全国に「三木家住宅」という名のついた古民家で「重要文化財」指定されているものが数軒ある。わたしが知る限り全部で４軒。わたしの姓は三木なので類縁として、また古民家理解に関してもよりリアリティが感じられると思っている。これまでに兵庫県内の２軒については訪問しており、ことしの年始休暇で徳島県美馬市の三木家住宅をはじめて参観してきた。兵庫県の２軒については家系伝承的にもつながりがありそうなので数次訪問しているけれど、こちら徳島はたぶんつながりは乏しいと思っている。忌部氏の末裔ということで、古代からの氏族として朝廷との関わりも深く、今次の令和の大嘗祭において古式に則って、天皇の即位に際しての服・麁服（あらたえ）という麻布の式服素材を「調進」したという家柄。
札幌からなので関空に到着後、淡路で１泊して翌日に徳島県美馬市の「三木山」をめざした。もよりの高速IC「脇町」から約31kmということで、北海道人の道路感覚としては30-40分程度かなぁ、国道だと言うし、という程度の距離認識で向かった。


ところが（笑）、国道（492号）ではあるけれど途中からの山道はほぼ１車線道路で曲がりくねった難路〜酷道・・・。対向車がくればアウトという道を延々と走ることになった。カミさんとふたり「お願いだから対向車が来ませんように」と祈りながらひたすら艱難辛苦。地元のドライバーとおぼしきクルマに追い越してもらってそれについて行ったけれど慣れた人は対向車の危険はほぼ無視するかのようにスピードを上げるので追走は早々と諦めた。あとで帰り道を下ったら、下り側の注意標識で相互に交叉させないような交通案内になっていた。けれどはじめて走る人間にはそういう事情はわからず、ひたすら安全最優先。なんといっても一歩ハンドルを誤れば、路肩から転落する危険性すら高いのだ。
最後の集落から外れて本格的な山道を上がった頂上付近に、この三木家住宅は端座していた。ようやくにしてたどりついたのだけれど、内部は公開されていなくてカギが掛かっていた（泣）。比較的に有名な古民家であり重要文化財ということで平日には公開されているものとばかり思い込んでいた。本宅と「資料館」どちらも内部には入れなかった。そういう点では事前の調査不足を突き付けられた。しかし、周辺の環境など来るまでの苦労が融けていくような素晴らしさで迎えていただけた。神々しいばかりの眺望。
そしてなんといっても天皇の即位儀礼を飾る麻布を謹製する家系という威厳というか、独特の空気感が山上の空間に満ちていた。内部空間を見ることができなかったのは残念だけれど、しかし家というのは内部空間だけではなく、周辺の環境全体が「たたずまい」を構成すると無言で語りかけてくれた。数回に分けてこの三木家住宅をご紹介したい。

English version⬇

The Miki Family Residence in Tokushima, where the “ARATAE” ritual is held on the day of the first ceremonial offering of rice to the goddess of grain.
After a fearful climb up the narrow one-lane “national road” in the Shikoku Valley, you finally visit an ancient private house on top of a mountain. The surrounding environment is relaxing. The Miki Family Residence

There are several old private houses with the name “Miki Family Residence” that have been designated as “Important Cultural Properties” throughout Japan. As far as I know, there are four in total. My family name is Miki, so I feel that I am related to the Miki family and that this gives me a greater sense of reality in terms of understanding old private homes. I have visited two of them in Hyogo Prefecture, and during my New Year’s vacation this year, I visited the Miki family residence in Mima City, Tokushima Prefecture, for the first time. I have visited the two houses in Hyogo Prefecture several times because they seem to be connected in terms of family lore, but I think the connection is probably weak in Tokushima Prefecture. The family is descended from the Imobe clan, a clan that has had a deep connection with the Imperial Court since ancient times, and in accordance with the ancient ceremony of the Great Tamesai Ceremony of 2025, the family “prepared” the emperor’s ceremonial clothes called “aratae” for his accession to the throne.
After arriving at the Kansai International Airport from Sapporo, I stayed overnight in Awaji and set off the next day for “Mt. The distance from Wakimachi, the highway IC from which I was heading, was about 31 km, so I thought it would take about 30-40 minutes from the perspective of Hokkaido people.

