この草戸千軒にほど近い位置に「明王院」「草戸稲荷神社」社寺が有名な古刹。明王院の五重塔も、神社も高層建築でまるでビルとも思える。これらは当時の工人たちの明白な技術の結晶だろう。
日本民族にとってのもっとも身近な「地域製造業」としての大型木造建築集団。この草戸千軒ミュージアム展示では「番匠」という呼称で加工現場「作事場」が復元展示されていた。
現代ではこの身近な建築衆のことを大工さんという言い方をする。しかし歴史的には「大工」というのは、木造職人さんたちを束ねる「棟梁」的な立場を司っていた人物のことを尊称した名前。そういった専門職としてはむしろ「番匠」の方が中世社会としてはふさわしい名前と思える。
こういった建築技術集団は日本列島社会では古代から存在したことが間違いないだろう。そうでなければ三内丸山とか、出雲大社社殿、吉野ヶ里遺跡などの大型木造建築の成立は考えられない。とくに出雲大社の地上48m相当といわれた往古の超高層木造建築は達成し得なかっただろう。出雲の社殿の「伝承」としてこの超高層建築は「神話」に属すると思われていたものが、実際に巨大な心柱が、巨木３本を金輪で構造補強としてまとめられ締め上げられて出土するというに至って、現実だったことが確定した。
そういった古代からの木造技術伝承は社会に深く根ざしてあり続けてきたのだろう。一方で、世界最古の建築「会社」金剛組は現代まで1450年以上存続し続けてきている。この金剛組は聖徳太子の仏教導入政策の担い手、寺院建築の専門家として百済から来日して、そのまま宮大工として、寺院建築の延命補修の専門職として長く存続してきた。産業としての建設業は社寺仏閣という「公共事業」の担い手という存在として日本社会で永続してきたのだ。こういう技術伝承は日本社会の屋台骨資産なのだと強く思う。


草戸稲荷神社は平安時代の807年創建、一方の明王院は大同2年（807年）弘法大師の開基と伝えられている。ということはこの２つはほぼ同時期に建築工事されたことになる。創建時期のことを考えればたぶん真言宗大覚寺派の古刹である明王院が主体工事だったことが想像できる。
これら古刹の「下町」のような芦田川の中州に草戸千軒は町屋として成立した。
このふたつの大工事が草戸千軒という中世都市生成・維持にとって決定的な要因だったことは疑いがない。社寺建築に関わるあらゆる職方がこの都市に集中して、いかにも「門前市」をなす景況を生み出していったことは確実。ひとつの大工事事業があらゆる産業を成立させていくことは自明。いろいろな関連工事の職人たちが連携し合っていくときに近接して住むことは合理性がきわめて高い。このような社寺建築事業が歴史的に継続して営まれてきたことが、日本の産業史の骨格をも形成したと思える。

English version⬇

The “Bansho” domestic industry group created by shrine and temple architecture – Kusado-Senken 2023 Revisited-9
The Izumo-taisha shrine pavilion, an ancient 48-meter large wooden structure, was considered a myth, but it has been proven to be a real structure. Visualization of the social “economic” function of shrine and temple architecture. …

Now, finally, the construction group as the most familiar “local manufacturing industry” for the Japanese people. In this Kusado-Senken Museum exhibit, a restored “sakugijo,” a processing site, was displayed under the name of “bansho.
Today, the term “carpenter” is used to refer to this familiar group of builders. Historically, however, “carpenter” was a respectful name for a person who was in charge of a “master carpenter,” a position that united wooden craftsmen. As such a profession, “bansho” seems a more appropriate name for medieval society.
There is no doubt that such a group of building techniques existed in the Japanese archipelago since ancient times. Otherwise, it is inconceivable that large wooden structures such as Sannai-Maruyama, the Izumo-taisha shrine pavilions, and the Yoshinogari ruins could have been constructed. In particular, the Izumo-taisha shrine, which is said to be equivalent to 48 m above the ground, could not have been built with the super high-rise wooden structures of the past. What had been thought to be a “myth” of Izumo’s shrine buildings was confirmed to be a reality when three huge pillars were actually excavated from three huge trees that were tightened together with a metal ring for structural reinforcement.
Such ancient traditions of wooden construction technology must have been deeply rooted in society. On the other hand, the world’s oldest architectural “company,” Kongogumi, has continued to exist for more than 1,450 years until the present day. The Kongo-gumi came to Japan from Baekje as temple construction specialists who were instrumental in Prince Shotoku’s policy of introducing Buddhism. The construction industry as an industry has persisted in Japanese society as a bearer of “public works” such as shrines, temples, and Buddhist temples. I strongly believe that the transmission of these skills is a fundamental asset of Japanese society.

