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【温暖地リゾートホテルへ寒冷地人のおせっかい目線】


本日、閑話休題。皇統神話シリーズは小休憩。
高齢者になって来たので休暇の取り方についてはある程度自由度が高まってきております。正月の休暇をやや遅らせ、いま、温暖地をジャーニー中。旅行の訪問先についてはそれぞれ好みが反映されるものでしょう。海外もいいけれどわたしはやはり、日本語と文化的価値感を共有できる日本の温暖地が好きです。歴史など背景理解の深化もあって楽しみの奥行きが増す。同じ民族の昔人の思いというものがDNA的に「伝わってくる」ので海外旅行では得られない共感が、それぞれの地で感受できる。
そうすると必然的にその地域の「冬場の」気候風土に触れることになる。
とにかく建築が寒い(笑)。
最近は温暖地域でも建物の断熱気密の進化が大いに叫ばれてきてはいますが、北海道人が真冬の温暖地に行くと、そのあまりの寒冷対応の認識格差に驚かされた。九州あたりのリゾートホテルで、朝目覚めたら「これでもか」とばかりに開放的な窓面がびっしりと結露してすごい結氷に驚かされた。真冬には九州でも最低気温が零下になることもあるので、単板硝子1枚・アルミサッシ、しかも眺望最優先で巨大な「パノラマビュー」を目指していることが逆に際だってしまう。ふるえて眠る。
夏場の温暖蒸暑の気候条件にすべてがアジャストされていることは理解できるけれど、お正月という休暇時期は動かしにくいので、どうしてもこういうことになってしまう。
で、上の写真の窓辺であります。
コンクリート建築であって暖房は大型のエアコンなので、一定の室温制御はできている。駆体についてはまぁそこそこなのでしょう。で、窓・開口部も巨大開口ということもなく、ほどよい。昼間はそれでよかったのですが、夜間になってきて、硝子窓と障子建具(写真は引き戸の2枚が重なった状態)の間にブラインドが装置されていたので、そのブラインドを下げてみた。
「あれ」であります。
ブラインドが窓の下部までカバーできずに1/5くらいが単板硝子素通し。ブラインドもあったので、一応3層の開口部仕様で温暖地なりに温熱居住性には配慮しているのか、と思っていたわたしが甘かったようです(笑)。そしてよく確認したら、障子建具も上の1/3ほどは障子紙が張られていないで、木枠格子だけのスカスカ仕様。一応見てくれは「3層」の建具仕様ではあるけれど・・・であります。結局、3層の仕様ではあるけれど熱的には単板硝子からの冷気が入り込み放題(泣)。
しかしそれにしても、ブラインド(ひょっとしてハニカムかと期待もしたのですがただの遮光だけのタイプ)の下1/5がカバーされていないのは、とナゾであります。
普通に考えれば建築の側と発注先ブラインドメーカー間の連絡ミスで「まぁしょがないなぁ」ということでヨシとしたものか。しかしそれはいくらなんでもホテル発注側が承諾しないでしょう。
そうすると、障子の1/3が素通しであることとの「関連性」が疑われる。
3層の被覆構造が「やりすぎ」とでも考えて「余白を作る」みたいな設計趣旨だったものか。
どうにも、疑問のタネがふくらんで、建築探偵団的な意欲ムクムクであります(笑)。
あ、でもまぁ、1日だけのエトランゼなので「寝具爆使いと暖房エネMAX化」で対応して、健康を害するには至りませんでした。なんもさ、余裕のユーザーとしての対応。なお、ポリシーとして決してどこどこと特定できるようには表現致しません。あしからず。

English version⬇

A cold-weather resort hotel in a warm-weather area with the nosy eyes of a cold-weather person
I thought it was a triple structure of blinds and shoji screens against a single-pane glass window, but, well…. It’s a very strange finish, and I have my doubts…

Today, a quiet break. A short break in the Imperial Mythology series.
As I am getting older, I have some more freedom in how I take vacations. I have delayed my New Year’s vacation somewhat and am now on a warm-weather journey. I am sure that each person’s preferences will be reflected in the places he or she visits. Overseas is fine, but I prefer the warmer climates of Japan, where I can share the Japanese language and cultural values. The depth of enjoyment is enhanced by a deeper understanding of history and other backgrounds. The feelings of the people of the past of the same ethnic group are “transmitted” to me in a DNA-like way, so I can feel empathy in each place that I cannot get when I travel abroad.
This inevitably brings us into contact with the “winter” climate of the region.
Anyway, the architecture is cold (laughs).
Recently, there has been a great deal of talk about the evolution of building insulation and airtightness even in warmer regions, but when Hokkaido residents go to warmer regions in the middle of winter, they are surprised at the disparity in their perception of the response to cold temperatures. When I woke up in the morning at a resort hotel in Kyushu, I was surprised to see the open windows covered with ice and condensation. In midwinter, even in Kyushu, the minimum temperature can drop below zero, so the single sheet of glass with aluminum sashes and the huge “panoramic view” that is the top priority for the view is a real turn-off. Sleep in a shivering manner.
I understand that everything is adjusted to the warm and humid climate in summer, but it is difficult to move during the vacation season of New Year’s, so this is what I have to do.
So, this is the window in the photo above.
Since this is a concrete building and the heating is by a large air conditioner, the room temperature is under constant control. As for the building’s exterior, well, it must be there. And the windows/openings are moderate, not huge openings. During the daytime, it was fine, but at nighttime, blinds were installed between the glass windows and shoji fittings (two sliding doors are overlapped in the photo), so I lowered the blinds.
It is “that.”
The blinds did not cover the bottom of the window and about 1/5 of the window was bare single-pane glass. Since there were blinds, I was naive to think that the triple-opening specifications would take care of thermal habitability in a warm climate (laugh). (Laughs.) And when I checked carefully, I found that the top 1/3 of the shoji fittings were not covered with shoji paper, but only wooden latticework. Although the fittings were made to look like “triple-layered” fittings, they were not. After all, although it is a three-layered fixture, the cold air from the single-pane glass can enter the room as much as it likes (cries).
But still, it is a puzzle that the bottom 1/5 of the blinds (which I expected to be honeycomb blinds, but they are just light-shielding type) are not covered.
Normally, I would have thought that it was a miscommunication between the architect and the blinds manufacturer, and that it was “just as well. However, the hotel would not agree to that.
If so, the “relevance” of the fact that 1/3 of the shoji screens are bare is questionable.
Was the design intent to “create a blank space” because they thought that the three-layered cladding structure was “too much”?
I am filled with questions, and I am very eager to be an architectural detective (laugh).
But, well, since it was only a one-day etrangement, I was able to cope with it by “using the bedding explosively and maxing out the heating energy,” and it didn’t harm my health. I am a user with plenty of time to spare. As a matter of policy, I will never express the specifics of where I am or where I am going. Please understand.