However, although it is a national highway (Route 492), the mountain road from the halfway point was almost a one-lane road with twists and turns, a difficult road, and a terrible road…. We had to drive on the road for a long time, and if an oncoming car came along, we would be out of luck. My wife and I prayed that no oncoming cars would come along the road. We asked a car that looked like a local driver to pass us and we followed him, but we gave up on the chase early on because people who are used to driving on the road speed up as if they almost ignore the danger of oncoming cars. When I went down the road later on my way home, I found a warning sign on the downhill side of the road to guide traffic not to cross each other. However, first-time drivers do not understand such circumstances, and safety was our top priority. After all, if you swerve the wrong way, there is a high risk of falling off the shoulder.
The Miki family’s house was located near the top of a mountain road that led out of the last village. We finally arrived at the house, but the inside was locked and not open to the public. I had assumed that the house was open to the public on weekdays, as it is a relatively famous old house and an important cultural property. We were not allowed to go inside either the main house or the “museum. In that respect, we were confronted with a lack of prior research. However, we were welcomed by the surrounding environment and other splendors that seemed to melt away the hardships we had gone through before coming. The view was divine.
And, above all, the space on top of the mountain was filled with the dignified and unique atmosphere of a family that has produced linen for the emperor’s coronation ceremonies. It was a pity that we could not see the interior space, but the house silently told us that not only the interior space but also the entire surrounding environment constitutes the “appearance” of the house. I would like to introduce the Miki family residence in several articles.

Posted on 1月 25th, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 古民家シリーズ, 日本社会・文化研究 | 1 Comment »

さて感染症からの社会復元がことしの大きなテーマになって来そうですね。さすがに３年というのは社会交流の困難条件期間が長すぎる。リアルでの意見交換の場が極端に少なくなり、それを埋め合わせるべく動画配信やWEBセミナーなどが行われてきたけれど、どうしても偏りのある情報交換。
一般的に誰かが講演的に情報発信し大勢はそれを「拝聴する」スタイル。時折「なにかご意見はありませんか？」と促しても、遠慮が優先し疑問点スルー。ここがけっこう問題で、話を聞いているだけで「同意」しているわけではないのに進行としては同意を前提として先へ進まざるを得ない。参加者と発信者の「不同意関係」が固定化されて、いつしか参加者は疎外感を持ってしまう。
やはり本来の情報交換は、受発信が交互に自由にやり取りするのが自然なスタイル。いわゆる「懇談」がもっとも大切な情報交換機会。「先生、さっきのお話しで◎◎のところってね、ホントはどうなんですか？」「いや、あれはね、・・・」という意見交換が自由になければ、機会として意味がない。

わたし個人としてこの３年で主要な住宅性能要件での関わりは道庁建築指導課の住宅制度諮問会議に委員としての参加。北海道の住宅施策の方向性論議に加わっていた。2050年カーボンニュートラルを宣言し、2030年段階で温室効果ガスの排出量を2013年度比で46%削減するとした「ゼロカーボン北海道」実現のロードマップ策定目標。そのなかでも家庭用エネルギー部分が全国では15%程度なのに寒冷地北海道は23%にもなる地域性からとくに住宅部門での削減が重要。
北海道は寒冷でまた積雪状況が多様で暖房エネルギーや太陽光発電の効率が全国と大きく異なっていて、国の想定する対策、ZEHの普及が困難というのが地域性特徴。当初事務局からは、ZEH住宅の推進という目標が想定されていたが最初の会合からこのポイントが中心論議にならざるを得ず、結果、実行可能な方策を探る方向性が基調に据えられた。「課題の最先端地域・北海道」。

自然エネの最大活用可能ソースである太陽光発電・屋根設置が11/18-3/28の「降雪期」には発電量がほぼゼロという「地域特性」。北海道のみならず環日本海地域で共通する課題。それをクリアするのに「南面壁面設置」は有効だけれど、市街地では条件実現のハードルは高い。建築基準などにこういう条件を入れるのは事実上不可能。・・・この稿、やはり１回のブログ記事では困難。また、明日以降に触れます。

いずれにせよ、地域総体として脱炭素を進めるには制度設計として現場の作り手との協働実現が最重要。仏を作っても魂を入れなければ公益は実現できない。そういう趣旨からさまざまな人の努力があって２月３日に「対話機会」がつくられる。北海道住宅の若手の作り手の声を反映させるオープンな機会。そしてそれをZOOMを通して一般にも公開する運びになった。詳細はいちばん上の図表をご覧ください。参加申込みはこちら。従来のWEB活用の意見交換形式を突破するような活発な論議を期待したいです。むしろこういう機会実現こそが北海道の本当の底力なのかも知れません。

English version⬇

New Housing Standard: Northern Style Housing ZERO-1 & Hokkaido x Construction Agency Talk
Hokkaido, an advanced region for high thermal insulation and airtightness, is also an advanced region for decarbonization. How to face the PV adversity with local manufacturing as a whole?