Not far from this Kusado-Senken are the famous old temples and shrines of “Kusado Inari Shrine” and “Meio-in Temple” (in order of photo). The shrine is a high-rise structure that looks like a building, and the pagoda of Meio-in Temple is the fruit of the skill of the craftsmen of that time.
Kusado-Senken was established as a townhouse in the middle of the Ashida River, which is like a “downtown” of these old temples. Incidentally, Kusado Inari Shrine was built in 807 during the Heian period (794-1185), while Meio-in Temple was founded by Kobo Daishi in 807 (Daido 2). This means that the two shrines were constructed at about the same time. Considering the time of construction, it can be imagined that Meio-in Temple, an old temple of the Daikakuji School of the Shingon sect, was the main construction site.
However, there is no doubt that these two major construction projects were decisive factors in the creation and maintenance of the medieval city of Kusado-Senken. It is certain that all the workers involved in shrine and temple construction were concentrated in this city, creating a “gate market” of sorts. It is obvious that a single major construction project can lead to the establishment of all kinds of industries. It is highly rational to live in close proximity to each other when craftsmen in various related construction fields are working together. The fact that such shrine and temple construction projects have been carried out continuously throughout history seems to have formed the backbone of Japan’s industrial history.

Posted on 12月 21st, 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 »

自分自身がだんだん高齢者になるとは人間あんまり思っていない（笑）。ヘンな言い方ですが実際に自分が加齢してきて、はじめてその現実と向き合うことになりますね。
この草戸千軒の町家のありようをルポしていると、自分自身が体験していた1950-60年代の札幌の街の雰囲気のなかで「◎◎屋」という専門的な工人事業者、ものづくりを街の中で行っていた人びとのことがはるかに思い起こされます。時代の変化ということが明確にわかる。イマドキの若い方はそういった実感は持たれていないでしょう。自分自身、実際に触れていた当時は、それが町の記憶の中でそこまでの重要な要素だったとは思わなかったのだけれど、そういう存在が消え去ってみて初めて知ることになる。徐々に独占・寡占が各業種毎に進んで行って、町場の独自の製造事業者が撤退を余儀なくされていく過程が進行していったのですね。
この草戸千軒には、わたし自身が体験記憶しているそういう「失われた町屋」の原形が見える。
きょう紹介するのは町の「足駄屋」さんの製造工場兼用の住居。土間という作業現場と板敷きの居間空間が同居していて、必死の生き様がストレートに可視化されている。
足駄は板で造作する平面に対して鼻緒で足の親指・人差し指の間に穴を開け、左右の穴と連携して保持強度を担保して前後２本に板材の歯を付ける。その構造は江戸期以降の下駄と同一。下駄は室町から江戸期に隆盛するとされ、江戸期は含まない草戸千軒遺跡の町屋としては「足駄」なのだろう。


