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【やっぱり北海道の味、ホッケの開き】


 日本全国、海に囲まれた列島各地で「おいしいお魚」は各種ありますが、北海道でいちばん庶民的な味わいはやはりホッケにトドメを刺される。
 全国のほっけ漁獲量は、以下のように北海道が圧倒的なシェアを誇っています。
  1位:北海道 32,799 (t)
2位:青森県 633 (t)
3位:山形県 218 (t) 〜データ引用:2019年 食品データ館
 高校まで北海道に居て大学から東京で暮らすようになって、どこをどう探しても「ホッケの開き」を買うことが出来なくて、つくづくと望郷の念に駆られたことがあります。わたしの場合、北海道で生きていきたいと考えたいちばんの理由かも知れない。・・・なワケはないのですが(笑)、しかし深層心理では、この魚の味覚へのこだわりは強いモノがある。
 のちに東京で就職して銀座に支店のあった北海道新聞と取引もしていたので、その社員の方に連れられて「銀座の北海道料理店」で会食したことがあります。季節もちょうど良かったので迷わず「ホッケの開き」一択で注文した。ところが出てきたヤツは、本当に「干からびて」いて、身まで固くて、深い涙とともにかじっていた。ダメだこりゃ、でありました。いまは物流も整備されて、銀座の一流店ではおいしいものも食べられるかも、ですがわたしはたぶん遠慮しそう(泣)。
 ここんところシーズンということで、安価で大ぶり(写真では分かりにくいかもですが、全長で35-40cmくらいはある)なので、食品店店頭でも、ひときわ目を引かされる。これくらいの大きさでも1枚300円内外。まことに庶民の大好物なのですね。
 ホッケの食べ方でいちばんウレシイのは、新鮮なアブラの乗ったヤツでは、シッポ側を掴んで真ん中の「骨」を一気にアタマ側まで引き剥がす瞬間。これが一気に行けるヤツは確実にウマい。
 数寄な方は、骨に絡まっていて皮のようになったヤツをしゃぶり食うのが楽しいともいわれる。当然、たくさんの小骨が抵抗してくるのですが、それに丹念に応えて、上手に剥がしていくのも醍醐味。そして、身の部分を取り上げて、たっぷりの大根おろしに漬けて頬張る。
 写真の1枚を夫婦で、口数すくなく黙々と平らげていく快感。
 ちょっと前までだったら、こういう大型でも1人で平らげていたと思うのですが、ダイエットにも取り組み続けているので、これで十分。でもアタマの硬い部分や、皮の部分もたのしく食べられる。いかにも「一物全体食」的に食べられるのであります。う〜む、また食うぞ!

English version⬇

Hokkaido’s specialty, hokke (hokke).
Local fish for the masses. It is a local fish for the masses, and the harmony with plenty of grated daikon (Japanese radish) is outstanding. This is the biggest culprit that made me make a U-turn to Hokkaido (laugh). Laughs

 There are various kinds of “delicious fish” throughout Japan and throughout the archipelago surrounded by the sea, but the most common taste in Hokkaido is still topped by Hokke.
 Hokkaido boasts the overwhelming share of the nation’s hokke catch, as shown below.
  No. 1: Hokkaido 32,799 (t)
No. 2: Aomori Prefecture 633 (t)
No. 3: Yamagata Prefecture 218 (t) – Data citation: 2019 Food Data Center
 I lived in Hokkaido until high school, and then moved to Tokyo for college. I was very nostalgic because I could not buy hokke no matter where I looked. In my case, this may have been the main reason why I wanted to live in Hokkaido. I was not really a fish lover (laugh), but in my deepest psyche, I have a strong attachment to the taste of fish.
 Later, when I was working in Tokyo and doing business with the Hokkaido Shimbun, which had a branch in Ginza, one of its employees once took me to dinner at a “Hokkaido restaurant in Ginza. The season was just right, so I had no hesitation in ordering “hokke (hokke open fish)” as my first choice. However, the one that came out was really “dried out” and even the meat was hard, and I was gnawing on it with deep tears. It was a disaster. Now that the distribution system has been improved, you may be able to eat delicious food at first-class restaurants in Ginza, but I probably won’t (I’m crying).
 Since it has been the season recently, they are inexpensive and large (the picture may not show it well, but the total length is about 35-40 cm), so they are very eye-catching even in food stores. Even at this size, each piece costs around 300 yen. It is truly a favorite food of the common people.
 The most exciting part of eating hokke is the moment when you grab the tail side of a fresh hokke with a lot of fat on it and pull off the center “bone” all the way to the head side at once. The ones that can do this all at once are surely good.
 For those who are a bit more adventurous, it is said that it is fun to suck and eat the skin-like pieces that have become entangled in the bone. Naturally, many small bones resist, but it is a real pleasure to carefully respond to them and skillfully peel them off. Then, the meat is taken away, marinated in a generous amount of grated daikon, and eaten.
 It was a pleasant sensation to eat the piece in the photo together with the couple, silently and without saying a word.
 Until recently, I would have finished a large piece like this by myself, but since I continue to work on my diet, this is enough for me. But I can also enjoy eating the hard part of the head and the skin. I can eat them in a “whole food” way. Hmmm… I will eat it again!

 

