この奈良県宇陀の片岡家住宅のことを書いてみて参考になったのは「JAPAN WEB MAGAZINE」さんの記事。「片岡家住宅」として記事構成されている。その記事（公開日:2010/05/06）中に当時の当主の方が「住みごこち」について印象を語られているインタビュー部分があった。以下、要旨抜粋引用。
〜訪問者は口を揃えて「古くて立派で素敵ですねぇ」と感想を述べるそうだが、実際に居住するには様々なご苦労がおありという。「まず、堪えるのが何といっても冬の寒さです。」そもそも宇陀市は夏は涼しくて過ごしやすいが、冬は寒いのだそうだ。が、その上、天井の高さが高く、隙間の多い昔の造りの家は風が抜けて寒いのだという。確かに、どっしりとした外見からは気付かないが、内部から見るとがらんと天井が高くて実に寒そうな造りではある。いくら火を焚いたところで中々追いつかないだろう。〜
という率直な感想を述べられている。長年住宅雑誌社をしてきた身としては『冬は寒いのだそうだ』という表現は雑駁としすぎるように感じて気になるところではある（笑）。まぁそれはさておき、国指定重要文化財に住み続けるという一種の使命感と家への深い愛着は強く感じられる。一方で古建築としての補修については以下のような件。
〜重要文化財である以上、勝手に修理や改築は出来ない。県に届出後、修理が必要な箇所のみを専門の大工が来て手を加えるのだという。先祖から伝えられてきた立派な家屋への愛着を穏やかな口調で語るご当主。言葉の端々に、古い建物を守り伝えていく事の責任の重さと大変さが滲む。〜
この部分、言ってみれば「居住性能と建築文化の伝承」というテーマはなかなか考えさせられる。来訪参観者の目線からすれば江戸初期のさまざまな「歴史の証人」的な探究対象として見る部分がある。
きのうまで３回にわたって触れたように武家権力の一地方でのありよう・痕跡を探る視点からは、このように保存されている状況は、その居住性環境も含めて強い興味を惹かされる。そして建築は使われ続けていることで長期的保存も可能なのだとも思う。住宅は住み続けている間は機能性を維持するけれどうち捨てられると、あっという間に崩壊するというのも事実なのだ。


このように古建築を守りながら多くの来訪者に重要文化財として参観の機会を提供していただけるのは深く感謝すると同時に、より現代的な居住環境性を確保する方策も不可欠だろうと思う。デザインの本質を見失うことなく可能な居住環境向上策もありえるだろう。ただし、まったく現状を改変することなく性能向上を実現することはあり得ない。やはりどこかでトレードオフは必然化する。
建築で言えば、伝統建築と高断熱高気密技術の対話ということになるだろうか。歴史文化と現代的技術発展の調和というのは、長い歴史文化を持ちしかも現代文明技術基盤も底堅い日本社会だからこそ、柔軟に解決する知恵を出せる。やはり「対話」の姿勢が大切ではないだろうか。

English version⬇

Dialogue between Architectural Culture Inheritance and Modern Technology: The Kataoka Family
The residents frankly felt that the cold of winter was the first thing they had to bear. What is the harmony between the sense of mission of inheriting an important cultural property and modern life? The Kataoka House