工程的には手頃な丸太木材から板面を切りだし成形し、それに加熱しての穴開けを行う様子がわかる。鼻緒については明確な展示がなかったように思われた。
日本人の足下は伝統的にはこういう木材素材が主流だった。ヨーロッパでは皮革による靴が一般化したのとは対比的。日常では足駄・下駄でいいだろうが、長距離の旅や戦闘などでは基本は草鞋（わらじ）だったとされる。大将から足軽雑兵に至るまでみな草鞋。基本は麻製だが藁に木綿を捻って混ぜていたものもあったとのこと。簡単に脱げないように、しっかり結ばれていたのだという。
どうしても構造上、足指が露出するので家に入るときには「足を洗って」から室内に「上がった」。日本の家屋で玄関が単なる出入り口以上の「結界」空間になったことには足下の要因もあったのだろう。
さらにきのうまで見た「塗師」の家ではほこりなどを嫌って壁は湿式仕上げの塗り壁だったけれど、こちらの足駄屋では外が見えるほどに通風性重視の板張りが採用されている。町屋長屋だけれど、こういった仕様の違いはあって、業者毎にその住宅性能を選択していたと考えられる。
そうするとこうした長屋形式の建築の運営主体者と間借り人との関係というのも興味が湧いてくる。一般的に考えれば賃貸借契約関係だったのだろう。明日以降、番匠（大工）の作事場も見るけれど、建築業・不動産業とこの草戸千軒・町屋との関係性というのも面白そうです。

English version⬇

Japanese craftsmanship: “Geta shop” – Kusado-Senken 2023 Revisited – 7
Footwear and geta have supported the footwear of the Japanese people. Since they were worn barefoot, they gave birth to a lifestyle culture of “rising” from the ground. It may be the source of the sense of home = boundary. ・・・・.

People don’t really think that they themselves will gradually become elderly (laughs). It may sound strange, but it is only when you actually start aging that you come face to face with this reality.
This report on the town houses of Kusado-Senken reminds me of my own experience in Sapporo in the 1950s and 1960s, when the town was full of professional craftspeople called “◎◎ya,” who were engaged in manufacturing in the town. It is a clear indication that the times are changing. The younger generation of Imadokoso probably does not have such a sense of reality. I myself, at the time when I was actually exposed to it, did not think it was such an important element in the town’s memory, but I only learned about it after such an existence had disappeared. So the process of gradual monopolization and oligopoly went on for each type of business, and the original manufacturing businesses in the town were forced to withdraw from the market.
In this Kusado-Senken, I can see the original form of such “lost town houses” that I myself remember from my own experience.
Today, I would like to introduce a “clog maker’s” house that doubles as a manufacturing plant. The earthen floor, a work site, and the wooden-paved living room space coexist in the same space, and the desperate way of life is clearly visualized.
The geta is made of a wooden board with a hole drilled between the thumb and forefinger with a nose strap, and two wooden board teeth are attached to the front and back to ensure holding strength in conjunction with the holes on the left and right sides. Its structure is identical to geta from the Edo period onward. Geta is said to flourish from the Muromachi to the Edo period, and as the Kusado-Senken site machiya, which does not include the Edo period, it is probably a “foot geta.

The process shows the cutting and forming of the board face from a reasonable log, and then heating and drilling the board face. There did not seem to be a clear display of the nose strap.
Traditionally, Japanese people’s footwear was made of this kind of wood material. This is in contrast to shoes made of leather, which became common in Europe. While geta (clogs) may be used in daily life, sandals are said to have been the basic footwear for long-distance travel and combat. Everyone from generals to foot soldiers wore sandals. The basic material was hemp, but there were also straw sandals mixed with twisted cotton. They were tied tightly so that they would not come off easily.
Because of the structure of the house, toes were inevitably exposed, so when entering the house, one had to “wash one’s feet” before “going up” inside. The fact that the entrance of a Japanese house became more than just a doorway, but also a “boundary” space, must have been due in part to the footprint of the house.
In addition, while the “lacquer” house I saw until yesterday had wet-finished painted walls to avoid dust, the wooden flooring in this adder house is so ventilated that the outside can be seen. Although these are townhouse row houses, there are differences in specifications, and it is thought that each builder had his own choice of housing performance.
This makes the relationship between the owner of the tenement building and the renter interesting. Generally speaking, the relationship was probably that of a lease contract. From tomorrow onward, we will also see the construction site of a bansho (carpenter), but it will be interesting to see the relationship between the construction and real estate industries and this Kusado-Senken machiya.