【神社参拝探訪と日本人的「神性」感】


 さて今週もいろいろなことがらが目まぐるしく状況変容しておりました。ちょっと長期スパンでの身の回りのこと、個人企業としての巨視的な動態にほのかな戦略的な「みちすじ」が顕在化しはじめたということなのか。
 ひとそれぞれに高齢化との向き合い方があるかと思いますが、自分なりのカタチが段々と可視化してきている展開。そういう時点で、本日から3連休なのだという。組織企業人としてではなく個人企業として、それなりのビジネス観をもって行動していると暦での行動枠・規範は、ほぼ感覚が消えてきている。「え、そうなの?」。
 写真はここ最近のわたしの全国神社巡りの神札。高鴨神社は奈良県ですが、それ以外は太宰府天満宮、宗像大社、宮地嶽神社、櫻井神社などはすべて九州・福岡県の神社。
 神社巡りって、日本人にとって宗教というよりも先人へのリスペクトということに近いように思える。世界宗教とはまったく違って、その土地の神への崇敬に本質があるように思う。
 列島地域のそれぞれに人びとの生きた残照のようなものがあり、神社境内にはそういった空気感が漂っていて、そういう様子に頭を垂れさせられる。その土地の人びとが、生きて愛してきたなにものかが、そうした場所にいると、こころの中で立ち上ってくる。数寄。
 で、そういった神社ではほぼ神札を購入させていただき、わが家のわたしのデスク脇上の神棚に飾らせていただく習慣。よく「神さま同士が喧嘩する」みたいな警句があるそうですが、わたし的にはとてもそうは思えない。日本の神様は基本的に他者排斥的ではないと思う。
 日本の集落は基本的に海岸や、河川に向かって開かれた「八百万〜やおよろず」の社会としての個性を持った人間集団だったのだと思う。中央集権的にそういった個別社会を「なぎ倒して」崇拝を強制するような不穏な神は、それこそを排斥してきたのではないか。
 わたし的にはそういう思いがあって、たくさんの神々を祀らせていただいている。それぞれの神札を見ていると、その土地・風土との出会いが想起されてこころが暖まる。
 海に四周を囲まれた国土が涵養した日本人的精神性のように思えるのですね。
 ・・・ということですっかり忘れていた連休、のんびり過ごさせていただきます。

English version⬇

Shrine Visits and the Japanese Sense of Divinity
A society that is not exclusionary toward others. A nation of mutual respect for such local communities. In our home Shinto altar, there are many local gods and deities. The gods and deities of the local community are present in our family altar.

This week, too, things have been changing at a dizzying pace. Is it that a slight strategic “roadmap” has begun to emerge in the macroscopic dynamics of our immediate surroundings and our individual companies over a longer span of time?
 I am sure that everyone has his or her own way of dealing with aging, but I am gradually beginning to visualize my own form of development. At this point, it is a three-day weekend starting today. As an individual enterprise, not as an organizational corporate person, but as an individual enterprise, acting with a certain view of business, the framework and norms of behavior in the calendar are almost losing their sense. ‘Oh, really?’ I am not sure.
 The photo is a sacred card from my recent shrine tours around Japan. Takagamo Shrine is in Nara Prefecture, but other than that, Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, Munakata Taisha Shrine, Miyajitake Shrine, Sakurai Shrine, etc. are all in Kyushu and Fukuoka Prefecture.
 Visiting shrines seems to be more like respect for one’s predecessors than a religion to the Japanese. Unlike world religions, the essence of shrine tours seems to lie in reverence for the local gods.
 Each region of the archipelago has its own living remnants of its people, and the atmosphere in the shrine precincts is such that it makes me hang my head. When you are in such a place, something that the local people have lived and loved rises up in your heart. Sukiyori.
 I have a habit of purchasing a sacred card at such shrines and displaying it on the altar above my desk at home. I often hear warnings like, “Gods fight with each other,” but I don’t think so. I don’t think so. I think Japanese gods are basically not exclusionary.
 I think that Japanese communities were basically a group of people with individuality as a society of “Yaoyorozu,” or “eight millions” that opened toward the seashore and rivers. I believe that the centralized, unsettling deities that “overthrow” such individual societies and force their worship have been excluded.
 It is with this in mind that I worship many deities. When I look at each of the cards, I am reminded of my encounter with the land and its climate, which warms my heart.
 It seems to me that this is a Japanese spirituality cultivated in a country surrounded by the sea.
 So, I am going to spend the holiday weekend, which I had completely forgotten about, relaxing and taking it easy.

 

【和室の装飾要素「ふすま絵」という表現形式】



 わたしは昨年でこれまで手掛けてきた事業関係からは一歩退いたカタチですが、ひとそれぞれで「高齢化」と向き合うところ、わたしの場合はどうも趣味生活に没頭するとかは、まったく性に合わないようです。習い性ということか。
 結局、これまで積み重ねてきた経験って、そのなかに大きな「数寄」の要素があるようで、いまはその志向性を自分なりに純化させたような方向に向かっています。昨日はその動きの中で核心的なことに明確な進展があって、さて、というところ。今後、発表できる段階になったら、徐々にご案内していきたいと思っています。
 さて、先日「床の間」という日本的な精神性の根幹のような住宅装置について考察しましたが、それと並んで「ふすま絵」というような表現領域もある。上の写真は大阪・堺が出身地である女流作家・与謝野晶子のふすま絵。下の写真は一般的なふすま絵が置かれた家の中での雰囲気を写し撮ったものです。<どちらもわたし自身の撮影>
 与謝野晶子のふすま絵は、前妻と離婚のうえで晶子と結婚した夫君の与謝野鉄幹がヨーロッパに旅行していて、かれを追って渡欧しようとした晶子さんが、その旅費を稼ぎ出すのに、作品として知人に買い取ってもらったふすま絵ということ。
 彼女は戦前期「大正浪漫」最盛期を彩った作家ですが、当時としては画期的な女性の自我や性愛を詠い、浪漫派歌人としてのスタイルを確立したとされる。どうも最近、この大正浪漫時期から戦前の時期に興味がありまして、そういう時代の雰囲気の底流に彼女の存在があるように思っております。
 それはいいのですが、ふすま絵という形式には日本的伝統かあるいは中国的な文化スタイルなのか、こういう漢詩のような文章と、その筆致をビジュアルとして鑑賞するという文化が日本には根強かったのですね。掛け軸などでも似たようなテーマで作品化される。ちょっと首を捻るのには、政治家の書なども珍重されたりもする文化があった。
 現代ではこういった要素も住宅インテリアとしてはほぼ絶滅危惧種。
 絵画であればこういう表現手段も現代でもすなおに受け入れられるけれど、著名人・文化人の書いた文章などがこうやってピンナップされる、それに高額な報酬を支払う文化というものが日本には伝統的に存在したのでしょう。
 建築的に考えると、ふすまという建材自体が芸術品として取り扱われたということになる。こういった文化が存在したことと、現代住宅ではほぼ姿を消していることの両方が、非常に興味深いと思っています。ふ〜む、といったところ。

English version⬇

Fusuma-e, a decorative element of Japanese-style rooms, is a form of expression.
Fusuma, a building material, was sublimated and valued as a kind of artwork. I am interested in both the culture of appreciating such things and their disappearance. I am interested in both the culture of loving these things and their disappearance.