The article “JAPAN WEB MAGAZINE” was helpful in writing about the Kataoka Family Residence in Uda, Nara Prefecture. The article is titled “Kataoka Family Residence. In the article (published on 2010/05/06), there is an interview with the head of the family who talked about his impression of “Sumigokochi”. The following is an excerpt.
〜Visitors to the house always comment on how old and beautiful it is, but there are many hardships involved in actually living in the house. First of all, the cold winters are very hard to bear. Uda City is cool and comfortable in summer, but cold in winter. The city’s houses are built in the olden days, with high ceilings and many gaps between rooms, which makes it cold and draughty. Indeed, although you would not notice it from the outside, from the inside it looks very cold with its high ceilings. No matter how many fires we built, it would not be able to keep up with the cold. 〜I was very surprised to see the coldness of the house.
I personally think, “It is cold in winter. Personally, I doubt the irrefutable expression, “I hear it is cold in winter. I personally have some doubts about such a simple expression, “I hear it is cold in winter. However, I strongly felt a kind of sense of mission to continue to live in a nationally designated important cultural property and a deep attachment to the house. On the other hand, the following is a case of repairing the house as an old building.
〜As long as the house is an important cultural property, it cannot be repaired or reconstructed without permission. After notification to the prefectural government, a professional carpenter comes to the house and repairs only those parts that need to be repaired. The owner of the house speaks in a calm tone of voice about his attachment to the magnificent house that has been handed down from his ancestors. Every word he speaks reflects the weight of responsibility and the difficulty of preserving and passing on an old building. 〜The theme of this part of the exhibition, “passing on the performance of the house and its architectural culture,” is quite thought-provoking. From the viewpoint of visitors, there is a part of the building that is seen as an object of exploration, like a “witness to the history” of the early Edo period. As I have mentioned three times before yesterday, from the viewpoint of exploring traces of samurai power in a local area, the situation in which the buildings have been preserved in this way, including their habitable environment, is of great interest. I also believe that long-term preservation of architecture is possible through its continued use. It is a fact that a house maintains its functionality as long as it is lived in, but if it is abandoned, it will collapse in a matter of seconds.

While I am deeply grateful that many visitors are given the opportunity to view this important cultural asset while preserving the ancient architecture, I also believe that it is essential to take measures to ensure a more modern living environment. There may be measures that can be taken to improve the living environment without losing sight of the essence of the design. However, it is impossible to improve performance without completely altering the status quo. Trade-offs are inevitable at some point.
In the case of architecture, this would mean a dialogue between traditional architecture and high thermal insulation/airtightness. The harmony of historical culture and modern technological development is something that Japanese society, with its long history and culture, as well as the solid technological foundation of modern civilization, is able to flexibly resolve with wisdom. I believe that an attitude of “dialogue” is important. ＜End of this article. ＞End of this article

Posted on 2月 17th, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 住宅性能・設備, 古民家シリーズ | No Comments »

高齢化社会の「先進地域」ニッポン。世界に先駆け高齢者人口割合が増加しているなかで、さまざまな「変容」を余儀なくされている。なにげに本日のyahooトップページでは〜成田悠輔「高齢者は集団自決した方がいい」NYタイムズが発言報じて世界的大炎上「この上ないほど過激」〜という見出しの記事が目に飛び込んできていた。確かにちょっと過激ではと思いますが比喩表現だろうし、社会の中にさまざまな意見があるのは了解はできる。氏のご意見を読んでみるとポイントは「高齢者が社会の枢要な位置をほぼ独占している」現状への異議申し立てと思います。それは事実でもあるでしょう。高齢化社会での「活力」維持作戦として、より若い世代の活躍の場をというのは当然の意見。自分も客観的事実として高齢者になってきて冷静にその事実を受け止め、社会の中で自分の果たすべき役割を考えて行きたいと思っています。
少なくとも身体機能や認知機能について疑わしい事故例が見られる以上、交通ルールとして対応を考えて行くこと自体は自然な成り行き。かなり事前（たしか３ヶ月以上前と記憶）に「高齢者講習」の申込みハガキが送られてきて、そういうのはサッサと片付けたい方なので、すぐに申込みして昨日、受講して参りました。
きのう札幌は降雪の影響で道路は各所でほとんどが１車線のノロノロ状態。通常20分程度の道のりが倍以上かかって所定時間ギリギリの到着。

結果としては通常の免許更新手続きと違って、実際の運転実技時間もあってなかなか有意義なのではと思われました。通常の免許更新手続き費用が2,500円で高齢者講習費用が6,450円というのはやや疑問ではある（笑）。「高齢社会のおカネの流れの促進策」という声もありますが、言い得ているのかも知れないと思いました。が、実際に受けてみると「視野角度調査」「認知機能調査」「夜間認知機能調査」など自己認識に役立つチェックポイントの機械開発など、知恵と工夫の成果が見られました。従来の運転免許更新時講習と比較してかなり進化した内容。
また、運転実技の時間は隣に指導の方が同乗されてチェックしていただける。これは50年前の免許取得時以来の経験なので新鮮に感じました。運転技能では常識共有化ってなかなか難しい。ルール厳守は前提だけれど、長年自分だけの判断で知らず知らずに身についているクセの類は客観化する機会がない。一定の緊張感を持って確認できるのは意味があると思いました。
実技では雪に覆われた橋脚下をくぐる場所があってその場所を自分の判断で徐行運転しましたが、指導員からお褒めいただいた（エヘン）。その甲斐あってか「たいへ優良な運転マナーです」という評価でした。すっかりいい気分にさせていただけたので、6,450円もまぁ仕方ないかと思った次第。まことに現金で単純な性格だと自己認識（笑）。