【古代のヤタガラス族との種的共存 皇統神話と熊野の旅-17】



熊野探訪篇から本筋の「神武東征」篇への岐路にはヤタガラスという重要キャラ。
わたしは率直に言って、カラスに対して好印象を持つということはありません。最近のヤツらは子育て時期の凶暴なふるまいが問題視されてきている。札幌の市街地で人間を攻撃する場面が多く報告されているし、わたし自身も昨年、かれらからの攻撃にさらされてしまった。
いつもの散歩道でギャーギャー威嚇的な鳴き声を響き渡らせていた。しばらくぶりの遭遇だったので「バンザイ」スタイルでの防御を忘れていたら、不意にキック攻撃を浴びてしまったのですね。
子育て時期に由来していることは理解はしているけれど、どうにも嫌悪感を持つ(笑)。まぁこれも現代・人新世での野生動物との共存ルール確立までのプロセスなのでしょうか?
現代では人類は都市という環境を生成し、そこからおびただしい生活廃棄物をまき散らしてきている。その「必殺掃除人」として本来野生だったカラスたちが共存関係になってきた。毎朝、憎々しげなかれらの鳴き声には悩まされるけれど、そのエサは人類が自然を汚し続けているものでもある。
「オレたちがこんな暮らし方になって来たのは、オマエたちの足らざるを補ってやっているのだぜ」というかれらの「主張」がこだましても来る(笑)。いまのところは、人間の側で「バンザイ」ポーズでの折り合いを付けながら、共存していくべきなのでしょう。
しかしそう考えると、都市集住がそれほど進んでいなかった古代、神武東征の時代には当然人口規模もまばらであって、かれらカラス族も現代とは違った生活スタイルだったことが想像できる。かれら本来の森での暮らし方を生きていたのだろう。
いやむしろ共生可能な動物種として人類を見ていて、人類の増加がかれらにとっても種の利益になると信じて、ヘルプを試みていたとも考えられる(笑)。それが人間の側にも伝播して、生物種的な親和性表現としてこのような八咫烏神話というものは生成したのかも知れない。
神武帝が東征し国家を形成して集住様式が列島人類の普遍スタイルになれば「オレたちの縄張りも一気に拡大が図れるぜ」という妄想。・・・たしかにまったくの妄想ですが、古代に於いて人類はカラス族に対して現代とはまた違う感受性を持っていただろうことは間違いがない。


熊野三山ではそれぞれで異なるヤタガラスのシルシを形象化している。
どうもこの文化圏を考証してきて、熊野というのは縄文由来の自然信仰が色濃く感じられる。そういった自然観が反映しているのが熊野信仰と考えると、かれらカラス族との「共生関係」というものが心理のベースにあるようにも思える。キトラ古墳壁画にもヤタガラスが描かれているとも言われるし、たぶん現代とは相当違う対カラス認識が、列島人類社会には根付いていたのだろう。
そう考えるとあんまり憎しみの対象とばかり見てはいけないのだろうか。う〜ん、でもやっぱりあのヤツらの攻撃は憎たらしい!

English version⬇

Species Coexistence with the Ancient Yatagarasu Tribe: Imperial Mythology and Kumano Journey-17
Why are ravens, the objects of hatred that attack humans even when they are raising their young, friendly in the mythology of the imperial lineage? …

At the crossroads from the Kumano expedition to the main story, “Jinmu’s Eastern Expedition,” there is an important character named “Yatagarasu” (raven).
Frankly speaking, I do not have a favorable impression of ravens. Recently they have become a problem because of their ferocious behavior when they are raising their young. There have been many reports of them attacking humans in the urban area of Sapporo, and I myself was subjected to an attack by them last year.
Last year, I myself was attacked by one myself. It was on my usual walking path, and it was making a menacing noise that echoed through the air. Since it had been a while since I had encountered them, I had forgotten to defend myself in the “banzai” style and was unexpectedly subjected to a kicking attack.
I understand that it stems from the child-rearing period, but I can’t help but feel disgusted (laughs). Well, is this also the process of establishing rules for coexistence with wild animals in the modern/humanocene era?
In the modern age, human beings have generated the environment of cities and have scattered an enormous amount of waste from their daily lives. Crows, which were originally wild, have come to coexist with humans as “cleaners. The crows’ hateful cawing annoys me every morning, but their food is the same thing that humans have been polluting nature with.
Their “insistence” that “the reason we have come to live this way is to compensate for your deficiencies” (laughs). For the time being, we humans should coexist with them while making peace with them by adopting a “banzai” pose.
However, when we think about it, we can imagine that in ancient times, when urban settlements were not so advanced and the population was sparsely populated during the Jinmu expedition, the Crow tribe had a different way of life from that of today. It is likely that they lived their original way of life in the forest.
They may have seen humans as a symbiotic animal species, and they may have believed that the increase in the number of humans would be beneficial to their species and tried to help (laugh). This may have spread to the human side, creating this yatagarasu myth as an expression of species affinity.
If the Jinmu Emperor conquered the east and formed a nation, and the residential style became the universal style of the human race in the archipelago, “We can expand our territory at once,” was the delusion. It is true that this is a total delusion, but there is no doubt that humans in ancient times would have had a different sensitivity to the Crow tribe than they do today.

Each of the three mountains of Kumano has a different yatagarasu shirushi symbol.
After studying this cultural area, I feel that Kumano is strongly influenced by Jomon-derived nature beliefs. If we consider the Kumano beliefs to be a reflection of this view of nature, it would seem that a “symbiotic relationship” with the raven tribe is at the base of the psychology of the people. It is said that ravens are depicted in the murals of the Kitora burial mound, and perhaps a perception of ravens that was quite different from that of today took root in the human society of the archipelago.
Considering this, I wonder if we should not see them only as objects of hatred. But I still hate their attacks!

【明治の日本語創造と古語「記紀」 皇統神話と熊野の旅-16】




昨日、素戔嗚尊(スサノオ)のことを書きましたが読者の方からご意見もいただきました。その内容に触発されて「日本語の書き言葉」について少し触れたいと思います。
わたしは「芥川荘」の取材時に自分は日本のコトバ表現にメッチャ思い入れがあることを再認識させられた。芥川荘は千葉県・九十九里の宿館・一宮館に遺される茅葺きの「離れ」。芥川龍之介がそこで妻になった女性に送ったラブレターを書いたことで知られる。そして芥川がその当時(東大卒業したて)恩師の夏目漱石から、日本文学の将来を託されていた諸事情、背景の事実などを掘り起こしてみたのですが、そのとき調査しつつ、わたし自身が文章の世界に強い数寄・こだわりを持っていることを強烈に知らされた。
わたしは司馬遼太郎や埴谷雄高という作家の作品群に惑溺した時間を持っているのですが、自分自身でも気付かないほど強く影響されて生きてきていたことを正面から指摘されたように感じた。そしてその現場・建築が残っていればそこで「空気感」という証拠が感じられることも確信できた。仕事人生に一定の区切りを付けたこともあって、そんなことにライフワーク感も感じています。
そんなわたし自身の今現在に、刺さってきた(笑)。以下最初のテーマへの感想。
古代の「コトバ」それ自身がどのようなものであったのか、まだまったく未解明だと思います。最近、明治初期、現代の言文一致体の日本語を作り上げた子規や夏目漱石などの事跡に触れるのですが、これについての司馬遼太郎の論考のようにそこには非常な格闘、創造があったと思います。
コトバはただ単に自然的に発展してきたのではないでしょう。いわんや、書き言葉が存在しない段階の古代の「原日本語」。後世、中華王朝との外交関係の必要性からまとめられた記紀の執筆時に、どういった人物たちが、どのような判断基準で古語からこの列島社会の人類史を「書き言葉」にしていったのか、あまりにも手掛かりのない深みに落ちてしまう。明治に於いておや、であります。
まずは、民俗としての側面からアプローチするしかないのでしょう。その意味では世界で類例がない深層を持った日本の「神社」信仰・習俗は、非常に重要な傍証人にはなるでしょう。ただ、その記述内容について完全な解釈統一は現状難しいでしょう。
まずはそれが神代の「神話」なのか、実在性のある人物による「事跡」なのかの分化が必要になってくる。やはりアマテラスもスサノオも、もちろんイザナギ・イザナミも「神話」であることは疑いようがないと思います。しかし、そういう神話が広く人びとの精神を規定し続けたのも事実。
むしろ、その「信じられた事実」のほうが列島史としては重要だと考えます。