Posted on 12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 »

中世になって荘園農地ではない化外の地、境界部・川原とかの無主の土地で人びとが集まりやすい流通性のよい場所に「市」は成立していった。この草戸千軒は、芦田川という福山市の中央部を貫流して瀬戸内海に注ぐ河口という好条件の場所に成立したワケだ。瀬戸内海交易圏の中央部に立地して、大きな瀬戸内海の水の干満についてもこの地域一帯が好条件なのだったという。
そういう人びとの往来が多発する地域に同時に職人、工人たちは定住を見せるようになる。コトバとしても今日われわれは「商工業者」というように一体表現するけれど、始原期からビジネスはそのような性格を持っているのでしょう。そのさまざまな工人たちの家を訪ねてみる。第１回は漆を扱った木工道具を仕上げる「塗師」の家。上は外観ですが、街区の床面は石が敷き込まれて「簡易舗装」されている。たぶん活発な荷動きのために車両交通を考えた都市構造か。
そして引き戸の玄関開口１間幅の左右にもそれぞれ通風の開口部がしつらえられている。右側が居間空間でほぼ下半分は塗り壁仕上げ。一方の左側は工房空間でこちらはより開口面積が大きい。作業での体動を考えてより通風要素を高めたか。同時に通りとのコミュニケーションを考えたような仕様のように思える。

江戸期の長屋と同様にこちらは「２軒長屋」の一方を利用している。これが塗師の家の内部空間。右手側が家族居間で、土間を挟んで反対側が工房空間。この家は２回に分けて紹介。本日は居間空間。


柱梁には曲がり材が用いられ、壁面部は塗り壁。屋根が剥き出しで構造材があらわされ天井が張られていない。面積的には１間×２間のスペース。土間に面して囲炉裏が切られてそこを囲んで食卓空間となる。床面は板張り。鍋が火にかけられ食器に食べものが盛り付けられている。中世の人々の精一杯の「ハレ」の日の食卓風景か。敷き布団は綿のない筵が使われている。その他の家財道具はそれぞれの容器に収納されている。一隅には机も据えられている。取引を記録するためにの書き付けの必要性だろう。

居間奥の空間の様子。土間には水瓶が置かれて飲用水として暮らしの基本を支えている。その左手には焚き木が貯蔵されている。これはその日に使う分で、その他の貯蔵は屋外に積み上がっていた。部屋の右端には衣類を収納させる竹製の行李。その左側には使いかけの包丁とまな板。その周囲には塩などの調味料が容器に貯蔵されていた様子がわかる。
食のための空間が終われば、今度は寝るための空間に変化していく。食器容器などを片付けて整理整頓して「布団を敷く」ことになる。考えて見ればこういう空間の用途変更に柔軟に対応する生活文化は、日本人に数多くの特性を生んでいったに違いない。わたしたちの暮らしのマザーが表現されていて、なんとも「懐かしい」。

English version⬇

The “Takumi” craftsman’s life / Nuri-shi no Ie 1 – Kusado-Senken 2023 Revisited-5
Machiya life” realism reminds us that the custom of “tidying up” in a small space may have greatly enhanced the “responsiveness” of the Japanese people. …

In the Middle Ages, “fairs” were established on unowned land that was not manor or farm land, such as boundary areas and riverbanks, where people could easily gather and distribute their goods. Kusado-Senken was established at the mouth of the Ashida River, which flows through the center of Fukuyama City and empties into the Seto Inland Sea. The area was located in the center of the Seto Inland Sea trading zone, and the ebb and flow of the large Seto Inland Sea was also favorable in this area.
Craftsmen and artisans began to settle in such an area where people came and went frequently. Today we use the term “tradesmen” to refer to the entire area, but business has probably had such a character since the primitive period. We will visit the homes of these various craftsmen. The first is the house of a “lacquer worker” who finishes woodworking tools that deal with lacquer. Above is an exterior view, but the floor surface of the street is “simply paved” with stones. Perhaps an urban structure designed for vehicular traffic for active cargo movement.
The sliding door entrance is 1 ken wide, with ventilation openings on each side. On the right is the living room space, almost the entire lower half of which is finished with painted walls. On the left side is the workshop space, which has a larger opening. The ventilation element has been enhanced in consideration of the physical movement of the workers. At the same time, it seems to be designed to communicate with the street.