Well, social restoration from infectious diseases is going to be a major theme this year. Three years is indeed too long a period of difficult conditions for social exchange. There are very few opportunities to exchange opinions in real life, and although video distribution and web seminars have been held to compensate for this, the exchange of information is inevitably biased.
Generally, someone delivers a lecture and many people “listen” to the lecture. Occasionally, I would ask, “Do you have any opinions? but the participants are too reserved and do not ask any questions. This is quite problematic, as the participants are only listening and do not “agree” with what is being said, yet they are forced to proceed on the assumption that they agree with what is being said. The “disagreement” between the participants and the sender is fixed, and before long, the participants feel alienated.
The natural style of information exchange is for the sender and receiver to take turns exchanging information freely. The most important opportunity for information exchange is the so-called “discussion. The most important opportunity for exchange of information is the so-called “discussion. If there is no free exchange of opinions, it is meaningless as an opportunity to exchange information.

My personal involvement in housing performance requirements over the past three years has been as a member of the Hokkaido Government Building Guidance Division’s Housing System Advisory Council, where I participated in discussions on the direction of Hokkaido’s housing policy. I was involved in discussions on the direction of Hokkaido’s housing policy, which aims to declare Hokkaido carbon neutral by 2050 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 46% from the fiscal 2013 level by 2030. The reduction in the residential sector is particularly important because Hokkaido, a cold region, has a 23% residential energy consumption rate, compared to only 15% for the rest of Japan.
Hokkaido’s cold climate and varied snowfall conditions make the efficiency of heating energy and photovoltaic power generation very different from that of the rest of Japan, making it difficult to implement the measures envisioned by the government and spread ZEH in the region. Initially, the secretariat envisioned a goal of promoting ZEH homes. From the first meeting, this point had to be the main topic of discussion, and the direction to explore feasible measures was set as the keynote. Hokkaido, a region at the forefront of issues.

The “characteristics of the region” are such that solar power generation and roof installation, the largest possible source of natural energy, must generate almost no electricity during the “snowfall season” from 11/18 to 3/28. Although “installation on the south wall” is effective in clearing this condition, the hurdle to realize this condition is high in an urban area. It is virtually impossible to include such a condition in building standards. This article is still difficult to write in one blog entry. I will mention it again tomorrow or later.

In any case, in order to promote decarbonization in the region as a whole, it is of utmost importance to collaborate with the local builders in designing the system. Even if a Buddha is created, the public interest cannot be realized unless the soul is put into it. It is for this reason that the “Dialogue Opportunity” will be held on February 3, thanks to the efforts of a variety of people. This is an open opportunity to reflect the voices of young makers of Hokkaido housing. And it will be open to the public through ZOOM. For more details, please see the chart at the top.
I look forward to lively discussions that will break through the conventional format of exchanging opinions through the web. In fact, the realization of such opportunities may be Hokkaido’s real underlying strength.

Posted on 1月 23rd, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 住宅マーケティング, 住宅性能・設備 | No Comments »

週末は北海道日本海側は風雪が強まるという冬の嵐の予報。いよいよ来るか冬将軍様・・・であります。用心しながら過ごしたいと思いますが、写真はここのところの寒波でのわが家周辺の「冬の景観」です。寒さには独特の美のたたずまいがある。上の写真は発寒川の段差、言ってみれば人工の滝ですが、そこが結氷している様子。だんだんと震え上がるような結氷美を見せてくれるようになる。恐る恐る見るのはやや自虐感があるけれど、寒冷地の人間の密かな楽しみ（笑）。冬でもあったかい家の中と、まっ盛りの冬の寒さがコントラストを暮らしに与えてくれる。その落差が大きいほど、花鳥風月感が深まる・・・。
西行のような詩人が現代の北海道を旅してくれたら、どんな心象風景を謳るか、想像すると面白みがある。やはり高断熱高気密という住環境がほぼ普遍的に獲得されてからは、冬の外部環境を楽しむ余裕が生まれてきて、それなりの体験が熟成してきている。日本人にどんな新・花鳥風月を追加できていくのか、興味を持っている次第。