English version⬇

The Creation of the Japanese Language in the Meiji Era and the Ancient Language “Kiki”: The Myth of the Imperial Lineage and the Kumano Journey-16
The Japanese language was established as a result of a great deal of wisdom and effort. We can relive the struggles of the Meiji period, but the hardships of the compilation of the “Chronicles” are unimaginable. …

Yesterday, I wrote about Susanoo-no-Mikoto (Susanoo-no-Mikoto) and received some comments from readers. Inspired by this comment, I would like to touch on the “written Japanese language.
When I visited Akutagawa-so for the interview, I was reminded of my strong attachment to the Japanese written language. Akutagawa-so is a thatched-roof “detached house” that remains in Ichinomiya-kan, an inn in Kujukuri, Chiba Prefecture. It is known that Ryunosuke Akutagawa wrote a love letter there to the woman who became his wife. I then dug up various circumstances and background facts about Akutagawa, who at that time (having just graduated from the University of Tokyo) had been entrusted by his former teacher Natsume Soseki with the future of Japanese literature.
I have spent a lot of time absorbed in the works of authors such as Ryotaro Shiba and Yutaka Hani, and I felt as if someone had pointed out to me from the front that I had been so strongly influenced by them in my life that even I was unaware of it. I was also convinced that if that site/architecture remained, I could feel the evidence of “atmosphere” there. Having reached a certain point in my working life, I also feel a sense of life’s work in such things.
I am now in the present, and it has stuck in my mind (laugh). Here are my thoughts on the first theme.
I think it is still completely unexplained what kind of “words” were used in ancient times. Recently, I have come into contact with the traces of Shiki and Natsume Soseki, who created the modern Japanese language in the early Meiji period, and I believe that there was a great deal of struggle and creation, as in Ryotaro Shiba’s discussion of this.
Kotoba did not simply develop spontaneously. The ancient “original Japanese” was at a stage when no written language existed. In later times, when the Chronicles were written, compiled out of the necessity of diplomatic relations with the Chinese dynasties, what kind of people and what kind of criteria they used to make the human history of this archipelago society from the ancient language into a “written language” is too deep to have any clue. In the Meiji era, oh, my.
I guess we have to approach it from the aspect of folklore first. In this sense, Japanese “shrine” beliefs and customs, which have a depth unparalleled in the world, would be a very important bystander. However, it is difficult to completely unify the interpretation of the content of the description.
First of all, it is necessary to differentiate whether they are “myths” of the Shinto period or “events” by actual persons. After all, there is no doubt that Amaterasu, Susanoo, and of course Izanagi and Izanami are “myths. However, it is also true that such myths continued to define the psyche of the people at large.
Rather, I believe that the “fact that they were believed” is more important for the history of the archipelago.

【素戔嗚尊(スサノオ)主祭神の本宮 皇統神話と熊野の旅-15】




熊野を歩き始めたわたしの動機は、生来の歴史好きが高じて「皇統」について、その起源とされる初代の神武帝の「行軍路」についての身体的体験を得たいということ。また日本の建築文化というものを総合的に理解するためにもこうした知見はきわめて有用だと考えます。
それは日本人の「精神性」が端的に表現されると考えるからでもあります。そういう皇統の精神文化のなかの神話部分で、イザナギ・イザナミは別格としてもっとも著名な祖先神として、アマテラスとスサノオの「姉弟」の説話が非常に影響度が大きい。
太陽神とされ皇祖神として伊勢に祀られるアマテラスはいわば源流になるのだと思いますが、弟の「荒ぶる」神であるスサノオは、皇統神話のなかで特異な存在だと思います。アマテラスはこの弟の天上界での悪行の数々に、最初は鷹揚に対応するように命じていたけれど、それがどんどん増長するに及んで怒りを爆発させて、天の岩戸に隠れてしまって世界から太陽の光が消えてしまったという有名な神話エピソードを生成させた。
この熊野本宮にはじめて詣らせていただいて、その主たる祭神としてスサノオが祀られ、アマテラスもさらにイザナギ・イザナミにも優先するトップ順列で祀られることに内心驚かされた。
3枚目の説明看板「参拝の仕方と順番」であきらかなように、スサノオの別名・家津御子大神(ケツミコノカミ)がトップと位置づけられている。同説明では、アマテラスはスサノオと同列の神格が建築表現され、国生みのイザナギ・イザナミの夫婦神はひとつの建築に仲良く鎮座されている。そして最後に八百万の神々が整列鎮座されている。


わたしは別に神道研究しているわけではありませんが、普通の日本人として習俗習慣としての神社信仰には素直な心理を抱いております。もっと言えば日本人の大きな精神文化としてのリスペクトは持っている。
そういうなかでスサノオさんをこのように正視できたのはここだけ。ケツミコノカミというのは、熊野権現の中心的な神であり平安時代から修験道で崇拝され,熊野信仰の広がりとともに各地に祭られるようになったとされる。ケツミコは「木津御子」で樹木の神の意であって、木の国紀州に植樹していったという神代の伝承に基づくとされている。
いろいろな皇統神話のなかでも異彩を放つスサノオというのはオモシロい。正統と異端というような仕分けで考えればあきらかに異端に属するのに、この熊野本宮では堂々たる主祭神。そして木の神とされるのであれば、日本建築がもっとも敬愛すべき神とも思える。
そんな妄想をたくましくさせられながら、内心、楽しい探索のきっかけを与えられたよろこびを感じさせていただいた次第です。それにしても皇祖神の大スターたちが一同に整列されている様は、さすがに熊野信仰の中心たる雰囲気を醸し出していますね。

English version⬇

The main shrine of Susanoo-no-Mikoto, the main deity of the Imperial lineage Mythology and Kumano Journey-15
Susanoo, who was abhorred in the heavenly realm for his evil deeds and rough behavior, became the main deity as the “God of Trees”. He took precedence over Amaterasu, Izanagi and Izanami. The strangeness of the Kumano faith.

My motivation for walking in Kumano was to gain physical experience of the “marching route” of the first Jinmu Emperor, who is said to have been the origin of the “imperial lineage” due to my innate love of history. I also believe that such knowledge is extremely useful for a comprehensive understanding of Japanese architectural culture.
This is also because I believe it will give a clear expression to the “spirituality” of the Japanese people. Aside from Izanagi and Izanami, the most prominent ancestor deities in the mythological part of the spiritual culture of the imperial lineage are the highly influential “sister and brother” stories of Amaterasu and Susanoo.
Amaterasu, who is considered the sun goddess and is worshipped at Ise as the ancestral god, is, so to speak, the origin of the myth, but her younger brother Susanoo, the “rough” god, is unique in the mythology of the imperial lineage. Amaterasu had initially ordered her brother to deal with his many misdeeds in the heavenly realm in a hawkish manner, but as they grew worse and worse, he exploded in anger and hid in the Iwato of Heaven, causing the famous mythological episode of the disappearance of the sun’s rays from the world.
When I visited the Kumano Hongu Shrine for the first time, I was surprised to see Susanoo enshrined as the principal deity and Amaterasu in the top order of precedence over Izanagi and Izanami.
As the third signboard explains, “How to worship and the order of worship,” Ketsumiko no Kami, another name for Susanoo, is positioned at the top of the list. In the same explanation, Amaterasu is represented as being on the same level of divinity as Susanoo, and the couple Izanagi and Izanami, the birth of the nation, are seated together in a single structure. Finally, the eight million deities are seated in a row.