English version⬇

The first driver’s license “training course for the elderly” has been successfully completed.
The fact that people are concerned about the decline of cognitive functions due to the aging of the population is unavoidable. I would like to take a positive view of the situation by solemnly checking myself. I am very happy to have passed the first session of the “elderly driver’s license” training course.

Japan is an “advanced region” with an aging society. As the percentage of the elderly population is increasing ahead of the rest of the world, Japan is being forced to undergo various “transformations. I was casually struck by an article on the top page of yahoo today headlined “Yusuke Narita: ‘The elderly should commit mass suicide,’ NY Times reports. It is true that this is a bit extreme, but it may be a figurative expression, and I understand that there are various opinions in society. I think the point of his opinion is an objection to the current situation in which “the elderly almost monopolize the pivotal position in society”. That may be true. It is a natural opinion that the younger generation should be given more opportunities to play an active role as a strategy to maintain “vitality” in an aging society. I, too, have become an elderly person as an objective fact, and I would like to calmly accept this fact and think about the role I should play in society.
As long as there have been cases of accidents that are at least questionable in terms of physical and cognitive functions, it is only natural that we should consider how to respond to them as traffic rules. I received a postcard long in advance (more than three months ago, as I recall) with an application for a “training course for the elderly,” and since I am the kind of person who likes to get that stuff out of the way quickly, I applied immediately and took the course yesterday.
Due to the snowfall in Sapporo yesterday, the roads were mostly one-lane slow in many places. The usual 20-minute journey took more than twice as long as usual, and I arrived just in time for the scheduled time.
As a result, unlike the usual license renewal procedure, we had time for practical driving skills, which we thought was quite worthwhile. The cost of the regular license renewal procedure was 2,500 yen and the cost of the senior citizen training course was 6,450 yen, which is somewhat questionable (laugh). Some say it is “a measure to promote the flow of money in an aging society,” and I thought they may be right in saying so. However, when I actually took the course, I saw the results of wisdom and ingenuity in the development of machines for checkpoints useful for self-recognition, such as the “visual field angle survey,” “cognitive function survey,” and “nighttime cognitive function survey. The content of the course has evolved considerably compared to the conventional driver’s license renewal course.
In addition, during the practical driving skills time, an instructor rides next to the student and checks him or her. This is an experience I have not had since I obtained my driver’s license 50 years ago, so it was a new experience for me. It is quite difficult to share common sense when it comes to driving skills. Although strict adherence to the rules is a prerequisite, there is no opportunity to objectify the kinds of habits that have been unintentionally acquired over the years through one’s own judgment. I thought it was meaningful to be able to check them with a certain sense of tension.
In the practical training, there was a snow-covered pier-like place where I drove slowly at my own discretion, and the instructor praised me for it (ahem). The instructor gave me a compliment (ahem). Since I was made to feel so good, I thought that the 6,450 yen was just as well. I am a very cash-conscious and simple person (laugh).

Posted on 2月 15th, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: こちら発行人です | No Comments »