そういう新・花鳥風月のテーマとして写真のような家と雪氷がもたらすオモシロ風景がある。まぁ、住宅性能的に見ればこれは屋根の断熱が十分ではなくて室内の熱が屋根トタン面にまで漏出し、屋根面で凍結爆裂融雪を繰り返して、結果、屋根端部にずり下がっていく光景。いわゆる「雪庇（せっぴ）」という現象であります。写真は非住居の建物で数日前の撮影ですが、毎年の気温変化・降雪量推移によって千変万化する。屋根の軒先から50-60cm程度張り出している。いまのところ日中最高気温も零下なので、屋根面雪崩は発生していませんが、温度変化によってはそういう危険もあり得る。まだそこまでではないのですが、もうちょっと危険性が高まると警告のコーンが設置されたりする。危険性が「見える化」しているので歩行者のみなさんも充分注意する。寒冷地としての生活常識も存在する。
ただ、わたしの少年期などではこういう雪庇や氷柱などが街中至るところで発生していて、それが当たり前だったから、動物的な危険回避の臨界感覚が育っていたかも知れない。屋根雪崩はだいたい、２−３月の晩冬時期の危険性が高い。とはいえ、冬の期間中こういう軒先付近にはなるべく近づかないようにはすべきでしょう。そういう危険性はあるけれど、一個の造形物と考えるとまことに「冬の風物詩」。ことしの冬のいろいろな気候痕跡が正直に露出しているので、興味深くもある。
さて夜の間にしっかり降ってくれたので、除雪頑張ります（泣）。

English version⬇

Winter, cold weather brings snow and ice beauty and slightly dangerous formations.
A weekend of heavy snowfall. The snowfall was so heavy that my body is screaming from every node. The peak of winter is just around the corner. …

A winter storm is forecast for the weekend, with wind and snow strengthening on the Sea of Japan side of Hokkaido. The winter storm is forecast to intensify wind and snow in the Sea of Japan area of Hokkaido over the weekend. The photo shows the “winter landscape” around our house during the recent cold wave. Cold weather has its own unique beauty. The photo above is a step of the Hassamu River, a man-made waterfall if you will, where the ice is forming. It gradually shows us the beauty of ice formation that makes us shiver, and although it is somewhat self-deprecating to see it with trepidation, it is a secret pleasure for people living in cold regions (laugh). The contrast between the warmth of a house in winter and the coldness of winter at its height provides a contrast to our lives. The greater the difference between the two, the deeper the sense of “kacho-fu-getsu” (flowers, birds, winds, and the moon) becomes.
It is interesting to imagine what a poet like Saigyo would say if he were to travel to Hokkaido today. After all, since the almost universal adoption of a highly insulated and airtight living environment, people have been afforded the luxury of enjoying the external environment in winter, and the experience has matured in its own way. I am interested to see what kind of new “kacho-fu-getsu” (the Japanese traditional seasonal festivals of flowers, birds, and winds) will be added to the Japanese people’s experience of the winter.

One such new Kacho Fugetsu theme is the wacky scenery brought about by the house and snow and ice, as shown in the photo. Well, from a housing performance point of view, this is a scene where the roof insulation is not sufficient and the heat inside leaks out to the tin surface of the roof, causing the snow to freeze, explode, and melt repeatedly on the roof surface, resulting in the snow sliding down to the edge of the roof. This is the so-called “snow eaves” phenomenon. The photo was taken a few days ago on a non-residential building, but it changes drastically depending on annual temperature and snowfall changes. The snow is sticking out about 50-60 cm from the eaves of the roof. At the moment, the maximum daytime temperature is also below zero, so no roof-surface avalanches have occurred, but such a danger is possible depending on temperature changes. It is not to that extent yet, but when the danger increases a little more, warning cones will be installed. Since the danger is “visualized,” pedestrians should be very careful. There is also the common sense of living in a cold region.
However, when I was a boy, such snow cover and icicles were commonplace throughout the city, and I may have developed a critical sense of danger avoidance like an animal. Roof avalanches are usually most dangerous in the late winter months of February and March. Nevertheless, we should try to stay away from such areas near the eaves during the winter months. Despite these dangers, when considered as an artifact, it is truly a “winter wonder”. It is also interesting because it honestly exposes various traces of the winter climate.
Now that it fell during the night, I’m going to work hard to remove the snow.