I am not a Shinto researcher, but as an ordinary Japanese, I have an honest psychological attachment to shrine worship as a customary practice. More specifically, I have respect for Shinto as a major spiritual culture of the Japanese people.
This is the only place where I could look at Susanoo in such a positive way. Ketsumiko-no Kami is the central deity of Kumano Gongen and has been worshipped in Shugendo since the Heian period (794-1185), and as the Kumano faith spread, he came to be worshipped in various places. Ketsumiko means “Kizumiko,” the god of trees, and is said to be based on the legend of the Kami period that trees were planted in Kishu, the land of trees.
Among the various myths of the imperial lineage, Susanoo, who is unique, is interesting. Although he is clearly a heretic in terms of orthodoxy and heresy, he is the main deity at Kumano Hongu, and is regarded as the god of trees. And if he is regarded as the god of trees, he seems to be the most revered deity in Japanese architecture.
While being inspired by such delusions, I was inwardly feeling a sense of joy at having been given the opportunity to enjoy an enjoyable exploration of the area. The presence of all the great stars of the Imperial Ancestral Gods in one place was indeed the center of the Kumano faith.

【民族の「再生」力の根源思想 皇統神話と熊野の旅-14】



熊野三社という存在はそれを歴史などで学習する機会は現代ではほとんどないのではないだろう。
しかし自然神・山岳信仰の集約者ともいえる役行者。そして紀州の山岳地帯・高野山に本拠を持った空海などの日本精神史の重要人物たちは色濃く熊野を意識していたと思える。中世に於いては、念仏踊りの一遍もこの熊野本宮で回生の機縁を持ったとされるなど類例は無数にある。
そのように日本史の中で重要な「精神史」の基盤を為している存在であるのに、現代教育に於いては一顧だにされていないと思う。現にわたし自身もうっすらとその存在を認識していた程度で、それが日本精神史の重要な部分だとまでは考えが及んでいなかった。
中世以降、多くの皇統が熊野詣を繰り返し、また庶民も「伊勢に七度、熊野に三度」詣らなければよき人生と結縁できないという思いに駆られて大挙して参詣を繰り返していた、民衆のこころを固くグリップし続けてきていたこの重要な部分について触れることを避けてきているのだと思う。
たしかに歴史の正史という部分ではないだろうけれど、しかし人びとの内面を大きく規定したこうした側面について、正しい認識は不可欠ではないだろうか。
最近また増加傾向といわれる中国からの観光客の中国共産党独裁国家による「反日教育」の反映された悲しい言動を見聞きするにつれ、良識ある人間教育というものを考えさせられる。他山の石として、神国思想などではなく、本来の素朴な民族性について日本人はもっと知る必要があるだろう。



とくに熊野信仰のコア部分に「蘇り」というハートがあるということは、日本民族にとって非常に重要だと思える。火山列島であり、有史以来、大地震とかカルデラ級大噴火、大津波などの自然災害を繰り返し経験してきた日本。現に今、能登半島では地域の崩壊レベルの大災害に見舞われている。そのときに、粘り強く再生の努力を傾ける精神性は、こうした先人たちの知恵に大きく与っていると強く思う。悲しいことだけれど、135年前に十津川の地から北海道までの移住を決断して、みごとに民族の命の再生を見せてくれた先人たちの深い叡智に打たれていた。1889年当時は北海道の開拓という事柄はそれこそ民族の未来にとって土地の開発、ひいては殖民を通しての国防上の観点からも最重要であり、被災に際して国家的な「誘導策」もあっただろうことは想像できる。
しかし人びとにとって、母村を2,000kmも離れて原野を切り開こうと決意させた心底に、こうした熊野信仰が大きな心理的動因の一端にはなっていたと思える。
ながく日本人のこころに大きな存在であった熊野信仰のコアである、本宮旧社殿があった大斎原にわたし自身はこころを掴まれてしまった。まぁ、空間の磁力とでもいえるようなものでしょうか。
あした以降、そもそもの熊野信仰の祭神について触れていきたい。

English version⬇

The Root Idea of the “Rebirth” Power of the People Imperial Mythology and the Kumano Journey-14
Disaster-stricken islands repeatedly force their people to face difficulties. However, our ancestors have also bequeathed to us the faith to confront them. Passing on wisdom to the next generation. The wisdom of the past is passed on to the next generation.

The existence of the three Kumano shrines is something that few people today have the opportunity to learn about through history or other means.
However, the three Kumano shrines are the focus of the Kumano Sansha, or Kumano Gyoja, who can be said to be the central figure of nature gods and mountain worship. Kukai, who had his headquarters on Mt. Koya in the mountains of Kishu, and other important figures in the history of Japanese spirituality seem to have been deeply aware of Kumano. In the Middle Ages, the Nenbutsu (Buddhist prayer) dancer Ippen is said to have had a chance of rebirth at Kumano Hongu, and there are countless other similar examples.
As such, it is an important part of Japanese history that serves as the foundation of “spiritual history,” yet it is not given a second thought in modern education. In fact, I myself was only vaguely aware of its existence, but I had no idea that it was an important part of Japanese spiritual history.
Since the Middle Ages, many imperial families have made repeated pilgrimages to Kumano, and the common people, driven by the belief that they could not have a good life without making a pilgrimage to Ise seven times and Kumano three times, have also made repeated pilgrimages to Kumano in large numbers. It is true that this is not an authentic part of history.
Although it may not be an authentic part of history, I think it is essential to have a correct understanding of this aspect that has largely defined the inner life of the people.
As I see and hear the sad words and actions of the increasing number of Chinese tourists reflecting the “anti-Japanese education” of the Chinese Communist dictatorship, I am reminded of the importance of educating people with common sense. As a stone from the other side of the mountain, Japanese people need to learn more about their true, simple ethnicity, not about the idea of a divine nation.

In particular, the fact that the core of the Kumano faith has the heart of “resurrection” seems very important for the Japanese people. Being a volcanic island chain, Japan has repeatedly experienced natural disasters such as major earthquakes, caldera-level eruptions, and large tsunamis since the dawn of history. In fact, the Noto Peninsula is currently experiencing a catastrophe of the level of regional collapse. I strongly believe that Japan owes a great deal to the wisdom of its predecessors for its persistent efforts to rebuild at such times. It is sad to say, but I was struck by the deep wisdom of our ancestors who made the decision to migrate from Totsukawa to Hokkaido 135 years ago and showed us the revival of our people’s lives. It is imaginable that there must have been some national “guidance” in the aftermath of the disaster.
However, it is likely that the Kumano beliefs were a major psychological motivating factor in the people’s decision to move 2,000 kilometers away from their home village to clear the wilderness.
I myself was gripped by Osaibara, the core of the Kumano faith, which has been a major presence in the hearts of Japanese people for a long time, and where the old Hongu shrine was located. Well, I guess you could call it the magnetism of space.
From tomorrow onward, I would like to talk about the deities of Kumano faith.