Last year I took a step back from the business I have been involved in, and while everyone faces “aging” in their own way, in my case, it does not seem to suit my nature at all to devote myself to hobbies and lifestyle. I guess it is a habit of mine.
 In the end, the experience I have accumulated so far seems to have a large “sukiyomi” element in it, and I am now moving in a direction that seems to have purified that orientation in my own way. Yesterday, I made a clear progress on the core of this movement, and now I’m just getting started. I would like to gradually announce the results when we are ready to make an announcement.
 Now, the other day I discussed “tokonoma,” a housing device that seems to be the root of Japanese spirituality, and along with it, there is another area of expression such as “fusuma-e,” or fusuma paintings. The photo above is a fusuma-e by Yosano Akiko, a female writer whose hometown was Sakai, Osaka. The photo below is a shot of the atmosphere in a house with a common fusuma-e. <Both photos were taken by myself.
 Akiko Yosano’s fusuma-e (fusuma paintings) are said to have been created by her husband, Tekkan Yosano, who had married Akiko after divorcing his ex-wife and was traveling in Europe, and Akiko, who wanted to follow him to Europe, bought them as artworks from an acquaintance to earn money for the trip.
 She was a writer who colored the heyday of “Taisho Romanticism” in the prewar period, and it is said that she established her style as a Romantic poet by composing about female ego and sexual love, which was groundbreaking at the time. Recently, I have been interested in the period between the Taisho Romantic Period and the prewar period, and I feel that she is at the bottom of the atmosphere of that era.
 I think she was at the bottom of the atmosphere of that period. Similar themes are used to create works of art in hanging scrolls and the like. To twist the question a bit, there was also a culture in which the calligraphy of politicians was also highly valued.
 Today, these elements are almost endangered for home interiors.
 While paintings can be easily accepted today as a means of expression, the culture of pinning up writings by celebrities and cultural figures and paying high fees for them must have existed in Japan for centuries.
 From an architectural point of view, fusuma, the building material itself, was treated as a work of art. I find it very interesting both that such a culture existed and that it has almost disappeared in modern housing. Hmmm.
 
 

【画家・たかたのりこ展、小樽美術館で開催】



 わたしが住宅雑誌Replanを創刊したての頃、夫婦で細々と営んでいたところに助っ人として勤務していただいていた、画家のたかたのりこさん。その後、アルビレオ工房という制作工房を作られて独立されていった。
 数奇な出会いがあったのですが、久しぶりの消息で紹介するような個展を開かれているということで、夫婦で再会を楽しみに小樽に行って参りました。勤務していただいていたのに、わたし自身は事業立ち上げに没頭していて、彼女のことについてはまったく知らないことばかり(笑)。父君が油彩を中心としたちょっと抽象画風の画家だったということも初めて知った次第。なので、みなさんにご紹介するには、知識がなさ過ぎるのですがお知らせ致します。
 画像として案内チラシを受け取ったのでそれをそのまま掲載します。

 実はわたしたち夫婦もたかたさんに絵をお願いして、娘の絵を2枚描いていただいています。その絵はわたしの寝室でいつもわたしを眠りに誘ってくれております。たかたさんのタッチでやわらかく表現された「こども」は、まことに深く沈殿してくる。あわいタッチなのですが、その表情の受け止め方に、いかにも母性が深く感じられるのです。
 人生で男は1枚、ピエロの絵を持っておけ、みたいな人生訓めいたものがあって、わたしは青春期にヨーロッパに行ったときにパリの街角で、売れない絵描きさんの描いていた絵を購入してきた。油彩画なので旅行鞄に詰め込むことが心配だったところ、国際郵便で送るよ、という申し出があった。いま、考えて見ると、英語もあんまり話さないフランス人が、どうやって東洋の果ての日本人少年からその代金と送料を受け取って、絵を送ってくれたものか、ちょっと不思議なのですが、とにかく、帰国後ややしてから本当に郵送されてきた絵に感動していた。
 以来、どこに移転しても必ずこのピエロの絵はわたしといっしょだったので、少年時の人生訓は生きてくれたのだと思う。
 自分自身も絵には数寄心があるのですが、きっと絵と人間の出会いって、そのような「運命」めいたものなのではないかと思っています。自分の身近にあってくれればそれは僥倖であり、随伴できないのであればそれも「定め」なのでしょう。
 そういうなかでたかたさんの絵は、ながく随伴させていただいた。そのタッチに深く癒されている自分がおります。個展の紹介のつもりが自分と絵との出会いになってしまいましたが(笑)、7/28まで開催されていますので、ぜひ、参観をオススメ致します。

English version⬇

Noriko Takata Exhibition at Otaru Museum of Art
Painting and life. The clown painting I bought from a street artist in Paris has accompanied me throughout my life. The picture of my daughter that Ms. Takata painted for me will stay with me until my grave, I think (laughs).

Noriko Takata, a painter, worked as a helper for me when I first started publishing Replan, a housing magazine, which was run by a couple. Later, she established her own production studio, Albireo Kobo, and became independent.
 We had a few strange encounters with her, and when we heard that she was holding a solo exhibition, which we will introduce in our long-ago disappearance, we went to Otaru to enjoy the reunion with her and her husband. Although she had been working for us, I myself was immersed in setting up my own business and knew nothing about her at all (laugh). (Laughs.) I also learned for the first time that her father was an oil painter with a slightly abstract style. So, although I don’t have enough knowledge to introduce her to you, I would like to let you know.
 I received a flyer as a picture, so I am posting it as it is.

 In fact, my husband and I have also asked Mr. Takata to paint two pictures of our daughter. They are always in my bedroom, lulling me to sleep. The “children” softly expressed by Mr. Katata’s touch is really deeply sedimented. Although her touch is gentle, the way she receives the expression on her face is deeply maternal.
 When I went to Europe in my youth, I bought a painting by an unsuccessful artist on a street corner in Paris. I was worried about packing it in my travel bag because it was an oil painting, but he offered to send it to me by international mail. Now that I think about it, it is a bit strange how a Frenchman who did not speak much English could have received that payment and postage from a Japanese boy on the far side of the Orient and sent the painting to me, but anyway, I was really impressed by the painting that was mailed to me somewhat after I returned home.
 Since then, wherever I have moved, this clown picture has always been with me, so I think the life lessons I learned as a boy have lived on.
 I myself have a few sentiments toward painting, and I am sure that the encounter between a painting and a human being is something like that kind of “destiny. It is fortuitous if they are close to me, and if they cannot accompany me, it is also “predestined”.
 In this context, Mr. Katata’s paintings have accompanied me for a long time. I am deeply healed by his touch. This exhibition is open until July 28th, and I highly recommend you to visit.

