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【大自然・北海道へ海外の視線 ムラと住みごこち選び-4】


現代ではひとが住む「都市」や「街区」選択は一応,自由選択であり実際にそのように「好きな場所に住む」という選択を実践されている方も多くいる。とくに北海道では本州地域や海外からの移住、半移住者という存在もケースが多い。経済的にある程度の成功を得られて「住む土地」選びをかなり自由に発想されて大自然の魅力をもとめて移住されるケースもある。そういうケースではかなり自由度の高い住宅になるので見どころも多く、取材することが比較的に多い。住宅雑誌として永年取材してきてこのことは興味深く思う。海外著名IT企業の日本法人のトップの方の住宅取材などもした経験がある。
象徴的にはニセコ地域、一般的には羊蹄山周辺地域などではかなり多数の別荘とか、普段はホテル的に貸し出しながら所有者自身も冬場のスキーシーズンだけ居住して使う「コンドミニアム」も多数ある。そのような需要対応の海外資本からの住宅発注というのも北海道ではけっこう多い。そういった需要に対応する業界の対応力も求められていくのだろうと思います。人口減少社会ニッポンのなかで、こういった新規需要を前向きに捉えて対応力を磨いていくのもアリ。
そういった意味では広義の北海道「ムラ」が世界の中で評価を得ているとも言えるし、そもそもが日本のなかでも「新開地」である地域なのでまだまだ「移住」需要が継続しているともいえるのだろうか。
この時期、千歳空港では海外の方が利用される割合が非常に高いと思います。また円安傾向から世界中の観光客の増加は全国的にも顕著で、交通的に京阪神地域からはかなり遠距離である2回の熊野探訪でも外国人ツアーとか、少人数での海外旅行客などに多く遭遇した。
もちろん住宅企業としては「地域密着」が基本であるのだけれど、北海道の場合、そもそも大部分が「移住者」によって地域形成されてきているので、人間社会意識「ムラ」意識としても、こだわりのなさ、開放性が根っこにあるのだと思う。中国資本による土地買収というのは危険性が高いけれど、一般的な海外からの投資については柔軟に対応するのが自然ではないだろうか。
交通手段が飛躍的に発展した現代世界では、今後ともこうした需要は継続する可能性が高い。現実にニセコにとどまらず、旭川近郊の東川、富良野地域など、IT社会化の趨勢が強まっていて眺望の良い山をまるごと住宅用に購入して家を建てて、仕事はリモート環境で行うという事例もある。ときどき東京に出張して「打合せ」の必要性があるから飛行場とのアクセスは重要、とされている。
現代のムラ選択は進化スピードが速いのではないだろうか。

<画像は北海道らしいウッドハウス〜南幌町の街並みより>

English version⬇

Overseas Eyes on Hokkaido’s Great Outdoors: Mura and Choosing a Comfortable Place to Live – 4
Housing demand in a society with a declining population. The transportation system has been dramatically developed and costs have been reduced. The IT system is transforming work and increasing the freedom to choose a mura.