【熊野本宮・大斎原と「蘇〜よみがえり」 皇統神話と熊野の旅-13】



熊野地域は三千六百峰という嶺嶺のさざめきが生み出す空気感が自然のベーシックトーン。奈良・京都からみて聖なる方角・南にあたる紀伊半島。熊野はさらにその南の先端部分を占めている。そういう自然の中を熊野川が貫流している。
この本宮から太平洋への河口にあたる新宮までの熊野川の流域をクルマで走ると、古代の人びとがこの地をかむなび(神奈備)〜神霊が鎮座する山や森〜と捉える心理になったことは、直感的に理解できる。河口に向かって徐々に河川流域左右には柱状節理の赤い壁面が大展開していく光景がとくにこころに迫ってくる。
そして京の都からはるばると険しい山道を踏破してきてその末にこのひろやかな「大斎原」に到達したとき、歴代の皇統たちが深いカタルシスを覚えただろうことも共感できる。
熊野本宮の旧社殿は、この大斎原に展開していた。日本的な縄文由来の自然そのものを神体と考える在来信仰の聖地としてふさわしい。
現在堤防状の領域敷地境界から熊野川までの平面には広大な砂利の空間が広がっている。


熊野川流域に面した山岳からつねに山塊の破片が石砂利となって供給され続けているのだろう。たぶん往古の人びともこの川原の光景に深くこころを癒されたのではないか。仏教思想では、三途の川、賽の河原という空間思想がある。そういう川原が新宮に向かって、ずっとつながっている。まさにこの世とあの世の結界というように捉えることは想起しやすい。
1889年この神殿を大洪水が襲い、神殿建築群は大きな打撃を受けた。
しかしそもそも「蘇り〜よみがえり」を根源的な思想とした熊野では、1年半ほどで近隣の小山に神社建築群を移転させて自ら熊野信仰をよみがえらせた。
しかし本宮社殿の縁起譚解説文などを読み下していたわたしとしては、きのう書いたように奈良県十津川と北海道新十津川のストーリーにこころが満たされて、この大斎原の光景に万感の思いが募ってきていた次第なのです。新十津川町ではいまでも奈良県十津川のことを肉親のように慕って「母村」と呼び続けている。自治体同士でこうした交流は代々受け継がれてきている。
母村からは地元産の木材を利用しての組立て家具椅子を、子村で生まれた子どもたちへの誕生祝いとして送り続けている。子村の親たちはその椅子を組み立てて子どもたちに坐らせ続けている。
災害列島日本社会は、このように数限りなく「蘇り続けた」のだろう。そしてそのなかには万感を込めて「別の地に移る」という選択もあったことは深い叡慮だと思う。
この賽の河原は、大水害で犠牲になった多くの先人たちの鎮魂のようでもある。しかしそこから2,000kmの北海道の地に出発した子孫たちは、みごとに再生を果たしている。本来の熊野信仰とは別のストーリーだけれど、しかし北海道人として、あらたな熊野信仰をいま、わたしたちは生み出し続けているのかも知れないと思い至っているのです。

English version⬇

Kumano Hongu Shrine, Osaibara and “Su – Revival”: A Journey to Kumano and the Myth of the Imperial Family – 13
The “Sai-no-gawara” stretches along the outer edge of Osaibara. It is the boundary of life, but in Kumano, there is a rebirth from there. This is the wisdom of a society in a disaster-stricken archipelago. Wisdom for a society in an archipelago of disasters.

The Kumano area has a basic tone of nature with the air created by the rustling of the 3600 peaks of the mountain range. The Kii Peninsula is in the south, the sacred direction from Nara and Kyoto. Kumano occupies the southern tip of the peninsula. The Kumano River runs through this natural environment.
Driving along the Kumano River from Hongu to Shingu, the mouth of the river to the Pacific Ocean, one can intuitively understand how the ancient people came to regard this land as kamunabi, the mountains and forests where the divine spirits reside. The sight of the red walls of columnar joints gradually unfolding on either side of the river basin toward the mouth of the river is particularly moving.
We can also empathize with the deep catharsis that must have been felt by successive imperial lineages when they arrived at this spacious “Osaibara” after having traversed the steep mountain path all the way from the capital of Kyoto.
The old shrine pavilions of Kumano Hongu were developed in this Osaibara. The site is appropriate as a sacred place for a native religion that considers nature itself, which is of Japanese Jomon origin, to be the deity.
A vast gravel space extends on the plane from the present levee-like area site boundary to the Kumano River.

The mountains facing the Kumano River basin must have been constantly supplying stone gravel from the mountain massifs. Perhaps the people of the past were deeply comforted by the sight of this riverbank. In Buddhist thought, there is the spatial concept of the Sanzu River and the Sai no Kawara. Such a riverbank leads all the way to Shingu. It is easy to imagine it as a boundary between this world and the next.
In 1889, a great flood hit this temple, and the temple buildings were severely damaged.
However, Kumano, whose fundamental philosophy is “revival,” relocated the shrine buildings to a neighboring small mountain within a year and a half to revive the Kumano faith.
However, as I was reading down the commentary on the tale of the origin of the Kumano shrine, I was filled with the story of Totsukawa, Nara Prefecture and Shin Totsukawa, Hokkaido, as I wrote yesterday, and the sight of the Osaibara filled my heart with a deep feeling of compassion. The town of Shintotsukawa still calls Totsukawa, Nara Prefecture “Mother Village,” as if it were a close relative. This kind of exchange between municipalities has been passed down from generation to generation.
The mother village continues to send chairs made of locally produced wood as birthday gifts to the children born in the child villages. Parents in the child villages continue to assemble the chairs for their children to sit on.
The Japanese society of the disaster-stricken archipelago must have continued to “revive” in this way countless times. And I think it is deeply wise that some of them made the choice to “move to another place” with all their hearts.
This Sai no Kawara is like the repose of the souls of many of our ancestors who were killed in the flood. However, the descendants who departed from there to Hokkaido, 200 km away, are making a remarkable comeback. It is a different story from the original Kumano faith, but as Hokkaido people, we have come to realize that we may be continuing to create a new Kumano faith today.

【熊野本宮大社と北海道「新十津川」 皇統神話と熊野の旅-12】




熊野と言えば日本史の精神的背景としての「熊野信仰」が基層であり、その象徴は「熊野三山」と言われる熊野本宮大社、熊野速玉大社、熊野那智大社。現代の「熊野詣」を北海道人として志したワケだけれど、当然のこととしてまずはこの三社に詣ることとして、その最初にこの本宮に向かった。
その程度の予備知識で現地を訪れてはじめて、この現在の本宮社殿は1889年(明治22年)に再建されたものだと言うことを知った。そしてそこではじめて、「それって?」とふと気付いたことがあった。
この熊野本宮とほぼ隣接し同じ河川域である奈良県吉野の十津川を1888年に襲った大水害。連動した土砂崩れによって「土砂ダム」が自然形成されたが、その自然堤防が決壊してそれが下流域にあたる熊野本宮旧社殿を潰滅させたのだ。この熊野本宮大社の旧社殿は現在の熊野川(十津川)川原の「大斎原」にあった。
その起点となった大水害を契機として地域の存続自体が危殆に瀕した奈良県十津川の集落から、多くの被災者が北海道の「新十津川」に集団移住した故実がピッタリつき合わさってしまったのです。
知らなかった。
そうであると知ってからは、この現代の「熊野詣」に一種の熱が発生してしまった。熊野と北海道人に太いいのちの糸が見えてしまったのですね。現在の熊野本宮大社社殿の説明看板類を読み下しながら、一気にこころは現在の「大斎原」、熊野本宮旧社殿所在地の方に向かってしまっていた。135年の歳月を経て、北海道人としてのはるかな「巡礼」という心理が沸き起こってしまった。

