商家２軒をひもといてみた浦和の「民家園」保存建物の続篇。今回は地域の開発農家住宅篇です。関東を家康が治めるに際してかれは大規模な自然改造計画を打ち出している。上の外観写真の下は今回の住宅に関連する「見沼たんぼ」を赤く図示した広域図、そして巨大自然改造計画「利根川東遷」の図。
関東平野というのは日本最大の平野部でありながら、縄文海進の名残が強く残っていて整合的な河川構成ではなく、最大の暴れ川・利根川が江戸湾（東京湾）に注いでいて中心地域・江戸ですら安定した地面の確保が難しい広大な地域。巨大な湿潤平野地域が生む「坂東太郎」という巨大雲の造形が作られる。
そういう地域だけれど、武家権力にとっては鎌倉期以来の「本願」の地。ヤマト王権が比較的に安定した地盤面と気候風土の「畿内」地域を基盤として成立したのにはそういう背景事情があったと思うし、東国・関東をどう安定支配するかが日本の権力の歴史的「課題」でもあったのだろう。
そういう地域の支配権を秀吉は家康に与えた。基本的には関東に「封じ込めた」のだろう。安定した領土・東海５カ国を取り上げて関八州と交換させた。「これでオレの権力はひと安心だ」と思ったに違いない。そういう不利な領土移転に対して地道な領土経営を家康は坦々と進める。
家康の天下取りは、かれの「治政・治山治水能力」に依るところが大きいのではないかと思っています。なんといってもその最たるものは関東での利根川の東遷計画の遂行でしょう。
いまは「どうする家康」の度肝を抜くファンタジーぶりが話題になっていますが、かれの能力は三河・遠江・駿河の３カ国支配から信長の死を経てあっという間に甲斐・信州を併合した統治能力と、その後の秀吉による関東移封を見事に逆手にとって、関東に平和と政治体制の安定をもたらした手腕に依るところが大きい。武田氏や北条氏の遺臣たちがあっという間に家康に従ったことが、すなわち人心と地域の安定をもたらし、それがかれの天下制覇に繋がったのだと思うのです。
ぜひそのような非ドラマチックなテーマをたっぷりと見せ場にすることを期待したい（笑）。でもまぁ、そういうのはムリでしょうね。たぶん信長や秀吉のような重商主義変革路線に対して、農本主義的な支配体制路線が対置されるのでしょう、常識的に。
で、戦国期に盛り上がった「築城土木技術」が、家康によってこの利根川東遷計画という驚嘆すべき平和的な河川土木工事・建築工事に昇華させられたことが、かれ家康の隠れた「革命性」だったように思われるのです。さてどうでしょうか？
こういう自然大改造計画というのは日本史上でも稀有。鎌倉武士以来、辛苦を重ねてきた関東支配が実質的に完成した巨大事業。いなほの国・日本の政治権力の正統性は、やはり自然をしっかりコントロールする能力に淵源を持つのだと思う。日本全体にとって次の民族的領土経営課題は北海道に受け継がれる。
紹介する「旧・蓮見家住宅」は、この家康の大土木事業に関連した自然改造の結果、新規造成された田園の新興地主農家住宅という性格が強い。前段の地域開発側面の把握に沿って明日以降に続けます。

English version⬇

Jomon sea advance and Ieyasu’s “Great Kanto Reform” Development Farmers in Urawa-1
Public works projects to remodel nature from the viewpoint of “management” rather than “domination”. The basis of this project, the Tone River eastward shift project, is a gigantic flood control project. The “Tosateru Daigongen,” the sovereign of God. The “Tosetsu Daigongen” character, the divine sovereign.