Today, people are free to choose the “city” or “district” in which they live, and there are many people who actually choose to “live where they want”. Especially in Hokkaido, there are many immigrants and semi-immigrants from the Honshu region and overseas. There are also cases where people who have achieved a certain degree of economic success and are free to choose a “place to live” and move to Hokkaido for its natural attractions. In such cases, there are many highlights to be seen, and we cover them more often than not. This is an interesting fact that I have been covering for many years as a housing magazine. I have also had the experience of covering the housing of the top executives of Japanese subsidiaries of prominent overseas IT companies.
Symbolically, in the Niseko area and generally around Mt. Yotei, there are quite a few vacation homes and “condominiums” that are usually rented out as hotels, with the owners themselves only living there during the winter ski season. In Hokkaido, there are also quite a few orders for housing from foreign capital to meet such demand. I believe that the industry will also be required to respond to such demand. In Japan, a society with a declining population, it is also possible to take a positive view of such new demand and hone one’s ability to respond to it.
In this sense, it can be said that Hokkaido’s “mura” in the broad sense of the word is gaining recognition around the world, and since the region is a “newly developed area” within Japan to begin with, can it be said that demand for “immigration” is still continuing?
During this season, I believe that the percentage of overseas visitors to Chitose Airport is very high. In addition, due to the trend toward a weaker yen, the increase in tourists from around the world is also noticeable nationwide, and we encountered many foreign tours and small groups of overseas tourists during our two Kumano explorations, which are quite far from the Keihanshin area in terms of transportation.
Of course, as a housing enterprise, “community-based” is the basic concept, but in the case of Hokkaido, the majority of the people have been “immigrants” who have formed the region, so I believe that a sense of “mura” or “village” in human society is also rooted in a lack of commitment and openness. Although land acquisition by Chinese capital is highly risky, I think it is natural to be flexible in dealing with foreign investment in general.
In today’s world, where transportation has developed by leaps and bounds, it is highly likely that such demand will continue in the future. In fact, not only in Niseko, but also in the Higashikawa and Furano areas near Asahikawa, where the trend toward an IT-oriented society is gaining momentum, people are buying entire mountains with great views for their homes, building houses, and working remotely. In some cases, people buy an entire house in a mountain with a great view and build a house to work remotely.
The choice of mura in today’s world is evolving at a rapid pace.

<The image is from a wood house typical of Hokkaido, a townscape of Nanporo Town.>

【日本語の歴史的変遷を証言する「やまとことば」人名】


図は皇統初源期の系図。古事記・日本書紀の編纂にあたって天武天皇の御子である舎人親王とその編纂チームが国家プロジェクトとしてまとめあげたときに、さまざまな古代の人名が掘り起こされた。
天武帝の時期に国号としての「日本」が定まり、さまざまな動乱を経て、対東アジアとの外交関係も成立していった。書き言葉、記録可能な文字体系として「漢字」が導入されて、そこではじめて古代の人名を「表記」することが可能になったのだろう。
今日わたしたちは、漢字とひらかな、カタカナの混淆文をベースとして日本語を獲得しているけれど、その歴史を考えると,現代のすぐ直前の明治期の日本語大変容が象徴的なように、対外文明の受容に即して、日本語が変化したことが自明にわかる。明治のこの大変化は比較的身近にその時期のことば改造に直接関わったひとびとの「息づかい」にまで触れることができる。個人的には夏目漱石の作品と人となりなどに深く共感を覚えさせられる。それがいかに壮大な「文化大革命」であるか、ヒシヒシと伝わってくるモノがある。今日わたしたち社会の基盤構築の格闘ぶりがわかり、そのなかでたくさんの文学者などの作品群を「証拠」として確認することもできる。
その明治の大変化のさらに数倍のレベルで、記紀の時代の先人たちは格闘したに違いない。
なにしろ、ことは実質として「国家創業」というに近く、それまで書き言葉を持たなかった列島文化圏に「漢字」という文字を導入して列島社会の来歴を表現していくという気の遠くなるような作業。たぶん今日「訓読み」という言語群にその残滓を遺しているに違いない、縄文以来の列島文化圏での在来の「やまとことば」に込められた「文意」を漢字変換していったことだろう。
わたし個人としては「このはなさくやひめ〜木花開耶姫」という人名に反応してしまう。〜日本神話で、天孫瓊瓊杵尊(ににぎのみこと)に求婚された山の神の娘。この求婚を喜んだ山の神は「天孫の命が石のごとく永遠であれ、木の花が栄えるように栄えてあれ」と磐長姫(いわながひめ)と木花開耶姫の2姉妹を奉るが、磐長姫が醜いために天孫は木花開耶姫だけをめとる〜という経緯で名付けられたとされるけれど、人名に天真爛漫な古代日本人の心性を感じてならない。
古代やまとことばの研究解明は専門のみなさんの学究を待つしかないけれど、心としてはどうもまっすぐストライクで、現代人にも深く刺さってくる(笑)。素朴な女性としてのかわいらしさ、やさしさをそこに感じてしまうのには、どうにも抗いがたい。
そしてその他多くの人名に仮託されただろう「文意」にも、民族の精神性の基盤をそこに感じさせられるのだ。熊野文化圏の取材、神武東征という神話譚の探索を通して、そういった部分に思惟が巡ってきてしまっている。

English version⬇

Yamato Kotoba” personal names testify to the historical transition of the Japanese language.
I strongly feel the heart of the ancient people in the personal name Konohana Sakuyahime – Princess Konohana Sakuyahime. I am glad I was born in this land.