この図集は北海道樺戸郡新十津川町のHPからで町の草創起源を示したもの。大水害によって集落が水没して発生した土砂ダムの様子から始まる、壊滅状態の十津川村落からの「再生」を夢見て2,000kmの距離を集団移住してきた北海道先人たちの記録。奈良県十津川と北海道・新十津川を結ぶいのちの絆の説話は、北海道人として広く知られている。わたしは小学校の時に「社会科」授業でその事実を知った記憶がある。
「そんな苦労があったんだ・・・」と子ども心に痛切な感情を持って受け止めていた。
熊野本宮大社は「よみがえりの地」とされている。まさに再生の神。北海道人のはるかな先人の記憶がわたし自身の内側からも「蘇って」きたように思われてならなかった。まさに再生の地。
熊野本宮大社の社殿は、水害からほぼ1年半程度で高台になる隣接の現在地に再建された。一方の「新」十津川地域では現地近くの監獄囚人労働によって建てられていた住宅(1戸に4世帯同居だったという)に移住後、長くキビシイ冬を越えて、翌春からは原野を開拓して行った。・・・
こうした激甚な災害は日本列島で繰り返されてきたし、まさに現在も能登半島を襲っている。そういうなかから日本人はつねに「蘇って」きた。わたしの中でも熊野信仰が芽生えたのかも知れない。

English version⬇

Kumano Hongu Taisha Shrine and Hokkaido “Shin Totsukawa” Imperial Mythology and Kumano Trip-12
A mess with the fact of Hokkaido mass migration and the great disaster of 135 years ago, which we learned by visiting the site. Revival of the shared memory of the people of the disaster archipelago. …

Kumano is the spiritual backdrop of Japanese history, and is based on the Kumano faith, symbolized by the “Kumano Sanzan” (Kumano Hongu Taisha, Kumano Hayatama Taisha, and Kumano Nachi Taisha). As a Hokkaido resident, I decided to make a modern-day “Kumano Pilgrimage” to these three shrines, and I headed to Hongu as the first stop.
It was only after visiting the site with that level of prior knowledge that I learned that the current main shrine pavilion was rebuilt in 1889 (Meiji 22). Then, for the first time, I suddenly realized, “What does that mean? I suddenly realized something.
In 1888, a major flood hit the Totsukawa River in Yoshino, Nara Prefecture, which is almost adjacent to Kumano Hongu Shrine and in the same river area. The landslides that resulted in the natural formation of a lagoon, which burst its natural levee and destroyed the former shrine of Kumano Hongu, which was located downstream of the river. The former shrine of Kumano Hongu Taisha was located at “Osaibara” on the banks of the present-day Kumano River (Totsukawa River).
The origin of the shrine was the mass migration of many victims from the community of Totsukawa, Nara Prefecture, to “Shin Totsukawa” in Hokkaido, Japan, where the very survival of the community was threatened by a major flood.
I had no idea.
After I learned that this was the case, I felt a kind of fever for this modern-day “Kumano Pilgrimage. I could see a thick thread of life between Kumano and the people of Hokkaido. After 135 years, I felt the urge to make a pilgrimage to the Kumano area as a Hokkaido native.

This collection of illustrations is from the website of the town of Shintotsukawa, Sakabato-gun, Hokkaido, and shows the pioneer origins of the town. Beginning with the lagoons created by the submergence of the village by the heavy flooding, it records the ancestors of Hokkaido who migrated as a group 2,000 km away from the devastated Totsukawa village, dreaming of “rebirth” from the devastating situation. The story of the bond of life that connects Totsukawa, Nara Prefecture, and Shin-Totsukawa, Hokkaido, is widely known as the story of the Hokkaido people. I remember learning about this fact in my elementary school “social studies” class.
I remember learning about it in social studies class when I was in elementary school, and I remember thinking with painful emotion, “I didn’t know such hardships existed….
Kumano Hongu Taisha Shrine is considered the “place of revival. The very god of rebirth. I could not help but feel that the memories of my distant predecessors in Hokkaido were “coming back” to me from within. It is truly a place of rebirth.
The shrine pavilions of Kumano Hongu Taisha were rebuilt on the adjacent hillside about a year and a half after the flood. In the “new” Totsukawa area, on the other hand, after moving into a house that had been built by prison labor near the site (it is said that four families lived together in one house), the people overcame a long and hard winter and cleared the wilderness from the following spring. The following spring, they began to clear the wilderness.
Such severe disasters have been repeated in the Japanese archipelago, and are currently hitting the Noto Peninsula. Japanese people have always been “reviving” from such disasters. Perhaps it is through this that the Kumano faith has sprouted in me.

【季節は真冬本番へ。洞爺湖冬景色】



昨日で今年度の実質第1週が終了。夜には新年会もあって、本日は連載テーマは一時休止。
今週はいろいろなスタートもあったのですが、わたしは取材で伊達方面に行っておりました。久しぶりの北海道内での「遠出」。それも積雪もほぼ例年並み以上になってきた段階。朝早く札幌を出発して、昼過ぎに取材先を退出。そこで、ちょっと寄り道的に、っていうか高速道路を使わずに一般道・国道230号線を利用。
そうすると真冬の洞爺湖の風景がなつかしく、冬の詩情をたたえた表情を見せてくれた。
冬期も氷結しない湖面からは、大気の冷気に向かって水蒸気があがって「霧の風情」。周辺の山々はみんな白く冠雪してくれていて、さまざまな樹木に陰影を描き出してくれている。
札幌の人間にとって、小学校の「修学旅行」の定番はこの洞爺湖。道内でも有数の温泉街は、なんども訪れさせてもらってきた。なので、風景のすべてに余韻があって、時間を復元させてくれる。
しばらく逢っていなかった肉親のようなぬくもり感が伝わってきた。やっぱり北海道は冬の雪景色があらゆる美感で迫ってくる。雪というお化粧は、やはりすごい効果を持っているのだと再認識。女性たちの日々の努力に深く頭が下がってくる思い(笑)。
修学旅行で友だちたちと温泉に浸かってのワイワイガヤガヤの様子が遠雷のように記憶の奥底から湧き上がってくる。ふだんは見たこともないようなお膳料理にキャッキャと大騒ぎ。寝ていたのかどうか、枕投げとかの大騒ぎで、「やべ、先生が来た〜」と布団を大急ぎでかぶる。青春の手前、あどけない少年少女たちの夢舞台。
そこからの帰路。案の定、中山峠までの1時間ほどの行程はときどき視界も定かでなくなるようなブリザードっぷり。なるべく先頭を譲って2〜3番目の走行位置で先行車のテイルランプを案内にしながら慎重に運転してきた。その甲斐あって、中山峠を過ぎたら降雪は終わってくれて、冬道の安定走行。こういったキビシイ条件下では、いっしょに峠を走破した「仲間意識」を一団のクルマ同士ではなんとなく持つ。こういうのも北国人のなにかの共通感情なのだろうか。

走り抜けてきて、札幌の日常的な風景に戻ってくるけれど、そういう中でも普段はやり過ごすような風景美が発見されたりする。「札幌もやっぱり北海道の中の地域なんだ」と今更ながら、気付かせられる。
なんということはない雪中移動なのですが、走馬灯のなかを巡ったような気分。ちょっと元気をもらったような小さな旅でした。

English version⬇

The season is heading into midwinter. Lake Toya Winter Scenery]
Usually, snowfall is a big problem for shoveling, but the raging blizzard is also a background device that restores various memories. A small trip on a public road in winter, no rush, no fuss. A small trip on a public road in winter.