A continuation of the “Minka-en” preserved buildings in Urawa, where we looked into two merchant houses. This time, we will look at the development of farmhouses in the area. When Ieyasu Ieyasu ruled the Kanto region, he launched a large-scale natural remodeling project. Below the exterior photo above is a red map of the “Minuma-tambo” area related to the houses in this issue, and a map of the “Tone River Eastward Transition,” a massive natural remodeling project.
The Kanto Plain is the largest plain in Japan, but it is a vast area where the remnants of the Jomon sea advance remain strong and the river configuration is not consistent, and the largest river, the Tone River, flows into the Edo Bay (Tokyo Bay), making it difficult to secure stable ground even in the central area, Edo. The huge humid plain area creates a huge cloud formation called “Bando Taro.
Although it is such an area, it has been the land of “Hongan” for the samurai power since the Kamakura period (1185-1333). I believe that this was the background for the establishment of the Yamato kingdom based on the relatively stable ground and climate of the Kinai region, and that the stable control of the eastern provinces and the Kanto region was also a historical “issue” for the Japanese power.
Hideyoshi gave Ieyasu the right to control such areas. Basically, he “contained” them in the Kanto region. He took away the five stable territories of the East Sea and exchanged them for the eight provinces of Sekihachishu. He must have thought, “Now my power is secure. Ieyasu’s steady territorial management in the face of such unfavorable territorial transfers proceeded smoothly.
I believe that Ieyasu’s success in the country was largely due to his “ability to govern and control mountains and floods. The most important of these was his plan to shift the Tone River eastward in the Kanto region.
Although “What to do about Ieyasu” is currently the talk of the town for its mind-boggling fantasy, Ieyasu’s ability to govern is largely due to his ability to rule the three provinces of Mikawa, Omi, and Suruga, and then, after Nobunaga’s death, to annex Kai and Shinshu in a flash, and to his skill in taking advantage of Hideyoshi’s subsequent move to Kanto, bringing peace and political stability to the region. The success of the shogunate was largely due to its ability to bring peace and political stability to the Kanto region. The fact that the vassals of the Takeda and Hojo clans quickly followed Ieyasu’s lead, in other words, brought stability to the region and to the hearts of the people, and I believe that this is what led to Ieyasu’s conquest of the region.
I would love to see you showcase such a non-dramatic theme in your film (laugh). But, well, such a thing would be impossible. Perhaps the heavy mercantilist reformist line of Nobunaga and Hideyoshi would be opposed to the nouveau riche ruling system line, as common sense would dictate.
The fact that Ieyasu sublimated the “castle-building civil engineering technology” that flourished during the Warring States period into the marvelous and peaceful river engineering and construction work known as the Tone River Eastward Expansion Project seems to have been Ieyasu’s hidden “revolutionary” nature. What do you think?
This kind of major natural remodeling project is rare in the history of Japan. It was a gigantic project that practically completed the rule of the Kanto region, which had been painstakingly ruled since the time of the Kamakura samurai. I believe that the legitimacy of the political power of Japan, the Land of Inaho, has its origin in the ability to firmly control nature. For Japan as a whole, the next national territorial management issue led to the management of Hokkaido.
The “Former Hasumi Family Residence” introduced here is a newly created rural farmhouse of the Hasumi family, which was the result of the natural remodeling related to Ieyasu’s major land development project. We will continue tomorrow and beyond in line with the understanding of the regional development aspect of the previous section.

Posted on 7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 »

江戸期には京都で旺盛に盛り上がった呉服産業があり、綿の生産には大量の魚肥が必要とされて、その需要が蝦夷地のニシン漁の漁獲・運送を盛んにさせたことが知られる。高田屋嘉兵衛という事業者の成功には、京阪神地域での産業革命、ビジネス革命があったことが偲ばれる。社会が沸騰するような農産物の多様化・産業化が進んだのでしょう。
呉服産業というのはまったくのファッション産業だけれど、江戸期の社会発展はそういう産業基盤条件を形成していったということ。幕府が繰り返し「贅沢禁止令」みたいなものを発出した背景にはそういった社会発展に伴う強い需要があったと言われる。
また幕末期以降には横浜の開港、海外貿易の開始という経済的インパクトが起こって、とくに関東一円では「養蚕」業が旺盛に発展した。その蚕のためのクワの生産が空前の需要を生んでいった。
そうした商品作物の生産競争の中で、単位面積あたりの収量を左右する「肥料」に農家経済は依存を深めていった事情が垣間見える。肥料屋さんという商売が大きく成立した背景には、江戸期以降からの多様な商品作物の生産の盛り上がりが大きい。日本資本主義の勃興期そのものだろうか。とくに消費都市大都会・江戸の需要に応える意味合いがこの浦和宿ではきわめて大きかったのでしょう。浦和周辺地域からの江戸・東京への商品作物出荷も盛んだったことだろう。
上の写真は浦和の町家のなかでも広い間口を開いているこの店舗のようす。江戸期・明治大正戦前期には大八車などで「肥料」搬出入が繰り返された。運搬動力としては基本的には馬が使われたのでしょう。３枚目の写真は昭和30年代の店舗の写真だそうですが、よくみると店の前に「オート三輪」とおぼしきトラック車両が横付けされて肥料が積み出されている。
買い付けに訪れる農家や「仲買人」たちがこの肥料店で購入して、店舗奥側のバックヤードから運び出された商品がこの店先から出荷されていった状況なのだろう。
明治以降、開拓が進展した北海道札幌でも、よく似た光景が展開していて、幹線道路「石山道路」に面していたわたしの生家前には運搬に使役された馬たちの「馬糞風」が吹いていた。そして運搬動力はこの写真のようにオート三輪が活躍した。たぶん似た光景がこの浦和宿でも見られていたに違いない。自分自身が体験した幼年期の記憶がシンクロしてくる。