The figure is a genealogical chart of the first source period of the imperial lineage. Various ancient personal names were unearthed when Emperor Temmu’s son, Prince Shonin and his compilation team put together the Kojiki and Nihonshoki as a national project.
During the reign of Emperor Temmu, “Japan” as a country name was established, and through various upheavals, diplomatic relations with East Asia were also established. Kanji was introduced as a written language, a system of characters that could be recorded, and it was probably only then that it became possible to “write” ancient personal names.
Today, we have acquired the Japanese language based on a mixture of kanji, hiragana, and katakana, but when we consider its history, it is obvious that the Japanese language changed in line with the acceptance of foreign civilizations, as symbolized by the great transformation of the Japanese language during the Meiji period, just before the modern era. This great change in the Meiji period can be traced back to the “breathing” of the people who were directly involved in the language reforms of that period. Personally, I feel deep empathy for the works and personality of Soseki Natsume. The book also gives us a vivid sense of the grandeur of the “Cultural Revolution” that was taking place. We can understand the struggle to build the foundations of our society today, and we can see the works of many literary figures as “proof” of this struggle.
The predecessors of the Kiki period must have struggled at a level several times greater than the great changes of the Meiji period.
In fact, it was almost like the “founding of a nation,” a daunting task to express the history of the archipelago’s society by introducing “kanji” (Chinese characters) into a cultural sphere that had never had a written language before. The “literary meaning” contained in the native “Yamato Kotoba” of the archipelago’s cultural sphere since the Jomon period, which must have left a residue in the “Kun-yomi” language group today, must have been converted into Chinese characters.
I personally respond to the name “Konohana Sakuyahime – 〜In Japanese mythology, she was the daughter of the mountain goddess Ninigi no Mikoto, who was pleased with her marriage proposal. The mountain goddess, who was pleased with this marriage proposal, offered two sisters, Iwanagahime and Kihana-Kaiyahime, saying, “May the life of my grandson be as eternal as a stone and as prosperous as a tree flower,” but because Iwanagahime was ugly, my grandson only took Kihana-Kaiyahime as his bride. I cannot help but feel the spirit of the innocent ancient Japanese in the names of the people.
I will have to wait for the research of specialists to clarify the ancient Yamato language, but it strikes me as straight from the heart and deeply penetrating to modern people as well (laugh). It is irresistible to feel the cuteness and gentleness of a simple woman.
And the “literary meaning” of the names of many other people, which may have been entrusted to them, also makes us feel the foundation of the spirituality of the people. Through my research in the Kumano cultural sphere and my search for the mythological tale of the Jinmu expedition, I have been thinking about these aspects.