Like the row houses of the Edo period, this one uses one of the “2-house row houses”. This is the interior space of the lacquerware house. On the right side is the family living room, and across the earthen floor is the workshop space. This house will be introduced in two parts. Today is the living room space.

Bent timbers are used for columns and beams, and the walls are painted. The roof is exposed, exposing the structural materials, and there is no ceiling. The area is 1 ken by 2 ken. A sunken hearth is set in front of the earthen floor, and is used as a dining space around the hearth. The floor is covered with wooden boards. A pot is placed over the fire and food is served on dishes. This is the dining scene of the medieval people on their “Hare” day, as best they could. The futon mattress is made of a cottonless mat. Other household goods are stored in their own containers. A desk is set in one corner. This may be a writing desk to record transactions.

A view of the space behind the living room. A water bottle is placed in the earthen floor to support the basics of life as drinking water. On the left side of the room, firewood is stored. This is for the day’s use, and the rest of the wood was piled up outside. On the far right side of the room is a bamboo rack for storing clothes. To the left of it are used knives and a cutting board. Around them, salt and other seasonings were stored in containers.
Once the space for eating was finished, it was transformed into a space for sleeping. The dishes and containers were put away and organized, and then the futon was laid out. The lifestyle culture that responds flexibly to changes in the use of space must have given birth to many characteristics in the Japanese people. It is an expression of the mother of our lifestyle, and is very “nostalgic.

Posted on 12月 17th, 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 »

生活痕跡というとき、その主要な「息づかい」はやはり毎日の女性たちの実相、空気感。草戸千軒遺跡のジオラマ展示でもいちばん鷲づかみされるのは井戸周辺、その具体的な水仕事の痕跡。
毎日の洗濯に使われただろう「たらい」、それも漆塗りでしっかり防水加工されている曲げ物制作技術が、具体的な発掘成果に基づいて展示されている。
ご丁寧に物干しの様子まで復元され、下帯の類と思えるような衣類が掛けられている。いかにも「井戸端」で男性たちへの遠慮会釈ない話題で日頃のストレス解消している様子まで「こだま」してくる。
「ちょっとォ、ウチの亭主さぁエラそうなんだわ〜」
「亭主なんてみんな同じよ、ウチのなんてさぁ、こないだ・・・」
みたいな会話をこれ見よがしに長屋中に響き渡るように「こだま」させて憂さ晴らし（笑）。早口で、なおかぶせ合って会話するので、男たちには断片的にしか聞き取れないまま町に「こだま」していく。
図版は「臼と杵」と題された中世女性たちの暮らしのワンシーン。食材を粉にしてそれを調理する日常食材加工の様子でしょうが、杵で亭主への恨み辛みを込めて「すりつぶす」のに、お互いにはやし立てながら作業しているように思える。どうも自虐史観だろうか（笑）。


瀬戸内海交通の重要な結節点に位置していた「千軒」と呼ばれる集落都市のこういった「町家」環境の中で中世の人びとの「生活常識」は揺籃されていたに違いない。活発な物流・人流からはさまざまな暮らしの進化過程も情報流通していっただろう。商人たちにとってこういう市井の評価は得がたい「市場の声」として脳裏にこだましていった。
かれらが商売上の判断を下していくとき、こうした市井の声こそが最大の規範になっていただろうことは疑えない。国内・海外交易ネットワークの主要幹線往路である瀬戸内海地域の商業都市という存在は、民のナマの感覚が日々更新されている最先端地域だったのだろう。
情報という現代世界の先端的領域にも似たニオイをこうした町家空間は担っていた。
こうした地域からやがて瀬戸内海交通の最大都市・堺に情報選別感が到達して、民の声として商人たちの価値感に昇華していったことだろう。亭主たちへの呵責ない品評はそれでも愛がベースであっただろうが、それ以外のモノやコト、人物への呵責ない判断力は遠慮ないレベルに磨き上げられていった。
日本人の精神史に刻印される「西国」的価値感世界とは、こうした商業集落という存在が日々育成していった、ものの見方・道理であったのだと思えてきている。

English version⬇

Medieval Life and Women’s Stories: Kusado-Senken 2023 Revisited-3
Hey, my husband, he’s so rude! The world of cutting-edge information spreading with the most painful words in the ear (laughter). The voice of the people rises from there. The people’s voice rises up from there.