店舗内の風景としては「量り売り」のための計量器がドンと鎮座している。大量取引の場合はこうした計量器が使用され、より小口取引の場合には、マスでの販売が行われたというような説明が行われていた。まことに画期ある商取引の状況が活写されている。
昨日よりも今日、そしてあしたはもっと良くなるということを多くの人びとが信じていた。

English version⬇

Fertilizer, the backbone of the commodity crop economy.
The air is filled with the vitality of the contact point of the commodity crop economy, the active buying, selling, and transporting of fertilizers. The breath of a manufacturing society. The breath of a manufacturing society.

It is known that the kimono industry flourished in Kyoto during the Edo period, and that the production of cotton required large amounts of fish manure, the demand for which stimulated the fishing and transportation of herring in the Ezo region. The success of an entrepreneur named Takataya Kahei is remembered for the industrial and business revolution in the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe region. It must have been the diversification and industrialization of agricultural products that brought society to a boiling point.
The kimono industry is a totally fashionable industry, but the social development during the Edo period formed such industrial base conditions. It is said that there was a strong demand for such products due to social development, which was the reason why the shogunate repeatedly issued a kind of “luxury prohibition.
In addition, after the end of the Edo period, the opening of the port of Yokohama and the start of overseas trade had an economic impact, and the “sericulture” industry developed vigorously, especially in the Kanto area. The production of mulberry for silkworms created unprecedented demand.
In the midst of such competition in the production of commodity crops, the farm economy became increasingly dependent on “fertilizers,” which were crucial to the yield per unit area. The background to the establishment of the fertilizer business is largely due to the rise in the production of various commodity crops since the Edo period. Was this the very period of the rise of Japanese capitalism? In particular, the Urawa-juku must have been extremely significant in meeting the demands of the consumer metropolis of Edo. The shipment of commodities from the Urawa area to Edo and Tokyo must have been very active.
The photo above shows a store with a wide frontage among the town houses in Urawa. During the Edo period and the Meiji-Taisho prewar period, “fertilizer” was repeatedly carried in and out of Urawa by large carts and other vehicles. The third photo is said to be a photo of the store from the 1950s, and if you look closely, you can see a truck vehicle that looks like an “auto three-wheeler” parked in front of the store, and fertilizers are being loaded out.
It is likely that farmers and “middlemen” visiting the store to buy fertilizers purchased the products at this store, and the products were shipped out from the back yard at the rear of the store.
In Sapporo, Hokkaido, where pioneer settlers developed after the Meiji period, a similar scene was often seen, with the “horse dung wind” of horses used for transportation blowing in front of my birthplace, which faced the Ishiyama Road, a main road. As you can see in the photo, three-wheeled motorcycles were used for transportation. A similar scene must have been seen at the Urawa Inn. My own childhood memories of the Urawa Inn are synchronized with this scene.

As a view inside the store, a weighing scale for “weighing and selling” is sitting on the floor. The explanation was that such a scale was used for large volume transactions, while mass sales were used for smaller transactions. This is truly a vivid picture of business transactions in an epoch-making period.
Many people believed that today and tomorrow would be better than yesterday.