本日からはふたたび古民家建築探訪であります。日本列島37,000年史シリーズの最終章は日本国家始原期として大和国に神武東征した頃の探究。その象徴的な場所として奈良県宇陀市の桜実神社の八ツ房杉を紹介したけれど、そこから旧都・飛鳥に移動する道を走っていたら、道を見下ろすようにやや高台から石垣に防御された立派な屋敷が見上げられた。宇陀市中心部から通称、伊勢本街道と呼ばれる370号線を南下、典型的日本の景色ともいえる美しい里山の風景の中、一際目を引く豪奢で重厚な萱葺きの屋根の家が左側に見えてくる。周囲一体を見下ろす場所にあるいかにも立派な造りの家。
その印象的なたたずまいに魅せられ、まるで導かれるように近づいて家人の方に由緒などを伺おうと声をおかけしたら、親切にご案内いただいた。そんな出会いがこの「片岡家住宅」との出会いでした。
ことしのNHK大河は「どうする家康」ということで徳川四天王とされる本多忠勝（俳優：山田裕貴）がなかなか武家ヤンキー的に描かれています。窮地に陥って逃げ出そうと図った家康に槍を投げつけて諫めるなどかなり暴力的。かれは武田信玄にも敵将ながらあっぱれなヤツと見込まれていたという逸話もある。「家康に過ぎたるもの二つあり、唐の頭（兜の飾り物）に本多平八（忠勝）」というコトバ。で、その末裔一族がこの大和郡山で畿内地域の徳川支配の重要な一角として、領地を得ていた。その郡山藩の大庄屋家がこの片岡氏。で、この家の入口から一番奥、そしてもっとも「高台」に位置する場所に領主・本多家の殿様のために座敷が配置されていた。作りからすると一種城郭的とも思える配置・間取り。国指定重要文化財。
ご案内いただいたのはこの片岡家当主の「彦左衛門氏」。代々の当主はこの名前を伝承してきているということで、いかにも江戸期の武家とも通ずる家系意識。片岡家は、歴代当主が近世のほぼ全期間を通じ田原村の庄屋を務めたという。
片岡家には周辺の田原村に関する村方文書が豊富に残っており、その数は近世文書を中心に１万３千点を超える。片岡家住宅に関する史料もよく残っていて普請関係では、寛文９年（1669年）『殿様御殿御普請帳』と寛文11年（1671年）『座敷普請帳』があります。前者は主屋の客室部、後者は居室部の普請に関わる文書であり、上棟の際に用いられた木槌にも寛文10年（1670年）の墨書銘が見られるという。こういった経緯を勘案すれば、少なくとも350年以上の歴史が刻印された住宅ということになる。北海道ではまったく開拓されずほぼ太古の景色が広がっていた時代に、大和国ではこのようなたたずまいの家が存在し続けていたことになる。
歴史時間の隔たりの大きさに打たれる思いがして、こういう家の文化が現代まで続いていることが本州以南地域の住宅文化のコアなのだと深く気付かされる。断熱や気密といういごこち要素よりも、社会的な身分意識であったり、階級意識のような社会文化が優先しているのだと思い至る。　続きはまたあした。

English version⬇

Kataoka Family Residence, a house in Yamato Province (Nara Prefecture)
This old house was built more than 350 years ago, and traces of the samurai culture can still be seen in the layout plan. The priority is not comfort but “expression of social status. The house was built more than 350 years ago.