When we speak of traces of daily life, the main “breath” is the reality and atmosphere of women’s daily lives. In the diorama exhibition at the Kusado-Senken site, the most striking feature is the well area and the concrete traces of water work.
The exhibit shows a “tub” that would have been used for daily washing, and the technique used to make the waterproof, lacquered, and bent items is based on concrete excavation results. Even the clothes-drying area has been carefully reconstructed, and clothes that might have been used as undergarments are hung on the clothesline. The scene of the men relieving their daily stress by talking without reserve to the men at the “well” is echoed in the room.
Hey, my husband, he’s so rude!
My husband is the same as everyone else’s. The other day…”
They would “echo” these conversations throughout the tenement house, as if to show off their sorrows (laughter). (Laughs.) Because they speak so quickly and talk over each other, the men can only hear fragments of the conversation, but it echoes through the town.
The illustration titled “Mortar and Pestle” is a scene from the lives of medieval women. It is probably a scene of daily food processing, in which foodstuffs are processed into powder and cooked, and the women seem to be working with a pestle to “grind” their resentment toward their husbands, while shouting at each other. Thanks, I wonder if it is a self-flagellation (laughs).

The “common sense of life” of the medieval people must have been cradled in the environment of these “machiya” townhouses in the village town of Senken, located at an important node of the Seto Inland Sea transportation system. The active logistics and human flow must have provided information on the evolutionary process of various lifestyles. For the merchants, these evaluations from the marketplace were the “voice of the market” that they could not get enough of.
There is no doubt that the voices of the market would have been the most important norm for them when they made business decisions. The existence of a commercial city in the Seto Inland Sea region, a major artery in the domestic and international trade network, must have been a cutting-edge area where the people’s real senses were being renewed on a daily basis.
Machiya spaces like this one carried an odor similar to that of information, a cutting-edge area in the modern world.
From these areas, this sense of selective information must have eventually reached Sakai, the largest city on the Seto Inland Sea transportation route, and sublimated into the merchants’ sense of value as the voice of the people. While the remorseless evaluation of husbands may have been based on love, the ability to judge other things and people without reservation was refined to an unreserved level.
I am beginning to think that the “western” world of values that is imprinted in the history of the Japanese psyche is the way of thinking and reasoning that was nurtured day by day in the existence of these commercial villages.

Posted on 12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 »

７回にわたって約1000年前ころの札幌の遺跡について探索をして見ましたが、やはり同時並行的に日本史上の遺跡も考えて見たい、ということで広島県東部・福山市の港湾遺跡「草戸千軒」再訪であります。
擦文の遺跡は約1000年前と言うことでしたがこの草戸千軒遺跡も約1000年前時期から4-500年前のころまで栄えていたとされています。ちなみに「千軒」というのは一種の比喩表現でたくさんの建築・住宅、それも商家や職人たちの集積した中世的都市ということ。瀬戸内海交易圏というものは日本史で大動脈的な役割を果たし続けてきた。
わたし自身の家系伝承では同じ瀬戸内海交易圏の姫路近くの「英賀千軒」に深い縁があり、そこが危機に陥ったとき、同族が商家として生き延びていたこちらの草戸千軒〜のちには尾道〜などの交易圏地域に活路を見出したという経緯をたどれる。江戸期には尾道を根拠地として「あがや」という商号で商家を営んでいた。
江戸期にはわが家の直接の家系が尾道から5-6kmで草戸千軒・福山との中間地点の「今津」という宿場町で商家を営んでいた。こちらの菩提寺墓域には直接のご先祖のお墓もある。
ちなみに尾道とこの草戸千軒地域は22-23kmという近距離。瀬戸内海の港としてはお隣り。草戸千軒都市は、現在の福山市内を流れる芦田川の瀬戸内海河口に立地していて、1673年に洪水で都市が流されたという記録があるそうですが、近距離である尾道と連携していた存在だと思います。
日本の商業の発展にとって瀬戸内海はその最大の中核地域。京大阪という日本の最大都市圏への船舶での物流の大動脈地域であり続けてきた。草戸千軒はその中継スポットとして非常に重要な役割を果たしてきた。