Posted on 7月 17th, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
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この浦和宿の荒物（雑貨）肥料店舗・旧綿貫家は、江戸時代後期には確実に浦和で商家を営んでいた。1844年当時に描かれた「宿並絵図」に記録が残されている。周辺環境は農業が主体の地域だから、比較的に需要の多い店舗だったのだろうと推測できる。
荒物とはザルやホウキ、チリトリなどの雑貨が主体。一方の肥料店はメインの肥料をはじめ砂糖・小麦などの仲卸と大口客相手の取引を営んでいたのだという。肥料にもそれぞれの作物毎に最適化された品種が存在して売買されていたことがわかる。
さらに浦和宿には、大名の参勤交代の旅宿があったとされている。東北地方・関東北部の大名家が行列を組んで大名自身は「本陣」と言われるメイン旅宿に泊まり、その他の随行員たちは「脇本陣」と呼ばれる旅宿に泊まった。この浦和宿の本陣は「星野権兵衛家」という家系が代々取り仕切っていたという。本陣敷地は約4000㎡（約1200坪）、主屋は700㎡（212坪）という広大な面積を誇っていたとされる。この建物は現在現存せず、その敷地跡には明治天皇がさいたま市の氷川神社行幸の折に立ち寄った記念碑が建てられている。江戸期の宿場町経済の実態を伝えているようです。
わが家の家系伝承では先祖たちは広島県福山市の山陽道・今津宿で、国造以来の家柄の名家「河本家」が営んでいた「今津本陣」とのビジネスで「英賀屋」という屋号で商家を営んでいた。江戸期の経済実態とは、こうした宿場町経済が地方においては中核的なビジネスだったのだとわかる。
肥前平戸の９代藩主・松浦静山が描いた「甲子夜話」に、宿泊した「今津本陣」での旅宿側の勤労奉仕ぶりが描かれているなかにわたしの先祖の動静も記されています。参勤交代という社会システムが地域経済にとってどういうものだったのかがよくわかる。江戸期の商業にとっていかに巨大機会であったことか。
そうした中核的なビジネスがあってさらに周辺的な商品・サービスが宿場町には集中していたのだろう。たまたま同様の宿場町の様子が保存移築されている浦和宿の様子から、わが家のことまでまざまざと先人の息づかいが皮膚感覚で伝わってくるような思いがする。


ということから若干スピンアウトして、昭和30年代（1958年）当時、札幌市中央区北３条西１１丁目で食品製造業を生業としていた当時のわが家の古い写真です。先日、浦和宿の煎餅屋さんの生業の様子を見たけれど、よく似たような写真で、若かった父親が中央で生産現場を見ている様子。食品製造の最終工程なのですが、その視線には先日の煎餅屋さんのご主人とおぼしき方と似た必死さが表れている。
江戸期から昭和30年代というスパンで見ても、日本人の経済の営みは連綿と受け継がれてきている感覚・同一感がある。180年前後の時間空間が通底してくるのですね。歴史時間の重量感。

English version⬇

The Postal Town and Market Economy: Townhouses in Urawa-juku on the Nakasendo Highway – 6
The actual situation of the economy of the inn town in the Edo period can be seen like a perspective drawing. The time of 180 years before and after the Edo period and the breath of the predecessors come together in one span of time. The house is a townhouse.