【日本的インテリア「床の間」の持続可能性】


 先日の有島武郎が借りていた家、「豊平川右岸のリンゴ畑の高級賃貸住宅」で、明治末年当時の札幌における賃貸住宅の様子をお伝えしたけれど、そのなかでわたし的にあらためて気付かされるポイントがあった。
 それは寒冷地北海道に住んで日本民族のフロンティア的に位置づけられたくらしをしていた当時において、その賃貸住宅のインテリアデザイン要素として、やはり床の間がこれ見よがしに1階で2箇所も装置され、なお未紹介の2階でも床の間が装置されていたこと。
 そしてそれを当時の最先端知識人であり、欧米遊学の機会にも恵まれた進歩派である有島においてすら、住宅の選択としてこのような内装を持つ家を選択していたという事実です。
 今日の北海道ではそもそも住宅の中で和室それ自体の存在も少数派になってきているので、110年前当時との「住宅常識」の相違に気付かされるのですね。賃貸住宅の中でも、緑豊かなリンゴ園のなかの高級賃貸住宅で、その「高級ぶり」を表現するのに、決定的な要素、わかりやすい要素として床の間付き、ということがメッセージパワーを持っていた事実。
 まぁわたしなどの年代は、こういう床の間インテリアというものをその家の「格式表現」として無意識にそういう価値感を受け入れているけれど、そういう認識が持続可能性を持っているかと考えると、やはり大きな疑問とせざるを得ない。
 だいたい、わが家建築ではそういう空間は最初から構想すらしていなかった。
 現代住宅、とくに北海道ではこういうインテリア志向性はごく少数なのではないだろうか。ただ、日本人らしさの感受性領域で、こういった空間性は文化伝統でもある。
 その空間に掛けられる「掛け軸」などにはその家の主人の趣味生活が表現されて、いわば文化的メッセージとして伝えられるものだったし、日本人としての「背筋を伸ばす」空間性ではあり続けてきた。日本的「家」意識をもっとも象徴的に「伝えていく」文化装置であった。そのような精神性領域というものは今後、どうなっていくのか。個人的にはこういう床の間的な装置は、テレビ受像機が代替してきたというように考えているのだけれど・・・。
 ふつうに考えれば機能性だけに集中していって、こういう文化は衰退一択ということになるだろうけれど、この民俗的文化伝統がそう易々と消え去っていくとも考えにくい。もし残っていくとすれば、と考えることも住宅マーケティング的には面白い領域開発であるかも知れない。
 

English version⬇

The Sustainability of the Japanese Interior “Tokono-ma” (alcove)
As a function, it can be said to be a device for passing on “family status,” but it has disappeared from modern houses. Was it replaced by the TV? The trend is for it to be replaced by the Internet. The trend is for it to be replaced by the web.

In my recent article, “The House Rented by Takeo Arishima: A Luxury Rental House in an Apple Field on the Right Bank of the Toyohira River,” I reported on the state of rental housing in Sapporo at the end of the Meiji era (late 1868).
 In those days when people lived in the cold region of Hokkaido, which was positioned as a frontier of the Japanese people, the interior design elements of the rental housing included two alcoves on the first floor and an alcove on the second floor, which I have not yet introduced.
 And even Arishima, a leading intellectual of the time and a progressive who had the opportunity to study in Europe and the U.S., chose a house with this kind of interior design as his housing choice.
 In Hokkaido today, the presence of Japanese-style rooms in houses has become a minority, and we are reminded of the difference in “housing common sense” from 110 years ago. Among rental houses, the fact that a luxury rental house in a lush apple orchard with an alcove was a decisive and easily recognizable element in expressing the “luxury” of the house had a powerful message.
 Well, people my age and older subconsciously accept this kind of tokonoma interior as a “prestigious expression” of the house, but I must admit that I have serious doubts about the sustainability of such a perception.
 In fact, we did not even envision such a space in our house from the beginning.
 In contemporary housing, especially in Hokkaido, this kind of interior design orientation is probably rare. However, this kind of spatiality is a cultural tradition in the realm of Japanese sensitivity.
 The “hanging scrolls” hanging in the space express the owner’s hobbies and lifestyle and convey a cultural message, and have always been a space that “stretches the spine” of the Japanese people. It was a cultural device that most symbolically “conveyed” the Japanese sense of “home. What will become of such a spiritual realm in the future? Personally, I think that TV receivers have replaced tokonoma-like devices like this.
 Normally, one would think that this kind of culture would decline as people focus on functionality alone, but it is hard to believe that this folk cultural tradition will disappear so easily. However, it is hard to believe that this folk cultural tradition will disappear so easily, and it may be an interesting area of development from the perspective of housing marketing to consider what, if anything, will remain.
 