Posted on 1月 21st, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 住宅マーケティング, 住宅性能・設備 | No Comments »

出版という仕事にわたしは人生時間をほぼ費やしてきました。どうしてなのか？小学校に上がるかどうかのころに日本のテレビ放送が始まって、力道山のプロレスが札幌大通公園の街頭テレビで放送し始めた。父に連れられてそれを１−２度は見たのだろうか。映像の迫力とその臨場感に熱狂した父はさっそく２軒となりの電気屋さんに頼んですぐにテレビを購入した。以来、映像文化のたぶん最初期受容世代としてメディアというものに惑溺してきた。また街中の小学校だったので、ときどきNHK地方局の「子ども参加番組」に出演することもあった。メディアというものが身近な存在であって将来そういう仕事をと夢想していたのだろうか。
その後、結局メディアというのは経済的に広告事業の一環であることが腑に落ちて、広告業でその成立の根源的な部分について学習し経験を積んだ。結果として「カラー写真がたっぷり表現された」地域メディアというものを創造する事業に邁進してきた。そういう自分の体験と照らし合わせたとき、日本史の中でこの江戸期の「浮世絵」がもたらした大衆芸術の世界はまぶしい民族的先行事例として自分の中で光を放っていた。これは想像するしかないけれど、江戸期の人びとにとって手頃な価格で入手できたカラー印刷物の即物性は無上の存在だっただろう。浮世絵の醸し出す想像力世界に触れることで、全国旅行ブームというのが江戸期を通じて盛んになっていった事実。また見世物芝居のスターたちがブロマイドのように表現された。さらに女性美というものがはじめて「メディア化」していった。結果として人間の本然を刺激する自由な大衆の娯楽が驚異的な盛り上がりを見せた。江戸期の浮世絵は名所・役者絵・美人画というジャンルを開拓したけれど、わたしは地域の「いい家」という空間の奥行きを表現したいと祈念している。「いごこちの見える化」というテーマか。


「房総のむら」でそれが町家の一典型として建築的に明示されていたことは思ってもいなかった奇跡的な遭遇。「そうか具体的にはこういうしつらいの空間から浮世絵は生産されていったのか」という驚異の体験なのです。ちょうど自分がテレビ世代として映像文化に惑溺したように、江戸期の人びとは浮世絵からのわかりやすいカルチャーショックに惑溺していたのだと思う。日本社会の大衆文化にとってこうした変化はまさに革命だったと思える。
その基礎になったのが、絵師と彫り師・刷り師という技術者たち。絵師については芸術家としての名声がはるかな後代まで名を残すけれど、しかしそのベースは彫り師・刷り師の技術開発がすべての根源だっただろう。基盤は江戸期の大衆芸術を支えた映像表現の知の結晶がもたらしたもの。その努力の痕跡を見て、はるかに触発され続けている自分がいる。

English version⬇

Ukiyo-e and the Popular Media Revolution – 3: Edo Period, Boso Machiya – 12
For those of us who experienced the postwar TV cultural revolution, the rise of popular color painting and publishing in the Edo period seems to us to be a dazzling trace of our ancestors. …