The former Watanuki family, which operated a fertilizer store in Urawa-juku, was certainly a merchant in Urawa in the late Edo period (1603-1868), as recorded in “Shukuninami Ezu” drawn in 1844. Since the surrounding environment is primarily agricultural, it can be assumed that the stores were in relatively high demand.
Rough goods are mainly miscellaneous goods such as colanders, brooms, and dust trimmers. The fertilizer store, on the other hand, was a wholesaler of fertilizers, sugar, wheat, and other commodities, and also dealt with large customers. It is evident that fertilizers were sold and traded in varieties optimized for each crop.
Furthermore, it is said that Urawa-juku was also a traveling inn for daimyo daimyo’s daimyo’s visits to the area. Daimyo families from the Tohoku region and the northern part of Kanto formed a procession, and the daimyo themselves stayed at the main traveling inn called “Honjin,” while the other attendants stayed at the “Wakihonjin,” or side inn. The main camp at Urawa-juku was managed by a family called “Hoshino Gonpei Family” for generations. The main camp site was approximately 4,000 square meters (about 1,200 tsubo), and the main building boasted a vast area of 700 square meters (212 tsubo). The building no longer exists, and a monument stands on the site where the Emperor Meiji stopped by during his visit to Hikawa Shrine in Saitama City. It seems to convey the reality of the inn town economy during the Edo period.
According to our family tradition, our ancestors ran a merchant house under the trade name of “Eigaya” in Imazujuku on the Sanyo Road in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture, in business with the Imazu Honjin, which was run by the Kawamoto family, a prominent family since the Kokuzo period. The economic reality of the Edo period shows that this kind of lodging town economy was a core business in the local region.
In the “Koshi Yawa (Tales of Koshi)” written by Shizan Matsuura, the ninth lord of Hirado, Hizen Hirado, the movements of my ancestors are described in the description of the labor service of the innkeepers at the “Imazu Honjin” where the innkeepers stayed. It is easy to see how the social system of “Kan-kodogodai” (pilgrimage to and from work) was important to the local economy. It is clear what a huge opportunity it was for commerce in the Edo period.
With such core businesses in place, there must have been a concentration of peripheral goods and services in the inn towns. The Urawa-juku, which happens to be a preserved and reconstructed example of a similar inn town, gives me the feeling that I can feel the breath of my predecessors in my own home.

So, spinning out slightly from this, here is an old photo of our house at the time of the 1950s (1958), when we were making a living as a food manufacturing business in Kita 3-jo Nishi 11-chome, Chuo-ku, Sapporo. The other day, I saw a picture of a cracker shop in Urawa-juku, which was a very similar picture, but the father, who was young, is in the center watching the production site. It is the final process of food production, and his gaze shows a desperation similar to that of the owner of the senbei shop the other day.
The time-space of around 180 years is at the bottom of the story. The weight of historical time.

Posted on 7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 »

浦和民家園」を探訪するシリーズ第4回目。このシリーズの第一回目はこちら→【関東の古民家探訪「中山道の高野煎餅店」-1】

街道筋に面した立地というのは多様な人びとの交易・交流を基本に置いた「地割り」。間口が狭く、奥行きが長い敷地形状が合理的な土地利用法となっている。「町家型土地計画」とでも呼べるのでしょう。
日本では京都の町家がひとつの典型とされるけれど、別に京都だけに特別なものではなく、全国どこの地域でも普遍的にこの考え方で街区が形成された。民族の最新大都市である札幌でも「狸小路」が自然に生成した。
間口を狭くすることでたくさんの商家が単位距離あたりで密集性が高まって原初的な「にぎわい」演出として成立していったのだと思います。さまざまな商品・サービスが一覧的に展示されることで、ひとびとの購買意欲を高めていった効果があるのでしょう。たぶん人類普遍的な街区形成。多様な人間生活の要求に即して、しかもそれらが人間の交流を通して人情味ある発展をもたらしてきた。オープンな姿勢で入口を広く開口して、土間・小上がり的なお迎えインテリア空間＋生業のための開放的空間。
で、わたし自身もこういった街区が醸し出す人間交流の雰囲気のなかでこころが揺籃されていたと気付かせられる。この浦和の町家街区での深掘りで人びとの営みが非常に近しく感じられてならない。
一方で、戦後の高度成長・人口増加ではいわゆる「住宅専用地域」という、生業とは直接関連しない街区・住宅が大量生産されていった。現代での家づくりでは、基本的にこうした土地計画が主流になり、その街区の特徴・雰囲気とはほぼ無縁な平均的な街が形成されてきている。住宅も、街区とのかかわり、人びとのにぎわいとの調和という志向は基本的に持たない「個人主義的」な家づくりになってきていると言える。知人にはこういう現代住宅のデザインルーツとして生業を持たない江戸期の中級武家住宅を挙げるひともいる。
こうした現代型の都市計画と普遍的な伝統的町家建築・住宅との関係性・断絶性についてあまり考慮しなくなっていることに気付かされる次第。かつての町家街区では向こう三軒、両隣的な近隣との人間関係が強く存在していたけれど、現代住宅街ではそういった部分は希薄化してきている趨勢。
家づくりを考えて行くに当たって、こうした人間関係の環境要因について再度立ち止まって考えて見ることも重要なのではないだろうか。人間社会ではある方向に極端化が進んでいくと、反対側の要素が「揺り戻し」のような反応を見せて、やがて調和ということを志向するようになる。だとすると、見ているような「町家街区」が持っていたよき側面について考え直し、現代住宅に取り戻していくことが求められる可能性がある。
高断熱高気密化という肌感覚の進化要因のはるか先に生まれてくる住の需要要素として、そうした萌芽を注意深く見ていく必要性がある。言ってみれば「いごこち」の生体科学的満足度追求と、そのさらに先には別の環境的満足度要因が見出されていくということか。思索を温めていきたい。