From today, we will once again be exploring the architecture of old private houses. The last chapter in our series on the 37,000-year history of the Japanese archipelago is about the Shinmu expedition to Yamato Province in the early days of the Japanese nation. As I was driving along the road from Uda to Asuka, the former capital of Japan, I saw a magnificent house protected by a stone wall from a slightly elevated position overlooking the road. Heading south on Route 370, commonly known as Isehon Kaido, from the center of Uda City, a house with a luxurious and massive thatched roof stands out on the left in a beautiful satoyama landscape that can be described as a typical Japanese scene. It is a magnificent house overlooking the surrounding area.
I was fascinated by its impressive appearance and approached the house as if I was being guided, and asked the owner to tell me about the history of the house. This was my first encounter with the Kataoka Family Residence.
This year’s NHK historical drama, “What to do, Ieyasu,” portrays Honda Tadakatsu (actor: Yamada Hiroki), who is considered one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Tokugawa, in a rather samurai-like, yankee-like manner. He is quite violent, throwing a spear at Ieyasu when Ieyasu tries to escape in a tight situation. There is an anecdote that even Takeda Shingen, an enemy general, thought he was a brilliant man. Ieyasu had two great qualities: the head of his helmet and Honda Heihachi (Tadakatsu),” is the phrase used by Ieyasu. The descendants of the Tadakatsu family had a fiefdom in Yamatokoriyama, which was an important part of the Tokugawa control of the Kinai region. The Kataoka family was the headman of the Koriyama clan. The lord of the Koriyama clan, the Kataoka family, had a room for the lord of the Honda family at the far end of the house from the entrance and at the most “elevated” position in the house. The layout of the house seems to be a kind of castle-like. It is a nationally designated important cultural property.
We were guided by Mr. Hikozaemon, the head of the Kataoka family. The family name has been handed down from generation to generation, and the family’s lineage is very similar to that of the samurai families of the Edo period. The Kataoka family served as the village headman of Tahara village for almost the entire modern period.
The Kataoka family has an abundance of village documents related to the surrounding Tahara village, numbering more than 13,000 items, mostly early modern documents. Historical documents related to the Kataoka family residence have also survived well, and in the area of fuchin-related documents, there is the “Tono-sama Goten Gosho Fuchincho” (1669) and the “Zashiki Fuchincho” (1671). The former is a document related to the fuchin of the guest room section of the main building, and the latter is a document related to the fuchin of the living room section, and an ink inscription of Kanbun 10 (1670) can be seen on the wooden hammer used at the time of the ridgepole raising. Taking this history into consideration, the house has at least 350 years of history stamped on it. While the landscape of Hokkaido was completely unexploited and almost unchanged from prehistoric times, houses with this appearance continued to exist in Yamato Province.
I was struck by the vast gap in historical time, and was deeply impressed by the fact that this type of house culture has continued to the present day and is at the core of the housing culture of the Honshu region and southward. I realized that social culture, such as a sense of social status and class, takes precedence over the comfort factors of thermal insulation and airtightness. To be continued in the coming days.

Posted on 2月 13th, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 古民家シリーズ | No Comments »

イラスト類は下町風俗資料館展示パネルから。四季変化が温暖な地域での、それも全国から集合してきた移住民たちの共有生活文化が昇華された様子が伝わってくる。
このような江戸っ子・関東地域の四季認識に対して、北海道はたとえばきょう最終日の「さっぽろ雪まつり」という最新の日本人全体が受け入れる歳時記を加えたのだと思っています。東北や日本海側地域の湿度感とは違って、それこそ比較的に湿度感が低い、乾燥した雪質のような開放感がそこにはあるように思う。たぶん東京の江戸っ子気質の関東的な湿度の少なさと共通する部分があるのではないか。
わたしは北海道で生まれ育った。大学で東京暮らしを経験しそのまま東京で就職して、札幌に転勤してその後自立した。人生時間では東京（神奈川と東京都内で居住）での暮らしが足かけ10年くらいの期間になっている。仕事上では東京との関係はさまざまに継続してきているので、主観的な意識としてはこの時間的継続感を持っている。北海道の「いちばん近い他地域」は青森ではなく東京だという認識がある。青森に行くのには札幌からだと、飛行機でも東京移動よりも時間制約が大きく「遠くなる」。
これは東京が交通体系の中心・首都であり、こちら北海道が鄙であることの必然というのが一般的理解。けれどどうも人間の気質においても、その成立過程で「近しい」共通項目が多いと気付かされる。


コトバでもわたしは北海道弁を東京でごくふつうに使ったりする。まぁ全国どこでもですが（笑）。あんまりそれを恥じるという認識を持っていない。この北海道弁は全国からの移民が混合して形成された言語であって、そういう意味で地域性というよりも「共通性」のようなものが基盤であり、そこに寒冷地的な共感文化が微妙にブレンドされたものと思っている。江戸っ子の話し言葉も、その成立過程を考えればやはり同様に全国からの移住民同士が、地域気候風土実感伝達要素を加味して成立させた。そして明治以降の日本社会ではそういう「共通言語化」が優勢な文化基盤になっていったのが事実。なので特段「恥ずかしがる」根拠がないと思うのです。まぁ恥ずかしがらせたいという志向は、文化的に保守的な層、主流派でいたい人が、優越意識を主張したいという理由から、鄙に対して上から目線したいだけなのだと思える。
断熱・気密化という住宅性能面の全国共通化ということは進展していくでしょうが、そういうことも良き基盤共通化だと思います。住宅というある意味では生活文化が凝縮した領域を考えて行くとき、江戸っ子や道産子が生成されたような生活文化への見方というものに現代人はもっと目を向けるべきではと思います。

English version⬇

The “Commonization” of Culture Since the Edo Period: Exploring the Shitamachi Row Houses-7
A chronicle of downtown culture. The first period was a time of “commonality” and acceptance of strangers. The Edo culture was vigorously developed by the common Nipponization of the people. The Edo culture was full of “common-ness” and acceptance of strangers.