 

【オオウバユリの「叫び声」、花芽の分枝】



 ニュース報道では東京都知事選の話題で持ちきり状態ですが、こういうのってマスメディア企業が東京一極集中していることからでしょうか?ほかの9割の日本人にとっては、ほかの自治体の首長選挙であって、当面自分たちのくらしとは縁遠い話題。
 大統領制と似た選挙形式なので、日本の代議制民主主義と違う一種の劇場型選挙ということで強く興味を持たれるということなのでしょうか。結果としては石丸さんという候補者がずいぶんと露出していた。若い世代からは支持が強かったようですが、インタビューなどを見ていると、コミュニケーション能力的にどうなんだろうかと疑わしい部分が感じられた。マスメディアとのやり取りで日本のマスコミへの批判的な言動が多く、そういう面が若い世代に「ウケて」いることは理解できるのだけれど、いろいろな質問にまともに答える姿勢が感じられないのは、どうなんだろうかという印象を持っておりました。今後、政治の世界では注目が集まっていくだろうけれど、さて?
 ここのところ札幌は全国各地の猛暑からはほど遠い低温気味・湿度の多い初夏であります。
 どうも「エゾ梅雨」なのではないかと疑わしい。スカッとした青空をしばらく見ていません。気温も23-24度程度で推移していて、朝の散歩もやや肌寒いほどであります。
 この時期にいちばん楽しいのは写真の「オオウバユリ」の生態観察。毎日、刻々と姿を変容させてくれる様子を観察することが出来る。そのなかでもわたしが一番好きなのが、上の写真のような光景。ぼってりとした量感をたたえた花芽が、上に向かって成長していたものが、やがて自重に自然に頭を下げていく表情を見せる瞬間。いかにも熟したという感じでしだれていく様子が、美しいと思うのです。
 ちょうどこの瞬間は「いのちの叫び声」というようにも感じられる。
 毎年繰り返される光景なのですが、こういういのちとの交感がだんだん好ましくなってくる。だいたい札幌円山公園の一帯のオオウバユリたちは、ここから1週間程度一斉にこのような姿を見せてくれる。で、それぞれの花芽が真横を向いて、花開いていくことになる。開花以降の方がわかりやすい「美感」なのでしょうが、どうもわたしはこの写真のような状態が、いちばん美感を刺激されるのであります。

English version⬇

The “cry” of the Siberian lily, the branching of the flower buds.
The moment when the flower buds, which have matured in a voluminous and voluptuous manner, slowly lie down under their own weight. The beauty of the flower buds radiating in various directions. ・・・・・・・.

The Tokyo gubernatorial election has been a hot topic in the news reports. For the other 90% of Japanese, the election is an election for the heads of other local governments, a topic that has nothing to do with their lives for the time being.
 Since the election format is similar to that of a presidential election, it is a kind of theatrical election that differs from Japan’s representative democracy, and this may be why they are so interested in it. As a result, the candidate, Mr. Ishimaru, had a lot of exposure. He seemed to have strong support from the younger generation, but in interviews and other interviews, I sensed some doubt about his communication skills. In his interactions with the mass media, he was often critical of the Japanese press, and while it is understandable that this aspect of his behavior is “popular” among the younger generation, I had the impression that he did not seem to have the attitude to answer various questions in a serious manner. I am sure this will attract more attention in the world of politics in the future, but now what?
 It has been a very cold and humid early summer here in Sapporo, far from the extremely hot summer we have been experiencing in other parts of Japan.
 I suspect it is the “Ezo Rainy Season. We have not seen a clear blue sky for a while. The temperature is hovering around 23-24 degrees Celsius, and it is a little chilly to take a morning walk.
 The most enjoyable thing about this time of the year is observing the ecology of the day lilies in the photo. Every day, I can observe the ever-changing appearance of the lily of the valley. Among them, I like the one shown in the photo above the best. The moment when the flower buds, which had been growing upward with a massive, voluminous feeling, eventually show the expression of their natural lowering of their heads under their own weight. I think it is beautiful to see them drooping down as if they are ripe.
 This moment is like a “cry of life.
 It is a scene that repeats itself every year, but this kind of communion with life is becoming more and more desirable. The day before the blooming, the day after the blooming, the day after the blooming, the day after the blooming, the day after the blooming, the day after the blooming, the day after the blooming, the day after the blooming, the day after the blooming. The flower buds face right side up, and then bloom. I suppose that the “sense of beauty” is more easily recognized after flowering, but for me, the state shown in this photo is the most stimulating to my sense of beauty. 

【明治末、有島武郎の住選択「札幌のベッドタウン」-2】



 きのうの続篇です。
 世間的には東京都知事選挙の話題が大きかったようですが、思った以上にステルス「自公」小池知事は強かったのと、立憲共産vsマスコミ批判の2位争いでは、まったく組織を持たないマスコミ批判派が勝利したことが、衝撃的。これは時代遅れマスコミに取ってイタいところを突かれたか。で、引き続いて政治世論はたぶん自由民主党の総裁選に興味が移っていくことでしょう。さて。
 有島武郎邸、それも新婚早々の時期の大学教員としての住まい。経済的成功を収めていた裕福な有島家の長男として、北大を卒業後、欧米遊学を経てふたたび札幌に移転してきた人生時期。なんだけれど、結婚自体は親が勧める良家の娘さんをめとって新婚生活を始めている。伝統ライフスタイル派。
 有島の住宅経歴を見ていると、この高級賃貸住宅を経て、自ら設計プランに没頭したと思われる現北大にほど近い土地に建てた新築住宅の直前の住まいになる。この当時の賃貸住宅の常識のなかでもこの家はかなり個性的とも思われるのだけれど、かれはきっとこの住環境に対しての改善点を大きな教訓として、新築計画に向かっていたと推定されるのです。
 今この家は北海道開拓の村に移築保存されているけれど、そもそもは「豊平川右岸の、1町歩ほどもある大きなリンゴ園のなかにあった」と有島の作品「生まれ出ずる悩み」で記述しているとされる。
 推測では自然環境豊かな農園のなかの住まい、というコンセプトに強く惹かれたのではないかと思っている。当時の札幌の街は最初期の「官都」都市計画からどんどんと都市規模が膨らんでいった時期。
 豊平川右岸というのは、そういった札幌の市街区に対して田園がひろがる地域という認識が強かったように思われるのです。地域の歴史推移を見ると以下。(札幌市豊平区HPより)
〜明治4年(1871年)に現在の岩手県などから多くの人が平岸や月寒に移住。平岸村、月寒村、豊平村の合併などを経て、明治41年に町制が施行され豊平町となった。農業が盛んで、特にリンゴは明治時代から平岸を中心に栽培され、「平岸リンゴ」は昭和初期には海外に輸出されるほどであった。〜
 有島は明治43年から翌年に掛けてこの家に住んだので、ちょうど豊平町の町制施工時期にあたる。札幌の「ベッドタウン」郊外住宅地域という位置付けになるのだろう。
 最初期の札幌市街地の拡大時期に相当するように思える。
 そのように見返してみると、有島の住宅選択の考え方と当時の札幌の住宅世相がともに再生されてきて興味が深まっていく。どうもこういう方面にわたしのライフワークは収斂する予感(笑)。