尾道は現代にまでつながる商業都市ですが、一方の草戸千軒は「幻の中世都市遺跡」。その遺跡については福山市中心部の城下公園に福山歴史博物館「草戸千軒ミュージアム」として記憶遺産化されているのです。写真は館内の中核的な展示で撮影許諾された原寸大復元遺構であります。
建築・住宅という目線でも非常に興味深い「庶民のくらしぶり」が約1000年近い時間を超えて迫ってくる。綿密な考証によって復元された建築群は強烈なリアリティを放射してくれる。こういった部分では、残念ですが札幌の擦文遺跡とは巨大な径庭がある。
以前にも一度このブログで紹介したのですが、最近ふたたび墓参の機会があって、ふたたびミュージアムを再訪。そこでまたいろいろな「気付き」が得られたので、シリーズで紹介したいと思います。

English version⬇

Seto Inland Sea City Ruins of Kamakura Muromachi Period Kusado-Senken 2023 Revisited-1
A very interesting medieval site both in Japanese history and in terms of genealogical research. We will re-experience the atmosphere of the lifestyle and way of life of a logistics port trading center in the Seto Inland Sea. …

We have explored the ruins of Sapporo around 1000 years ago seven times, but we also wanted to consider the ruins of Japanese history in parallel, so we revisited the port ruins “Kusado-Senken” in Fukuyama City, eastern Hiroshima Prefecture.
The Kusado-Senken site is said to have flourished from about 1,000 years ago to 4-500 years ago, while the Abraviation site is said to be about 1,000 years old. The “Senken” is a kind of figurative expression for a medieval city with many buildings and residences, including merchant houses and craftsmen. The Seto Inland Sea trading area has continued to play a major arterial role in Japanese history.
In my own family tradition, I have a deep connection to the Eiga Senken family near Himeji, which is also in the Seto Inland Sea trading zone. When that family fell into crisis, I can trace how they found a way to survive in the trading zone, including Kusado-Senken and later Onomichi, where their family had survived as merchant families. During the Edo period, the family operated a trading house under the name “Agaya” with Onomichi as its base of operations.
It is said that during the Edo period, our family directly descended from a merchant family that ran a trading house in an inn town called Imazu, which is 5-6 km from Onomichi and is halfway between Kusado-Senken and Fukuyama. There is also a grave site of his ancestors here.
Incidentally, Onomichi and this Kusado-Senken area are a short distance of 22-23 km. The city of Kusado-Senken was located at the mouth of the Seto Inland Sea on the Ashida River, which flows through present-day Fukuyama City. There is a record that the city was washed away by a flood in 1673, but it seems to have been an existence linked to Onomichi, which was a short distance away.
The Seto Inland Sea area is the largest “cradle” area for the development of commerce in Japan. It has continued to be a major artery region for logistics by ship to the largest metropolitan area in Japan, Kyoto-Osaka. Kusado-Senken has played a very important role as a relay spot.

Onomichi is a commercial city that has been linked to modern times, but Kusado-Senken, on the other hand, is a “phantom medieval city site. The ruins have been memorialized as the Fukuyama Museum of History “Kusado-Senken Museum” in the castle park in the center of Fukuyama City. The photo shows the full-size restored remains that were permitted to be photographed for the museum’s core exhibit. The photo shows the “way of life of common people,” which is very interesting from the viewpoint of architecture and housing, transcending a period of nearly 1,000 years. The architectural group restored through meticulous research radiates a strong sense of reality. In this respect, unfortunately, there is a huge gap between the Aburibun ruins in Sapporo and the rest of the site.
I have introduced the museum in this blog once before, but recently I had an opportunity to visit the tombs again and revisited the museum again. I would like to introduce the museum in a series of articles, as I have gained various “insights” there.

Posted on 12月 13th, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 住宅マーケティング, 歴史探訪 | No Comments »