English version⬇

Machiya lot layout and modern residential area: Nakasendo and Urawa rice cracker shop-4
Open architectural space to the street. Spatial design that gives full consideration to human interaction. What is the future of the modern closed town and housing? ・・・・.

The location facing a street is a “lot layout” based on trade and exchange among various people. The narrow frontage and long depth of the site make it a rational land use method. It could be called “machiya-style land planning.
In Japan, machiya houses in Kyoto are considered to be a typical example, but they are not unique to Kyoto, and town blocks were universally formed based on this concept in all regions of Japan. Even in Sapporo, the newest metropolis of Japan, “Raccoon Alley” was created naturally.
I believe that by narrowing the frontage, many merchant houses became more densely packed per unit distance, and it was established as a primitive “bustling” production. The display of a variety of products and services in a single location may have had the effect of increasing people’s willingness to purchase. Perhaps this is the universal formation of city blocks for human beings. The development of the district is in line with the diverse needs of human life, and has brought about humane development through human interaction. The open attitude, wide opening of the entrance, welcoming interior space like an earthen floor or a small room, and an open space for living and working.
I myself have been cradled in the atmosphere of human interaction created by these townhouses. The machiya district in Urawa has made me feel very close to the lives of the people.
On the other hand, during the postwar period of rapid economic growth and population increase, so-called “residential areas” were mass-produced, which were districts and houses that were not directly related to people’s livelihoods. In modern house building, such land planning has basically become the mainstream, and average towns have been formed that have almost nothing to do with the characteristics and atmosphere of the township. Houses are now being built in an “individualistic” manner, with basically no orientation toward harmony with the neighborhood or the bustle of the people. Some of my acquaintances point to the Edo period (1603-1868) middle-class samurai residences with no business as the design roots of these modern houses.
I am reminded that we no longer give much thought to the relationship and disconnect between modern urban planning and traditional machiya architecture and housing. In the past, machiya townhouses had a strong relationship with their neighbors, as if they were the other three houses or two neighbors, but in modern residential areas, such relationships are becoming less and less common.
When considering how to build a house, it is important to stop and think about these environmental factors of human relationships. In human society, when extremes are advanced in one direction, the opposite elements react in a “swinging back” manner, and eventually, the society will start to seek for harmony. If this is the case, it may be necessary to reconsider the good aspects of the “machiya district,” as we are seeing it, and bring them back into modern housing.
We need to carefully watch for the emergence of such a demand element for housing, which will emerge far beyond the evolutionary factor of high thermal insulation and high airtightness. In other words, we are pursuing bioscientific satisfaction in terms of “comfort,” and furthermore, we will discover another environmental satisfaction factor. I would like to continue my contemplation.

Posted on 7月 13th, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 「都市の快適」研究, 住宅マーケティング | No Comments »