Yesterday marked the end of the first real week of this fiscal year. There was a New Year’s party in the evening, so today’s series theme is on pause.
This week has been a busy one for me, but I was in the Date area for an interview. It was my first “long-distance trip” in Hokkaido in a long time. It was also at a stage when the snowfall was almost equal to or greater than usual. I left Sapporo early in the morning and left the interview site in the afternoon. We left Sapporo early in the morning and left the site a little after noon, so we took a short detour, or rather, we took the national highway Route 230 instead of using the expressway.
The scenery of Lake Toya in the middle of winter was nostalgic and showed us the poetic expression of winter.
The surface of the lake, which is not frozen over even in winter, gives off a “foggy look” as water vapor rises toward the cool air. The surrounding mountains were all crowned with white snow, casting shadows on the various trees.
For Sapporo residents, Lake Toya is a staple of elementary school excursions. I have visited one of the most famous hot spring resorts in Hokkaido many times. So all of the scenery has a lingering quality that restores time to its original state.
I could feel the warmth of the people I had not seen for a while, as if they were my relatives. Hokkaido’s snowy winter landscapes are beautiful in every sense of the word. I was reminded once again that the makeup of snow has an amazing effect. I was deeply bowled over by the daily efforts of the women (laugh).
The sight of my friends and I soaking in a hot spring on a school excursion, laughing and having a good time, rises up from the depths of my memory like a distant thunderstorm. I was so excited to see the dishes that I had never seen in my life. I don’t know if I was sleeping or not, but there was such a fuss about throwing pillows and such, that I would rush to cover myself with the futon and say, “Oh no, the teacher’s here! The dream stage for young, innocent boys and girls on the cusp of youth.
The return trip home. As expected, the one-hour ride to the Nakayama Pass was filled with blizzards that sometimes obscured our vision. We drove cautiously, giving up the lead as much as possible and staying in the second or third position, using the backlight of the car ahead as a guide. Thanks to my efforts, the snowfall ended when we passed the Nakayama Pass, and we were able to drive steadily on the winter roads. Under these difficult conditions, we felt a sense of “camaraderie” as we drove through the mountain pass together. I wondered if this was a common feeling among people from northern Japan.

After driving through the pass, one comes back to the everyday scenery of Sapporo, but even in such a scenic environment, one often finds scenic beauty that one would normally overlook. I was reminded, even after all this time, that Sapporo is still a part of Hokkaido.
It was a simple trip through the snow, but I felt as if I was touring through a running horse. It was a small trip that cheered me up a little.

【徐福伝説を「活かして使う」ニッポン 皇統神話と熊野の旅-11】




さてきのうの続編。徐福伝説という物語自体はあらすじは理解できたのですが、わたし的には、有名な「史記」に記述があるとは言え、なぜそのような中国王朝での説話が日本に根付いたのか?という疑問。歴史書に記載があるとは言え、中国社会ですら永く俗説とされてきたことに、なぜ日本社会は一定の存続根拠を維持し続けたのか、ということですね。
普通に科学的に考えれば、紀元前219年の段階の「航海術」では片道1000kmくらいはある意図的遠洋航海が可能だったとは思われない。はるかに時代を下る唐の時代、日本に仏教を伝えるために「国禁」であった渡航を試みた鑑真の数次にわたる難波例を見てもあきらか。安定的・合理的航海術が存在していたはずがない。仮に渡航事例があったとしてもそれは安定的なものではなく、命からがらの末の偶然であろうし、目的的な結果として渡海が可能だったとは思われない。
ただ、日本は歴史的に東アジアの「フロンティア」的な存在としてたくさんの大陸・半島地域のひとびとにとっての対象地域であっただろうことは事実。現実に日本社会の文化発展はそうした「渡来」によって多くがもたらされること自体は連綿と続いていた。
Wikiで検索すると「徐福伝説」を地域のひとつの継承文化としているのは、この稿で探訪した熊野地域のほかに福岡県八女市、佐賀県佐賀市、京都府伊根町、長野県佐久市、鹿児島県出水市・いちき串木野市、宮崎県延岡市、広島県廿日市市、愛知県一宮市・豊川市、東京都八丈町、秋田県男鹿市、青森県中泊町などに伝承が存在する。多くは「海民」文化が基底にある地域、もしくは関連地域。
上の絵図は歌川国芳画ということで江戸期の浮世絵の題材としてまで登場している。そういう古代浪漫に対して日本人は積極的に受け入れる素地があったということなのでしょう。八百万というきわめて新規受容性の高い地神崇拝が民族的な素地を形成していたというようにも考えられる。
アジア世界の文化中心であった中国王朝の史書にせっかく書き込まれている日本に関連するようなことがらを、ムダにはしないという心理素地なのではと考えられるのですね。活かして使えと。
実際の徐福がどうしたこうしたということよりも、こういった日本人社会の側面、真実性の方がわたし的にはたいへん興味深く考えさせられる。
やはり「旺盛な受容性」の表現であると思えるのですね。
多くの移民者を受け入れ続けてきた社会がその根底に培ってきた柔軟性というようにも言える。四周を海に囲まれた列島社会の基本的な性格として、これをわたしたちは共有しているのではないか。熊野地域では一種の地域特性として歴世、この民族性が色濃く遺り続けたということではないでしょうか?

English version⬇

Nippon “Utilizing” the Xufuku Legend: A Journey to Kumano and the Myth of the Imperial Family – 11
The Japanese people have a mindset of “eight million people” who believe that if such a legend exists, they should make full use of it. Japanese society has cultivated a vigorous receptivity. …

Now, the sequel to yesterday’s article. I understood the outline of the Xu Fu legend, but my question is why such a legend from the Chinese dynasties took root in Japan, even though it is written in the famous “Shiji” (Records of Ancient Matters). I am wondering why such a legend from the Chinese dynasties took root in Japan, even though it is mentioned in the famous “Shiji”. Why did Japanese society continue to maintain a certain basis for its existence when even Chinese society had long regarded it as a myth, even though it was mentioned in the history books?
From a normal scientific point of view, it is unlikely that the “art of navigation” as of 219 B.C. would have been capable of intentional oceanic voyages that were about 1,000 km each way. It is clear from the many cases of Kanjin’s attempts to travel to Japan to introduce Buddhism, which was forbidden by the Japanese government, during the Tang Dynasty, which was a long time later. There is no way that stable and rational navigation techniques could have existed. Even if there had been such a case, it would not have been stable, but would have been a coincidence of a desperate attempt to cross the sea, and it is unlikely that it would have been possible to cross the sea as a purposeful result.
However, it is true that Japan has historically been a “frontier” region in East Asia and a target of many continental and peninsular peoples. In fact, the cultural development of Japanese society has been largely due to the “arrival” of people from other parts of the world.
A Wiki search reveals that, in addition to the Kumano region explored in this article, the legend of Xu Fu is also part of the local cultural heritage in Yame City, Fukuoka Prefecture; Saga City, Saga Prefecture; Ine Town, Kyoto Prefecture; Saku City, Nagano Prefecture; Izumi City and Ichiki-Kushikino City, Kagoshima Prefecture; Nobeoka City, Miyazaki Prefecture; Hatsukaichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture; Ichinomiya City and Toyokawa City, Aichi Prefecture; Hachijo Town, Tokyo Prefecture, Oga City, Akita Prefecture, and Nakadomari Town, Aomori Prefecture. Many are areas where the “sea people” culture is based or related to the “sea people” culture.
The above illustration, painted by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, has even appeared as a subject in ukiyoe paintings of the Edo period. The Japanese people were willing to accept this kind of ancient romance. It is also conceivable that the worship of the earth gods, “Ya-million,” which was highly receptive to new ideas, formed the foundation of the Japanese people’s ethnic identity.
It is thought that this is a psychological background that does not want to waste things related to Japan that are written in the history books of the Chinese dynasties, which were the cultural center of the Asian world. Make the best use of it.
This aspect of Japanese society and its truthfulness is more interesting and thought-provoking to me than what Xu Fu actually did.
It seems to me that this is an expression of “vigorous receptivity.
It could be said that it is the flexibility that has been cultivated at the root of a society that has continued to accept many immigrants. We may share this as a basic characteristic of an archipelagic society surrounded by the sea on all sides. In the Kumano region, this ethnicity has remained strong throughout the ages as a kind of regional characteristic.