English version⬇

[At the end of the Meiji period, Takeo Arishima’s choice of residence, “Sapporo’s Bedtown”-2
Referring to the transition of Sapporo Toyohira-ku, it corresponds to the period when the population of the surrounding area increased along with the expansion of the Sapporo urban area. The first “bed town” that continues to the present day…

This is a continuation of yesterday’s report.
 The Tokyo gubernatorial election seems to have been a major topic of public interest, but the fact that the stealth “autocrat” Governor Koike was stronger than expected and that the second-place race between the Rikken Kyosan and the media critics was won by the media critics who have no organization at all is shocking. This was a bad moment for the outdated mass media. And the political public will probably continue to be interested in the Liberal Democratic Party’s presidential election. Now, let’s look at the house of Takeo Arishima.
 Takeo Arishima’s residence, where he lived as a university faculty member during his early years as a newlywed. He was the eldest son of the wealthy and financially successful Arishima family, and after graduating from Hokkaido University and studying in Europe and the United States, he moved back to Sapporo at that time in his life. Although he is the eldest son of a wealthy and financially successful family, he married the daughter of a good family recommended by his parents and started his new life as a newlywed. He is a traditional lifestyleist.
 Looking at Arishima’s housing history, we can see that after this high-class rental house, he lived just before the new house he built on a plot of land close to the current Hokkaido University, where he seems to have immersed himself in design planning. Although this house is considered to be quite unique even in the common sense of rental housing at that time, it is assumed that he learned a great deal from the improvements made to this living environment as he was planning to build a new house.
 Although the house has been relocated and is now preserved in the Hokkaido Kaitakunomura, it was originally located “in a large apple orchard on the right bank of the Toyohira River, about one township in size,” as described in Arishima’s work, “Born of a Trouble.
 My guess is that he was strongly attracted to the concept of living in a farm in a rich natural environment. At that time, the city of Sapporo was in the process of expanding its urban scale from the initial “government capital” urban plan.
 The right bank of the Toyohira River was strongly perceived as an area where the countryside spread out in contrast to the urban area of Sapporo. The historical transition of the area is as follows. (From the website of Toyohira-ku, Sapporo)
〜In 1871, many people from what is now Iwate Prefecture moved to Hiragishi and Tsukisamu. After the merger of Hiragishi, Tsukisamu, and Toyohira villages, the town was incorporated in 1908 and became Toyohira-cho. Agriculture is flourishing, especially apples have been grown mainly in Hiragishi since the Meiji Era, and “Hiragishi apples” were even exported overseas in the early Showa Era. ~.
 Arishima lived in this house from 1908 to the following year, which was right around the time when Toyohira-cho was established as a town. The area was positioned as a “bedroom town” suburban residential area of Sapporo.
 It seems to correspond to the period of the first expansion of the urban area of Sapporo.
 Looking back at the data in this way, I am interested in the replay of both Arishima’s housing selection ideas and the state of housing in Sapporo at that time. I have a feeling that my life’s work will converge in this direction (laugh).

 

【110年前、有島武郎が借りた「家=格式」住宅】




 わたしはいま、昔人の住んでいた住宅を探訪してそのデザインを感じ取るようなツアーをしています。そういう一環で必要があって、北大出身で同校で英語教師も務め新婚生活を送っていた作家・有島武郎が住んでいた家を撮影取材した。この家はその当時札幌市豊平区に建っていたもので、いまは北海道開拓の村という「古民家園」に移築された高級賃貸住宅。
 ということなので当時の「大学教授」が選択した家族同居用の賃貸住宅という性格の家になる。一般的に考えれば、明治末期の賃貸住宅建築の価値感から「社会的名士」にふさわしいと考えられた住宅。
 賃貸住宅という性格からその当時の社会の価値感が、わかりやすく表現されたことは間違いがない。当時の人びとの価値感、生き様が色濃く反映していると考えられる。
 そのなかでこの写真の3枚は、この賃貸住宅の「主要居室」の様子。
 いかにも象徴的に、縁側付き・床の間付きの住宅で、なんと床の間は隣接する和室にもダブルで設けられている様子がわかる。不動産物件としては、重厚な先祖崇拝装置を造作することで、高級物件としての納得感を演出しようと考えたものかもしれない。
 床の間空間というものは、社会の中でその家の主の「格式」を表現したものといえる。それにプラスしてさらに縁側が装置されているのは、いかにも「内地」的な日本人的「家=格式」意識を表現した内装だったのだろう。一応、寒冷対応としては縁側の外縁に硝子入りの引き戸が装置されて、外部とは一応の「境界」を作っている。
 いかにも「風流に庭を堪能するには残念だけれど、寒さに配慮して高価な硝子入りの建具で仕切っています」みたいな、不動産屋の口上が聞こえてくるような気がする。
 親が勧めた、家格にふさわしいと考えられた女性と結婚したての大学教員の有島武郎は、いろいろ見て回っただろう賃貸住宅からこの家を選択した。その後3年ほど経過して、より職場に近い札幌市北区に新築住宅を建てるまでの期間を過ごしている。
 この家について有島武郎がどのような選択基準で選んだのかはわからないし、満足したか、不満であったかは調査できていない。
 この当時の日本人意識の中で家というのは、生活空間というよりもいわば「格式」最重視して、その「風習」に近い価値感が選択基準の枢要を占めていたことが伝わってくる。来客などがあったとき、その家の「家格」を明瞭に伝える装置としての住宅建築の役割が色濃く存在したことがわかる。
 そういうなかで一部に「洋風」造という風情がプラスされると、その当主の思想性においてより「開明的」というように受け取られていたと推定できる。
 こういう住宅文化から、やがて「住宅性能」という寒冷地で求められる本質的な格闘が始まられていくことになる。わたしたち社会の「出自」を端的に教えられる気がする。

English version⬇

110 years ago, Takeo Arishima rented a “house = prestigious” residence.
Housing equipment and specifications that expressed the social values of the time as rental housing. The departure to highly insulated and airtight housing was a value shift from prestige to an emphasis on living. ・・・・.