朝の散歩路、昨日、時間を掛けて信頼関係を作っている（？）オシドリの一家のうちの若いオスの個体、立木の上でのポージングを撮影させていただけました（笑）。ウレシイ。
いつもはまだ睡眠中というケースが多いのですが、そのなかで元気のいい個体、羽毛の色合いからは若いオスとおぼしき個体が、それほどの警戒心を見せることなく、素直にカメラ目線を受容してくれていました。まぁそれでもわたしの存在を強く意識して、基本的には視線からの脱出を図るように水面に飛躍するほんの少しの時間だけ、「まぁ少しくらいは警戒を緩めてやる」という様子。
「その装置、危害を加えるものではないのだよね？」とでも語りかけられているよう。わたしが向けているiPhone装置がそれほどの危険器具ではないという判断をしてくれて、水におりていくほんの10数秒間、カメラ目線に応えるように姿態をさらしてくれた。
観察していると強い警戒心の表現としては尾羽を細かく左右に振るのがかれらの生態のように思っていますが、そういう仕草は見られなかった。これでもかなりの進歩ではないかと、自然観察経験知の少なさから勝手に悦んでおりました。イキモノとの対話の糸口のように多少は思える。
すっかり気を良くして散歩道を歩いて行くと、今度はここのところ毎日のように変化を見せているオオウバユリに決定的大変化に遭遇。
ついに分枝した花芽たちのなかから「開花」の瞬間を迎えた個体が散見された。
ユリという名前の通り、細い花房の先端部分が大きく広がっていく。こういう様子はこの種独特の美の訴求として妖艶というようにも見えるし、また、可憐というようにも思える。どちらにせよ、北海道の自然が生み出す女性的な美しさの表現のように感じています。これからしばらくは印象深い美感を楽しませてもらいたいと思います。
いまのところ、花芽はやや下の方を向いて開花している。重力を考えてやや下方に向けて花を開いてそのあとで徐々に姿勢をまっすぐに「立ち上がっていく」ようになるのです。
開花した個体を探しながらシャッターを切っていると、ちょうどカタツムリがオマケでくっついているヤツもあった（笑）。
ながいいのちの営みの末にようやく開花した瞬間に、不粋なカタツムリがお邪魔したようでもあり、そういう運命にたまたま遭遇した花芽の「定め」のようでもある。観察者としてはこういう偶然こそが生きることそのものだなぁとも思われる。花芽とカタツムリのふたつのいのち、マグリットの絵画の「偶然の出会い」のようでもありました。まことに北国の夏、本番。

English version⬇

Conversation with a mandarin duck and the blooming of a Siberian lily
Two unique seasonal expressions of northern summer. The brightness of life plays its own symphony in the midst of nature. The two subjects are as follows.

Morning walkway, yesterday, we spent some time building a trusting (?) relationship. I was able to photograph a young male member of a family of mandarin ducks, posing on a standing tree (lol). (Laughs.) How nice.
Usually, most of the mandarin ducks are still sleeping, but one of the young male mandarin ducks, which looked like a young male from the color of its feathers, was not so alert and accepted the camera’s gaze without hesitation. He was still very conscious of my presence, and only for a short time, when he basically leapt to the surface to escape my gaze, he seemed to say, “Well, I’ll let my guard down a little bit.
That device, it’s not meant to harm you, is it?” It is as if he is saying to me, “Well, I’m going to let my guard down a little bit, aren’t I? He decided that the iPhone device I was pointing at him was not that dangerous, and for a mere 10 seconds or so, as he descended into the water, he showed his body as if he were looking at me for the camera.
I have observed them wagging their tail feathers from side to side as an expression of their strong alertness, but I did not see such a gesture. I was pleased with myself because of my limited experience in observing nature. It seems somewhat like a clue to dialogue with Ikimono.
I walked along the path, feeling completely at ease, and encountered a decisive change in the daylily, which has been showing changes every day recently.
Finally, among the flower buds that had branched off, there were some that had reached the moment of “blooming.
As the name “lily” implies, the tips of the thin flower clusters spread out. This appearance can be seen as bewitching or dainty, as an appeal to the unique beauty of this species. Either way, I feel it is an expression of feminine beauty produced by the nature of Hokkaido. I hope to enjoy its impressive beauty for some time to come.
At the moment, the flower buds are blooming facing slightly downward. Considering gravity, the flowers open slightly downward and then gradually “stand up” in a straight posture.
As I was taking the shutter to look for blooming individuals, I found one with a snail attached to it as a bonus (laugh).
It was as if an unscrupulous snail had interrupted the moment when the flower finally blossomed after a long life’s work, or as if it was the “destiny” of a flower bud that happened to meet such a fate. As an observer, this kind of coincidence seems to be the very essence of life itself. The two lives of the flower bud and the snail are like the “chance encounter” in Magritte’s painting. Summer in the north is really in full swing.

Posted on 7月 11th, 2023 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 日本社会・文化研究 | No Comments »