The illustrations are from the exhibition panels at the Shitamachi Folk Museum. The illustrations show how the four seasons were sublimated into a shared lifestyle and culture in a region with a mild climate, where immigrants had gathered from all over the country.
To this perception of the four seasons in the Edo and Kanto regions, Hokkaido, for example, has added the latest seasonal calendar accepted by the Japanese people as a whole, the Sapporo Snow Festival, the last day of which is today. Unlike the sense of humidity in the Tohoku and Sea of Japan regions, I think there is a sense of openness there, like a dry, snowy climate with a comparatively low sense of humidity. Perhaps it has something in common with the Kanto-like low humidity of Tokyo’s Edokko temperament.
I was born and raised in Hokkaido. I experienced life in Tokyo at university, found a job in Tokyo, was transferred to Sapporo, and later became independent. In terms of life time, I have lived in Tokyo (living in Kanagawa and Tokyo) for a total of about 10 years. I have a sense of temporal continuity in my subjective consciousness, as I have had various ongoing relationships with Tokyo in my professional life. There is a perception that the “nearest other region” in Hokkaido is not Aomori but Tokyo. Aomori is “farther away” from Sapporo than Tokyo, even by air, due to the time constraints.
The general understanding is that this is inevitable because Tokyo is the center of the transportation system and the capital, and Hokkaido is remote. However, I have noticed that there are many similarities in the human temperament and in the process of its formation.

I use the Hokkaido dialect in Tokyo quite commonly, even in Kotoba. Well, anywhere in Japan (laughs). I am not ashamed of it. The Hokkaido dialect was formed by a mixture of immigrants from all over Japan, and in that sense, it is based on a kind of “commonality” rather than regionality, which I think is a subtle blend of the cold-weather culture of empathy. The spoken language of the Edo period was also formed by immigrants from all over the country, who added the element of transmission of a sense of local climate and customs to it. And it is a fact that such “common language” became the predominant cultural foundation in Japanese society after the Meiji period. So I don’t think there is any particular reason to be “shy” about it. Well, it seems to me that the orientation of wanting to embarrass is just a culturally conservative group, people who want to be in the mainstream, wanting to look up to the remote people for the reason of wanting to assert their sense of superiority.
I think that the national standardization of housing performance, such as insulation and airtightness, will continue to progress, but I think that this is also good basic standardization. When considering housing, an area where life culture is condensed in a sense, I think that people today should pay more attention to the way of looking at life culture that was created by the Edokko and Dosanko.

Posted on 2月 11th, 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 »

居住環境と人びとの暮らしぶりの探究を長い仕事人生でわたしは行ってきたと思います。通常業務では編集長職も昨年中に後進スタッフに移譲している。しかしやはり終のテーマとしては、ずっと頭のなかにあり続けていくのでしょう。現代の暮らし、家のいごこちの科学的探究と、暮らし方の進化の探索はこれからもメインテーマであることは間違いない。
一方で加齢と共に徐々に、来し方のことの想像力に志向が向かってきています。現代と未来の人間の暮らし方の根幹には、昔人が積み重ねてきた「生活文化」がそこにあり、その強い影響が家づくりのベースを構成していることに気付き深く興味が湧いてくる。古民家探訪にはそういった原意識があると思います。
先般から見て来た江戸由来の東京の「下町長屋」の暮らしぶり。台東区立下町風俗資料館の展示に添って江戸期の様子も確認してみたい。わたし自身がタイムスリップして江戸期に生まれ、そして現代と同じように居住環境についてのメディアを家業とするとしたら、やはりこの「下町長屋」という都市住居の基本について旺盛な興味を持ったに違いないと思っているのです。
そういった興味から、江戸期の様子の絵画パネル表現に強く惹かれていた。以下に展示パネル説明文引用。
「江戸の町人の大半が住んでいたのは裏長屋で、通りに面した木戸をくぐると路地があり、そこに軒を連ねて裏長屋が並んでいた。〜路地は長屋住民の共有通路。狭い住環境のため、路地は多目的に利用され、物売りの市、子どもの遊び場、夏には演題を出して夕涼み、そして井戸端会議の広場にもなった。」

