には必要なほど竹林寺建築は傷んでいた。
そういう状況を改革すべく全国に「復興勧進」の活動を繰り広げた結果、今日のような興隆が生み出されたのだそうです。源平騒乱期、平氏によって焼け落とされた東大寺の復元のために全国を勧進行脚した東大寺・重源和尚を彷彿させる。
こうした氏の魂魄が、現代に至っても話題の建築を設計依頼する動機を構成している。現代、わたしたちの建築も新築から再生に向かって来つつある。重源さんや船岡氏のような魂魄が、いま、社会全体に共有される必要があると強く思っています。
東大寺では再建に当たって運慶のような稀有の芸術家作品をも生み出し、それが新時代の雰囲気をも作って行った。日本社会では新築よりもむしろこうした建築再生が連綿と繰り返されたことで、日本文化が正しく継承されてきたのではないか。われわれがいま、学ぶべき事も多い。

English version⬇

The soul that bets on architectural revival and cultural inheritance: Exploring Chikurinji Temple-6
The core of Japanese cultural inheritance revealed by the deep business motives of those who commission architects. The soul that revitalizes even a society with a declining population. …

Now that I have seen the “ossuary” architecture designed by Yasutsugu Horibe, winner of the 2016 Architectural Institute of Japan Award for Best Work, I have been thinking about the existence of Chikurinji Temple, the entity that commissioned such an architect.
Why did they commission the design of such a controversial building? Normally, one would think that the temple architecture should be maintained in accordance with tradition, but I was very interested in the motive of commissioning an up-and-coming architect such as Mr. Yasutsugu Horibe.
The world is now facing a declining population, and Japan is at the forefront of this trend. In such an era, architecture also needs to move away from new construction and toward renewal. I have a strong interest in how to stimulate the momentum for architectural revitalization, based on my own experience as a member of the Hokkaido Government’s Housing Policy Council. The administrative side’s approach is generally to design systems from a technical standpoint. While that is natural, I believe that it is far more important to “enliven the motive”.
With these thoughts in mind, I visited this Chikurinji temple and found interesting attempts everywhere. The statue of Shakyamuni is dressed in a novel “costume,” and the framed picture inside the main hall depicts Nasu Yoichi at the Battle of Yashima. I wondered why a temple in Kochi called Chikurin-dera depicted the Battle of Takamatsu/Yashima, but I came to the conclusion that it was largely due to the temple management aspect of “understandability” and “topicality.

This building is called “Funaoka-do. According to the history of the temple, Yoshinobu Funaoka, the abbot of Chikurin-ji Temple, which had been deteriorating and falling into disrepair since the Meiji Era, made efforts to rebuild the building and restore the temple’s management. In 1897, the Chikurin-ji building was in such a state of disrepair that it would have cost about 2 billion yen in today’s terms to rebuild it.
As a result of the “restoration and promotion” activities that were carried out throughout the country to reform such a situation, the prosperity that we see today was created. This is reminiscent of the monk Shigen of Todaiji Temple, who made a nationwide pilgrimage to restore Todaiji Temple, which had been burned down by the Taira clan during the Genpei uprising.
The spirit of this monk is what motivates us to commission him to design buildings that are still talked about in the modern age. Today, we are moving away from the construction of new buildings and toward the regeneration of architecture. I strongly believe that the spirit of Mr. Shigen and Mr. Funaoka needs to be shared throughout society.
In the reconstruction of Todaiji Temple, rare artists such as Unkei were created, which also created the atmosphere of a new era. I believe that Japanese culture has been properly inherited through the continuous repetition of such architectural revival rather than new construction in Japanese society. We have much to learn from this experience.