I have spent most of my life in the publishing business. Why? When I was about to enter elementary school, Japanese TV broadcasting started and Rikidozan’s wrestling began to be broadcast on street TV in Sapporo Odori Park. My father took me to see it once or twice. My father was so enthralled by the power and realism of the images that he immediately asked an electronics store two doors down to buy a TV set. Since then, as one of the first generations to be exposed to the visual culture, I have been absorbed in the media. Since it was an elementary school in the city, I sometimes appeared in “children’s participation programs” on NHK’s local station. Perhaps I was so familiar with the media that I dreamed of working in such a field in the future.
Later, it became clear to me that the media was economically part of the advertising business, and I learned and gained experience in the fundamental aspects of its formation in the advertising business. As a result, I have been working hard to create local media that are “richly illustrated with color photographs. In light of my own experience, the world of popular art brought about by ukiyo-e in the Edo period shone in my mind as a dazzling national precedent in Japanese history. One can only imagine what the immediacy of affordable color prints must have been like for the people of the Edo period. The fact is that the nationwide travel boom that was triggered by exposure to the imaginative world of ukiyo-e prints flourished throughout the Edo period. The stars of freak shows were represented in the form of bromides. In addition, female beauty was “mediatized” for the first time. As a result, the free entertainment of the masses, which stimulated human nature, enjoyed a phenomenal rise. Ukiyo-e of the Edo period pioneered the genres of famous places, portrayals of actors, and paintings of beautiful women, and I wish to express the depth of the space of “good houses” in the region. The theme of “visualization of comfort”?

It was a miraculous encounter that I had never expected to see it manifested architecturally as a typical “machiya” (townhouse) in the village of Boso. It was a marvelous experience for me to realize that Ukiyo-e was produced from this kind of space. Just as I was dazzled by visual culture as a member of the television generation, I believe that the people of the Edo period were dazzled by the easy-to-understand culture shock from Ukiyo-e. I believe that these changes were truly revolutionary for the popular culture of Japanese society.
The basis for this change was the painter and the engraver/printer. Although painters will remain famous as artists until far into the future, I strongly believe that the development of engraving and printing techniques was the basis for all of these changes. The foundation for this was the crystallization of the knowledge of visual expression that supported popular art in the Edo period. Seeing the traces of these efforts, I find myself continually inspired.

Posted on 1月 19th, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 住宅マーケティング, 日本社会・文化研究 | No Comments »

さてこの房総のむらでもいちばん魂を揺さぶられる江戸文化の精緻の町家店舗。「本・瓦版」の店・葛飾堂のご紹介であります。わたしどもの主領域・出版は江戸の浮世絵文化の大興隆、大衆文化大革命を見ずには語ることができないと思う。出版に主要な人生時間を費やしてきた人間として、町家建築としてこういう業態の店舗を参観できる機会に恵まれて心躍る思いがした。
出版、それも木版印刷の歴史について、京都の先達「竹笹堂」さんのHPから要旨引用。
〜戦国の世を家康が統一し泰平が訪れ文化の中心が町民に移行した江戸時代。初頭に京都で商業的な出版が行われ本を取り扱う「本屋」が誕生した。瞬く間に市中に数多くの本屋が並び、続いて大阪に本屋が登場して上方で出版文化が育まれていった。寛永（1624-1645年）には江戸でも本屋が開業。のちに美人画の名手喜多川歌麿や、役者絵の奇才東洲斎写楽などの錦絵を出版して一大版元となる蔦屋重三郎も吉原に書店を構えた。〜
〜伝統木版画技法の確立　大量印刷物を限られた時間と費用で生産するため無駄をそぎ落とし、表現方法をシンプルにすることで浮世絵木版画独特の構図の妙や色彩表現が生まれた。制作工程を分化させ、下絵を描く「絵師」、版を彫る「彫師」、色を摺る「摺師」、それぞれ専門職として作業する三者分業制印刷が確立した。一般に知られる葛飾北斎や喜多川歌麿は絵師で大手版元のお抱えや独立して活動した。素材や色彩、表現全てが独自性に富んだ日本の木版多色カラー印刷は、当時世界最高峰の技法。のちにゴッホをはじめとする多くの芸術家たちに影響を与え世界中を驚愕させた。【豆知識】世界に日本の高度な木版印刷技術が知られたのは、印刷に失敗した木版画を陶器や磁器などの他の輸出品の緩衝材として海を渡ったからだという。〜