「長屋は平屋建てで９尺２間と言われるように３坪から５坪程度の居住面積の長屋であった。勝手の入口を入ると４畳半か６畳間があり、勝手のへっついの上には煙出しの引き窓、座り流しには水瓶が置かれていた。」
いや、現代の暮らしぶりのマザーがリアルに存在している。当たり前だけれど人間の暮らしに不可欠な要素がコンパクトにまとめられて、機能としては過不足なく成立されている様子がよくわかる。そして狭さについては独特の「下町人情」がそれを補完して、いわば集合知としての人間環境を作っていたといえる。
いま現代の住環境創造のなかで達成すべきものは住宅性能に関することが大きいけれど、地域としてはほぼ高断熱化が進んだ北海道では、むしろこうした「社会環境」の知恵での総合的な未来型人間環境の価値感が高まっているように思っている。北海道では少なくとも意識に於いてはそういった段階にあるのだろう。もっといごこちのいい社会環境を考えたら、下町人情という領域は巨大な宝庫。
こういった江戸期由来の庶民の暮らし方のエッセンスから学ぶべきことは多いと思う。

English version⬇

The Reality of Edo Folk Life: Exploring the Shitamachi Row Houses-5
The way to futuristically enrich the local environment may be a soft sense of value like “downtown humanity. A downtown community with an expanded area. …

I believe that I have been exploring residential environments and people’s lifestyles for a long time in my work. In the past year, I have transferred the position of editor-in-chief to a junior staff member in the normal course of business. However, it will continue to be in my mind as a theme for the rest of my life. The scientific exploration of modern living, the comfort of home, and the search for the evolution of living styles will undoubtedly remain the main theme.
On the other hand, as we age, we are gradually becoming more oriented toward the imagination of what is to come. I am deeply intrigued to realize that the “lifestyle culture” accumulated by people in the past is there at the core of the modern and future human way of living, and its strong influence constitutes the base of house building. I believe that such an original consciousness exists in exploring old private houses.
The way of life of “downtown row houses” in Tokyo of Edo origin that we have been seeing for some time now. I would like to confirm the Edo period conditions along with the exhibition at the Taito City Museum of Shitamachi Customs and Folklore. If I were to travel back in time and be born in the Edo period, and if I were to make my family business of media about living environments, as I do today, I am sure that I would have a keen interest in this basic urban dwelling called the “Shitamachi Nagaya”.
Because of this interest, I was strongly attracted to the painted panel representation of the Edo period. The following is a quote from the exhibition panel description.
Most of the townspeople in Edo lived in back row houses. When you passed through the wooden door facing the street, there was an alley, and the back row houses were lined up in rows of eaves. 〜˜The alley is a shared passageway for the tenement residents. Because of the narrow living environment, the alleys were used for many purposes, including peddler’s markets, children’s playgrounds, cool evenings in the summer with a performance, and squares for well-meetings.”

The row houses were one-story structures with a living area of about 3 tsubo to 5 tsubo, or 9 shaku 2 ken, as they were called. Entering the entrance to the winch, there was a four-and-a-half or six-mat room, with a sliding smoke outlet window above the winch and a water bottle in the sink.”
No, the mother of the modern way of life exists in real life. It is obvious that the elements essential for human life have been compactly put together, and the functions have been established without excesses or deficiencies. The smallness of the house was complemented by the unique “downtown humanity,” so to speak, creating a human environment of collective knowledge.
Although the main focus of today’s housing environment creation is on housing performance, I believe that in Hokkaido, where the region has become almost completely insulated, there is a growing sense of the value of a comprehensive future human environment based on the wisdom of such a “social environment. In Hokkaido, at least in terms of awareness, this is probably the case. If we think of a more comfortable social environment, the area of downtown humanity is a huge treasure house.
There is much to be learned from the essence of the common people’s way of life that originated in the Edo period.

Posted on 2月 9th, 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 »