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.

Posted on 3月 21st, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 日本社会・文化研究 | No Comments »

「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.

Posted on 3月 19th, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: おとこの料理＆食 | No Comments »

　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!

Posted on 3月 17th, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 未分類 | No Comments »

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.

Posted on 3月 15th, 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 »

建築家・堀部安嗣氏の代表作品、2016年日本建築学会賞作品賞の竹林寺納骨堂を参観してのルポ、第４回であります。
前章まででいわゆる作家的自己主張とは違う「環境調和型」の志向での設計が意図されていると記述してきた。しかしその趣旨と見事に合致しながら、同時に「この手で来たのか」と驚かされた。それが生と死をつなぐ道を通り抜けた納骨堂の掉尾の空間に印象的に配置された「水室」と名付けられた空間であり、その主装置として据えられていた「水盤」。
わたしは納骨堂建築の一般的デザイン作法を知らない。わが三木家の場合は北海道に広島県福山市近郊から移住してこの地でなくなった祖父母と両親の世代から札幌の公営墓地に墓を建てている。墓を建てるまでは菩提寺の納骨堂に納められていて、幼少期まではそこに墓参していたけれど、それは菩提寺の本堂内に収納されていた。建築として別個の納骨堂というものの詳細は知らない。自分が見知っている範囲の事例を考えれば、一般的デザインの仕様設定条件として「水盤」は存在しないだろうと思う。
なので、この配置計画は竹林寺納骨堂の建築家・堀部氏によるオリジナルと考えられ、その建築計画の核心なのではないかと思われた。


「静的な土と静謐だけれど動的な水を対比させている。納骨室で死者と向き合うだけでなく、強い生命力も感じられる空間を目指した」とされる。堀部氏のHPの紹介には以下のような説明。
「塀の高さは水面より約２ｍ。壁上部にはプランターが設けられており、五台山に自生する数種の植物が植えられている。壁は土佐漆喰鏡面仕上げ。水盤は黒御影石を使用。水盤には常時水が流れ、その水音は通路空間にまで響き渡る。四周からオーバーフローした水は直下のビット内に設けられたタンクとポンプで循環させている。」
昨日「納骨堂の中で読書しているひとがいた」ことを書いたけれど、具体的にどの場所でとまでの記載は原文にもなかった。詳細取材までの及ばないブログとしては、想像するしかない。わたしとしてはどう考えても読書していた人は、この水盤の前に置かれた簡素なベンチにいたのではないかと思う。
水があり空があって、この場所で採取された土壁があり、この地の緑が空間を縁取っているこの場所は、まさに内省的な場であり、自分の近縁者が眠っている納骨堂空間に浸り、抱かれるのにふさわしい。
ここに水盤を配置した建築構想の意図に、おだやかで環境調和的だけれど端的な作家性・主張性が表現されているようにも思われた。

English version⬇

The “water basin” is placed at the architectural climax of the Chikurin-ji Ossuary.
The water basin is an introspective device that maximizes depth. The water basin harmonizes with the sky, the surrounding nature, and the clay-painted walls of the site to create the harmony of the sound of water. The water basin is a device for reflection.

This is the fourth installment of our report on our visit to architect Yasutsugu Horibe’s representative work, the Chikurinji Ossuary, which won the 2016 AIJ Prize for Best Work.
In the previous chapters, we have described that the design was intended to have an “environmental harmony” orientation, which is different from the so-called artist’s self-assertion. However, while it was in perfect accord with that purpose, at the same time, I was surprised to see that it came in this way. The latter part of the ossuary, through which the path connecting life and death passes, is impressively located in a space named “water room,” and the “water basin” was installed as the main device.
I am not familiar with the general design style of ossuary architecture. In the case of the Miki family, the grandparents who moved to Hokkaido from the suburbs of Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture, and their parents who passed away in this area, built their graves in the public cemetery in Sapporo. Until the cemetery was built, the graves were kept in the ossuary of the family temple, which was housed in the main hall of the temple, although I used to visit the graves there until I was a child. I do not know the details of the separate ossuary as an architectural structure. Considering the examples I am familiar with, I do not think that a “water basin” would exist as a general design specification condition.
Therefore, this layout plan is considered to be original by Mr. Horibe, the architect of Chikurin-ji Ossuary, and it seems to be the core of his architectural plan.

The static earth contrasts with the tranquil but dynamic water. I aimed to create a space where people can not only face the dead in the ossuary, but also feel a strong life force”. The introduction on Horibe’s website explains as follows
The wall is about 2 m high above the water, and planters are placed on top of the wall, in which several species of plants native to Mt. The walls are Tosa plaster with a mirror finish. The water basin is made of black granite. Water is constantly flowing in the basin, and the sound of the water echoes through the passage space. Water overflowing from the four perimeters is circulated by a tank and pump located in the bit directly below.”
Yesterday I wrote that “there was a person reading in the ossuary,” but there was no specific location mentioned in the original text. As a blog that does not go into details, I can only imagine. I think that the person who was reading must have been on a simple bench placed in front of the water basin.
With water, sky, clay walls collected at this site, and greenery surrounding the space, this place is truly a place for introspection, a place to be immersed in and embraced by the ossuary space where one’s relatives are laid to rest.
The placement of the water basin in this space seems to express a gentle, environmentally harmonious, yet straightforward artist and assertiveness in the architectural concept.

Posted on 3月 13th, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 日本社会・文化研究 | No Comments »