いやはや、紙くずとして梱包材に浮世絵を使ったというさりげない事実から江戸期社会の大衆芸術の浸透ぶりに驚かされる。宗教芸術や貴族層の趣味生活に奉仕させられる存在であったヨーロッパ芸術に対して、無造作に紙くずとして利用された木版印刷ニッポン芸術が、まさに文明的驚愕をもたらせたことは日本人として誇らしい。けっして豊かではない都市住民の生活の中で、それでも多色印刷の絵画が各家庭に飾られて、夕餉の一家団欒に話題を提供していたのだろう。その絵画のテーマに則して旅の話題であったり、有名歌舞伎スターのゴシップであったり（笑）、大いに平和な家庭のいっときを彩っていた。もちろん識字率の高さから活字本で学習・情報収集にも余念がなかっただろうけれど、多色印刷のわかりやすさは、ひとのこころに強烈なインパクトを与え続けた。わたし自身はテレビという映像文化に染まった最初期世代だけれど、この江戸期の浮世絵文化にはじめて触れた人びとも、どうも似たような文化革命体験世代だったのではないだろうか。この空気感が愛おしい。

English version⬇

Ukiyo-e Civilization that Astonished the World -1 Edo Period, Boso Townhouse-10
Europeans were horrified by the culture shock of Ukiyo-e paintings being used as packaging cushioning material (laugh). Nippon, a society leading the popularization of art. …

The most soul-stirring store in the village of Boso is a machiya store that is an exquisite example of Edo culture. I would like to introduce Katsushikado, a “book and tile edition” store. Our main area of business, publishing, cannot be described without referring to the great rise of Ukiyo-e culture in Edo, the great revolution in popular culture. As someone who has spent a major part of my life in publishing, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to visit this type of store, built as a machiya (traditional townhouse).
The following is a brief history of publishing, especially woodblock printing, from the website of Takezasa-do, one of Kyoto’s forerunners in this field.
〜The Edo period (1603-1868) was a time of peace and prosperity as Ieyasu united the warring states, and the center of culture shifted to the townspeople. In the beginning of the Edo period, commercial publishing took place in Kyoto, and “bookstores” that dealt in books were born. In no time, numerous bookstores lined the streets of the city, followed by the appearance of bookstores in Osaka, which fostered a publishing culture in the Kamigata region. During the Kan’ei period (1624-1645), bookstores also opened in Edo. Tsutaya Shigesaburo, who later became a major publisher of nishiki-e prints by artists such as Kitagawa Utamaro, a master of beautiful women paintings, and Toshusai Sharaku, a prodigy of actor pictures, also had a bookstore in Yoshiwara. 〜The first woodblock print shop in Yoshiwara was established by Tsutaya Shigsaburo.
〜Establishment of Traditional Woodblock Printing Techniques In order to produce large quantities of prints in a limited amount of time and at a limited cost, the ukiyo-e woodblock printing method was simplified to eliminate waste and create the unique composition and color expression unique to ukiyo-e woodblock prints. The production process was differentiated, and a three-person division of labor system was established, with the “painter” drawing the preliminary sketches, the “engraver” engraving the plates, and the “printer” printing the colors, each working as a specialist. Katsushika Hokusai and Kitagawa Utamaro, both well-known artists, were either employed by major publishers or worked independently. Japanese woodblock multicolor printing, with its unique materials, colors, and expressions, was the world’s most advanced technique at the time. The technique later influenced many artists, including Van Gogh, and astonished the world. Trivia: Japan’s advanced woodblock printing technology became known to the world when woodblock prints that failed to print were shipped across the sea as buffer material for other exports such as ceramics and porcelain. ~.

The casual fact that ukiyo-e prints were used as packing materials for paper scraps is surprising in its permeation of popular art in the Edo period society. In contrast to European art, which had been a form of religious art or an object of service to the aristocracy’s lifestyle, Japanese woodblock-printed art, which was used carelessly as paper scraps, was a civilized wonder, and as a Japanese, I am proud to say that it brought about a sense of wonder. In the not-so-affluent lives of city dwellers, polychromatic paintings were still displayed in each household and provided a topic of conversation for the family dinner table. The paintings were often about travel or gossip about famous Kabuki stars, depending on the theme of the painting (laugh), and they added a lot of color to the peaceful family life. Of course, the high literacy rate in Japan meant that people probably had to learn and gather information from printed books, but the ease of understanding provided by multicolor printing had a powerful impact on people’s hearts. I myself am of the first generation to be imbued with the visual culture of television, but I suspect that the people who first came into contact with the Ukiyo-e culture of the Edo period were of a similar generation that experienced a cultural revolution. I love this atmosphere.

Posted on 1月 17th, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 日本社会・文化研究, 歴史探訪 | No Comments »