I am currently on a tour to explore houses where people lived in the past and get a sense of their design. As part of this tour, I had to photograph the house where the writer Takeo Arishima, who was a graduate of Hokkaido University, an English teacher at the same school, and a newlywed, used to live. The house was located in Toyohira-ku, Sapporo at the time, and is now a luxury rental house that has been moved to an old private house garden called “Hokkaido Kaitakunomura” (Hokkaido Development Village).
 The house was built in Toyohira-ku, Sapporo at that time, and was moved to the “Old Private House Garden” in the Hokkaido Kaitakushi Mura (Hokkaido Development Village), which is now a high-class rental house. Generally speaking, this house is a reflection of a house that was considered suitable for a “social celebrity” according to the sense of value of rental housing architectural design at the end of the Meiji period.
 There is no doubt that the character of the rental housing expressed the social values of the time in an easy-to-understand manner. It is thought that the sense of value and way of life of the people of that time are strongly reflected in the photos.
 Among them, these three photographs show the “main living room” of this rental house.
 Symbolically, the house has a porch and an alcove, and the alcove is doubled in the adjacent Japanese-style room. As a real estate property, it may have been thought to create a sense of conviction as a luxury property by building a massive ancestor worship device.
 The tokonoma space is an expression of the “prestige” of the master of the house in society. The addition of the veranda to the tokonoma space may have been an expression of the Japanese sense of “house = prestige” that is typical of the “inner-city” interior. To cope with the cold, a sliding glass door was installed on the outer edge of the porch to create a “boundary” with the outside.
 It was as if I could hear the real estate agent saying, “It’s too bad you can’t enjoy the garden in style, but we’re using expensive glass fittings to separate the two in consideration of the cold weather.
 Takeo Arishima, a university faculty member who had just married a woman whom his parents recommended as being suitable for the family, chose this house from the various rental houses he must have looked around. He spent the next three years or so before building a new house in Kita-ku, Sapporo, closer to his workplace.
 We do not know what selection criteria Takehiro Arishima used for this house, and we have not been able to investigate whether he was satisfied or dissatisfied with it.
 It is clear that the Japanese people of the time placed more importance on the “prestige” of the house than on its living space, and that a sense of value similar to that of “custom” was a key factor in their selection criteria. The role of residential architecture as a device for clearly communicating the “family status” of the house when guests arrived is evident.
 When a “Western-style” style was added to the house, it is assumed that it was perceived as more “open-minded” in terms of the ideology of the head of the family.
 From this type of housing culture, the essential struggle for “housing performance,” which is required in cold regions, began. I feel that this is a simple reminder of the “origins” of our society.

 
 

【地球環境変動とイキモノの生き方】


 きのう新聞輪転機のトップメーカー三菱重工の事業からの撤退を書いたら、非常に多数の方から閲覧いただいたようです。栄枯盛衰は世の常なので、こういった事態もごく当たり前に起こっていくことだと思いますが、それに対しては万古普遍の真理と見定めて、「どう対応するか。どう生き延びるか」しか選択判断はないだろうと思います。
 新聞に代表される「情報産業」という存在は、1995年を境にして「長期低落」傾向にあって、対比で見れば総売上は50%以下にまで下がって来ている。そういうなかでは「雑誌」業界は、その専門性からWEB転換が進みやすく、逆に売上げは一時期の低落から反発していまは伸びる傾向にある。
 しかしなんと、業界の羅針盤機能を果たしていた電通の「媒体別売上げ」仕分けに於いて、ながく「インターネット」という項目に「雑誌」業界のWEB売り上げが仕分けされていて、新聞と同様に厳しい状況とされていたのですが、昨年くらいになってようやくその仕分け基準が見直されたということがありました。WEBでは既存の総花的メディア情報よりも、より専門性の高い情報源、それも一定の「信頼性」が担保された情報が優位に立つことが出来る。一方では、情報産業の中では巨大化しすぎた新聞業界は、気候変動要因で滅びていった恐竜たちのような趨勢をたどる危険性が高い。
 過去の地球環境史のなかでは恐竜が滅んだ後、より小型で敏捷性の高い哺乳動物が盛大に繁栄していったように、この情報産業の世界では専門的メディアの方が対応力を持っているのでしょう。
 そんなことで本日の画像データは、先日訪れて地田福岡の「市立博物館」での展示画像より。北海道は日本列島の中で、最寒冷な大型島嶼という位置付けですが、福岡のある北九州地域は、やはり大陸との距離感がまことに近い。いまから2万年前の地図を見ると、北海道と東北地域と同程度の距離感でアジア大陸世界との交流が想定できる環境。
 今回の旅路ですっかり夫婦とも九州が大好きになってしまいまして、これからの人生計画になくてはならない地域になって行きそうです(笑)。現代人は有史以来の「移動交通環境」を獲得しているので、この時代に命を得たことを大いに生かし、より前向きに生きていきたいと考えております。
 新聞業界もキビシイ局面ではありますが、前向きに地道に打開策を実行していくことでチャンスは等しく生まれてくるものと思います。一種の「長い戦友」みたいな意識を持っている新聞業界の人びとの奮起を期待したいと思っています。

English version⬇

Global Environmental Change and Ikimono’s Way of Life
The global environment has changed drastically many times. Animals have survived through these changes. I hope that newspapers will not follow in the footsteps of the dinosaurs, but will look forward and aim for prosperity. Newspaper