【列島各地に遺る中国・秦「徐福伝説」 皇統神話と熊野の旅-10】



能登地震発生後10日を過ぎて実にたくさんの映像情報がもたらされてきている。能登には訪問経験と身体感覚があってまったく言葉もない。震源の珠洲市からはかなり離れた金沢市の北方隣接の「内灘」地域の震災状況には、とくにおどろかされた。道路交通が非常に困難な地域であり未曾有の状況も、わずかずつ徐々に明らかになってくるのだろう。社会の弱いポイントを直撃する震災の恐怖を感じざるを得ない。災害について、住宅建築全体が今後の対応を迫られていくのは間違いない。社会の復元力が試されていくことになるだろう。
さて、きのう書いた「徐福の宮」について、そこに至る道路状況についての体験が強烈で一気に書いたので、肝心の徐福伝説について触れていないことに気付いてしまった(泣)。
ということで遅ればせながら。上の写真のように三重県熊野市波田須の海岸線近くにこの社は特徴的な1本樹木を背景として建てられている。波田須地域全体がまことに狭隘な地形になっているけれど、この御宮はちょっと盛り上がった場所に位置している。
祭神とされているのは中国・秦の時代(紀元前221年に史上初めて中国全土を統一、紀元前206年に滅亡。始皇帝で知られる。)に、始皇帝から「不老不死」の妙薬を探し出す命を受けて、3000人の童男童女による船団を連ねて「東方」に向かったという人物。その荒唐無稽な内容から根拠のない俗説とされてきたけれど、1982年になって中国の江蘇省連雲港市かん楡(かんゆい)県において「徐福」村が発見され徐福が実在の人物として学術研究会で発表された。その後これを契機に秦・漢代の造船所跡などの遺跡も発見されて、当地では徐福生誕の地と情報拡散され観光資源化されてきているという。徐福の出帆、出発は紀元前219年と擬定されているとのこと。



この伝説は不思議なことに日本各地域に徐福伝説として痕跡を残していて、その最たるものが熊野のこの地にあるのだ。今回の探訪の趣旨からは少し外れるけれど、神武帝と同様に「海をわたってきた」説話の骨格は共通するので、興味は持たざるを得ない。歴史作家・安部龍太郎の「半島を行く」には現地で秦代の貨幣も出土した話までも記されている。
熊野地域の中心、新宮市にも「徐福公園」が整備され市のHPにもこの伝承が掲載されている。以下要旨。
〜徐福一行はこの地に自生する「天台烏薬(てんだいうやく)」という薬木を発見しましたが、気候温暖、風光明媚、更には土地の人々の暖かい友情に触れてこの地を永住の地と定め、土地を拓き農耕・漁法・捕鯨・紙すき等の技術をこの地に伝えたと言われます。<中略>日本でも徐福渡来の伝承地がいくつかあり、古くから地域伝承を育み、さまざまな文化が形づくられてきました。特に熊野には徐福渡来の地として数々の伝承・史跡が残り鎌倉時代には文献に出てきます。〜
紀元前219年当時と言えば、日本は弥生時代。もちろん文字記録などはない時代。真贋はもちろん定かではないけれど、どうして熊野にはこういった伝承が根付くのか、不思議な符合と言わざるを得ない。

English version⬇

The Legend of Xu Fu” in Qin, China, which remains in various places in the archipelago.
Yesterday, I forgot to write about the important Xu Fu legend. The legend of Xu Fu, which dates back to 219 B.C. in the Qin Dynasty of China, has been preserved as a palace in Kumano. The palace is located in Kumano.

It has been more than 10 days since the Noto earthquake and a lot of visual information has come in. I have been to Noto before and have no words to describe it. In particular, I was astonished by the earthquake situation in the Uchinada area, which is located in the northern part of Kanazawa City and is quite far from the epicenter of the quake in Suzu City. Road traffic is extremely difficult in this area, and the unprecedented situation will probably become clearer gradually. One can’t help but feel a real sense of fear about the disaster. There is no doubt that housing construction as a whole will be forced to respond to the disaster in the future. The resilience of society will be put to the test.
I wrote about “Xufu’s Palace” yesterday because I had such an intense experience of the road conditions leading to the palace that I realized I had not mentioned the Xufu legend, which is the most important part of the story (tears).
So, I am late to the party. As you can see in the photo above, this shrine is built near the coastline in Hadasu, Kumano, Mie Prefecture, with a distinctive single tree in the background. The entire Hadasu area has a very narrow topography, but this shrine is located on a slightly elevated site.
The shrine is dedicated to the god of worship during the Qin Dynasty in China (known for the first unification of China in 221 B.C., followed by the fall of the Qin Dynasty in 206 B.C., and the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, Shi Huangdi). It was destroyed in 206 B.C., known as the First Emperor of China). In the Qin Dynasty (221 B.C., the first time China was unified in 221 B.C., and it was destroyed in 206 B.C.), a fleet of 3,000 men, women, and children headed for the East in search of a miracle medicine that would make them immortal. Although this wild and ridiculous story has been considered a myth with no basis in reality, in 1982, a village named “Xu Fu” was discovered in Kanyu County, Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province, China, and Xu Fu was announced as a real person by an academic research group. This led to the discovery of the ruins of shipyards and other relics from the Qin and Han dynasties, and information about Xu Fu’s birthplace has been spread in the area, making it a tourist resource. It is believed that Xu Fu set sail and departed in 219 B.C.

Curiously, this legend has left traces in various regions of Japan as the legend of Xufuku, the best example of which is found here in Kumano. Although it is a little out of the scope of this visit, it is of interest because, like the legend of Emperor Jinmu, it shares the same framework of the “crossing the sea” legend. In his book “Going to the Peninsula,” history writer Ryutaro Abe mentions that coins of the Qin dynasty were also excavated in the area.
In Shingu City, the center of the Kumano region, a “Xufuku Park” has been established, and the city’s website also carries this legend. The following is the gist of the story.
〜It is said that Xu Fu and his party discovered a medicinal tree called “Tendayaku,” which grew wild in this area, and that the warm climate, scenic beauty, and warm friendship of the local people made this place their permanent home, where they cultivated the land and introduced farming, fishing, whaling, paper making, and other skills to this area. <In Japan, there are several places where Xu Fu has been handed down from generation to generation, and local traditions have been nurtured and a variety of cultures have been formed since ancient times. In Kumano, in particular, there are numerous legends and historical sites that can be traced back to the Kamakura period (1185-1333), and the story of Xufuku’s arrival can be found in literature. 〜The first time in 219 B.C.E.
In 219 B.C., Japan was in the Yayoi period. Of course, there were no written records. Although the authenticity of this story is not certain, it is a curious coincidence that this kind of folklore has taken root in Kumano.