When I wrote yesterday about the withdrawal from the business of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the leading manufacturer of rotary presses for newspapers, a great many people seemed to read my article. I believe that such a situation will occur as a matter of course, since rise and fall is a common occurrence in this world. The only choice we have is how to respond and how to survive.
 The existence of the “information industry,” as represented by newspapers, has been in a “long-term decline” since 1995, and its total sales have fallen to less than 50% of its previous level. In this context, the “magazine” industry, because of its specialized nature, is easily converted to the Web, and sales have rebounded from a period of decline and are now on a growth trend.
 However, Dentsu’s “sales by media” classification, which had served as a compass for the industry, had long classified “magazine” industry Web sales under the “Internet” category, and had been considered to be in the same difficult situation as that of newspapers. On the Web, more specialized information sources with a certain level of “credibility” can have an advantage over the existing general media information. On the other hand, the newspaper industry, which has grown too large for the information industry, is in danger of following the same trend as the dinosaurs that perished due to climate change.
 Just as in past global environmental history, smaller and more agile mammals thrived after the dinosaurs perished, so in this information industry world, the specialized media will be more responsive.
 And so, today’s image data comes from a recent visit to the “Municipal Museum” in Fukuoka, Japan. Hokkaido is positioned as the coldest large island in the Japanese archipelago, but the Kitakyushu area where Fukuoka is located is very close to the continent. Looking at a map of 20,000 years ago, the distance between Hokkaido and the Tohoku region is about the same as the distance between the two regions and the world of the Asian continent.
 We have come to love Kyushu so much on this trip that it will become an indispensable part of our life plan from now on (laugh). We are now living in a “mobile transportation environment” that has been available to us since the beginning of time, and we would like to make the most of the fact that our lives have been given to us in this era and live more positively.
 The newspaper industry is also in a difficult situation, but I believe that opportunities will be created equally if we are positive and steadily implement measures to break through. I hope that people in the newspaper industry, who are like “longtime comrades-in-arms,” will get up and get going.

【新聞輪転機事業 最大シェアの三菱重工が撤退発表】

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 しばらく1週間旅していて、その期間中にさまざまな事柄が起こっていたので、それへの対応に順次追われております。もっとも重要な動きに昨日、主体的行動的に対応して、そこからの帰り道、ケータイに先方から即対応の反応があって今後事態の推移をより深く注視することになりました。
 次世代のための活動であって息の長いことですが、だからこそ自分の役割だと思っています。
 それ以外にもたくさんの案件が出来していますが、冷静に対応していきたいと思います。
 旅行中、ニュースも確認できなかった環境の中、6日前に非常に重要な発表があったことを知った次第。それが表題の件であります。これまでも新聞メディアの危機は言われてきましたが、その事業の骨格的な領域で、対応してきたインフラ産業側からの「撤退宣言」という事態。以下、日刊工業新聞 2024年07月01日WEBからの要旨転載。
〜部品調達が困難に…三菱重工機械システム、「新聞輪転機」製造終了  
 三菱重工機械システム(神戸市兵庫区、小嶋聡社長)は新聞用オフセット輪転機(新聞輪転機)の新台製造の終了を決定した。新聞輪転機に関わる人員の高齢化が進んでいるのに加え、部品調達が困難になっている状況を踏まえて判断した。アフターサービスの提供は最長でも2036年3月までに終了し、新聞輪転機事業からも撤退する。同社は1966年に新聞輪転機の初号機を納入してから、延べ670台を超える新聞輪転機を国内外で納入してきた。新聞輪転機の新台製造は、現在注文を受けている顧客との契約分の納入をもって終了する。納入設備の修理や維持などアフターサービスは当面継続する。〜
 メディアという事業領域で長く人生を過ごしてきた人間として、完全な「時代の大転換」を実感。新聞業界にとって輪転機が産業として成り立たないという事態は、まさにきわめて重大。この三菱重工機械システムはシェアが5割を超えていたということだそうで、トップ企業にしてこうであれば、そのまま新聞業界全体の非常警報と言っていい。1966年以降、58年間で670台生産ということで、単純には1年間で10台平均、ほぼ全国の「新聞社」の需要とパラレルなのでしょう。
 ・・・こうした状況を受けて根底的な構造転換は不可避。ただ、従来の紙メディアが果たしてきた役割は形を変えて、情報取得の需要は確実にあり続ける。いやむしろ増大するに違いない。ツールは変わらざるを得ないということ。そういうなかで知恵と工夫で新時代は開かれていくのだろう。
 待ったなしの大号砲は大きなチャンスでもあり得る。これまでなにを準備し、どのような未来構想を磨いてきたか、それが問われていくのでしょう。

English version⬇

MHI Announces Withdrawal from Newspaper Rotary Press Business
The situation is tantamount to the cessation of production of automobiles, the foundation of a transportation company. What kind of future will be created by the collapse of the production base? We must look at the essence of the situation and look forward to the future. Newspaper

I have been on the road for a week, and various things have been happening during that period, so I have been busy responding to them one after another. On my way home from the trip, I received an immediate response on my cell phone from the other party, which prompted me to keep a closer eye on the situation.
 It is an activity for the next generation, and it is a long-lasting thing, but that is why I think it is my role.
 There are many other projects in the pipeline, and I intend to respond to them calmly.
 During my trip, I was not able to check the news and learned that a very important announcement had been made six days earlier. That is the case of the title. The crisis of the newspaper media has been mentioned in the past, but this is a “declaration of withdrawal” from the infrastructure industry, which has been the backbone of the business and has been handling the situation. The following is an abstract reprint from the Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun July 01, 2024 web.
〜MHI Machinery Systems to End Newspaper Rotary Press Production  
 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machinery Systems (Hyogo, Kobe; President: Satoshi Kojima) has decided to terminate the manufacture of new newspaper offset presses (newspaper rotary presses). The decision was made in light of the aging of personnel involved in newspaper printing presses and the increasing difficulty in procuring parts. After-sales service will be discontinued by March 2036 at the latest, and the company will also withdraw from the newspaper printing press business. Since delivering its first newspaper printing press in 1966, the company has delivered a total of more than 670 newspaper printing presses in Japan and overseas. The manufacture of new newspaper printing presses will be terminated with the delivery of the contracted units to the customers who are currently placing orders. After-sales service, such as repair and maintenance of delivered equipment, will continue for the time being. ~.
 As someone who has spent a long time in the media business domain, I feel that we are in the midst of a complete “sea change of the times. For the newspaper industry, the fact that rotary presses are no longer viable as an industry is a matter of the utmost importance. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machinery Systems, Inc. had a market share of over 50%, and if this is the case for a top company, it can be said to be an emergency alarm for the newspaper industry as a whole. This is almost parallel to the demand of all “newspaper companies” in Japan.
  However, the role played by the traditional print media will be reshaped, and the demand for information acquisition will certainly continue to exist. In fact, it is bound to increase. This means that tools will have to change. In this context, a new era will open up with wisdom and ingenuity.
 The “big gun” that is about to be fired could also be a great opportunity. What have we done to prepare and refine our vision for the future?