【2月なのに・・・札幌の高温・雪の異変がヤバい】



きのうの札幌の最高気温は10度くらいまで上昇していました。つい先日には30cmほどの大雪で、道路上には固い岩盤雪が堆雪しているし、屋根には重く雪が乗っかっている。そういう状況下での気温上昇。
ということで、朝の散歩からこの異常高温による変異が襲ってきていた。気温上昇すれば当然雪融けが進むけれど、それは当然表面側から融けていく。路面は上の方で雪融けする。そうなったところで夜になり、朝方に向かって零下まで気温低下するとその融雪水表面が今度は「ツルツル」氷面に変化する。
もちろん冬場ですので靴底は「滑りにくい」素材タイプなのですが、さすがにスパイク底の靴まではあまり履くことがない。そういった装備で散歩に出掛けたin恐怖のツルツル氷道。ちょっとした体重移動すら足下不安定。圧雪雪道にそこそこ凸凹があるけれど、その各所ごとに危険箇所が潜んでいるという状況。
それでもやや上り坂とか平坦な道は、普段よりすこしペンギン歩きをすればなんとか歩けるけれど、下り坂に差し掛かるといつなんどきツルッとくるかわからない。恐怖の下りエレベーター状態。やむなく雪上の踏み固まったけもの道の一番端っこ、やわらかめの雪との境界線を慎重にゆっくり進むしかない。
みんなが踏み固めた細いけもの道でこういった状況なので、一本道は各所で渋滞も引き起こしている。高齢のご夫婦仲良くしっかり手を携えながら歩まれているなど、微笑ましいのだけれど、後続者としてはなんともどうしようもない状況。長靴であれば雪に突入して追い越せるけれど、普段の冬用運動靴では足に進入してくる雪の融雪で足が大濡れしてしまうのですね。
そういう上にところどころ、高所からの落雪も散見されていた。写真は円山球場の塀を見上げたところですが、この周辺各所で落雪の散乱と危険囲いコーンが置かれていた。「雪庇」と呼ぶのですが、この重たい雪に直撃されれば十分ケガも考えられる。
ということで歩くにも危険度急上昇で、実際身近な人間も雪道転倒してしまっていた。かれはまだ若いので笑い顔で話してくれましたが、高齢者の場合にはシャレにならない。
さらにもっとコワいのがクルマ。大雪の後なので道路幅が2車線道路も1.35車線くらいの幅に減少している。そこでスレ違おうとすれば手前の雪山周辺で「譲り合い」で交叉して行かなければならない。この0.35くらいのエッジ部分が「ツルツル」傾斜面になっているのです。
ちょっとした加減でここでクルマが滑ると簡単に衝突事故が発生してしまう。
そういった状況に、きのうは少なくとも2回遭遇。一応運転経験歴が長いわたしのような人間が道を譲る場合は、この車間ゆとりに十分配慮できるのだけれど、運転に慣れていない方が譲ろうとするのは、そのお気持ちはうれしいのだけれど、車間のゆとり幅をほとんど取られていない場合もある。
結果、譲られて困るということにも遭遇するのですね。やむなく「もうちょっと道幅を取ってください」とジェスチャーで伝えるしかない。相手にすれば「せっかく譲っているのに」というキモチも持たれるだろうなぁと思いつつ、安全側の判断に立たざるを得ないのですね。
さて例年であれば、2月中にこういう事態は余り経験がないのですが、一筋縄でいかないことしの異常気象ぶり。みなさん安全最優先で行動したいですね。

English version⬇

Even though it’s February… Sapporo’s high temperatures and snow are very unusual.
The road that turned into “ice” surface is dangerous even for walking. Penguin walking on the slippery road. The snow-covered road edge is too steep and slippery even for crossing cars. …

The high temperature in Sapporo yesterday had risen to about 10 degrees Celsius. Just the other day, there was a heavy snowfall of about 30 cm, with hard bedrock snow composting on the roads and heavy snow on the roofs. The temperature rose under those circumstances.
So the mutation caused by this abnormally high temperature had hit me from my morning walk. When the temperature rises, naturally the snow melts, but naturally it melts from the surface side. The snow melts at the top of the road surface. Then, as night falls and the temperature drops below zero toward morning, the surface of the melted snow turns into a “slippery” icy surface.
Of course, since it is wintertime, the soles of my shoes are of the “non-slip” type, but I do not often wear shoes with spiked soles. I went out for a walk with such equipment on the slippery ice surface. Even a slight weight shift was unstable under my feet. There were some bumps and dips on the snow-covered path, but each bump had its own hazardous spots.
Even so, I could manage to walk on the slightly uphill and flat paths with a little more penguin steps than usual, but when it came to downhill, I never knew when it would slip. It is a state of fearful downhill elevator. We had no choice but to proceed slowly and carefully along the boundary line between the soft snow and the hardened snow at the very edge of the hardened snow.
The narrow path was so narrow that everyone had to tread on it, causing traffic jams in many places. An elderly couple was walking hand in hand, which made me smile, but as a person following them, I felt helpless to do anything about the situation. If I had boots, I could plunge into the snow and overtake them, but with my normal winter sports shoes, my feet would get very wet from the melting snow that was entering my feet.
On top of that kind of thing, there were also scattered snowfalls from high places in places. The photo is looking up at the fence of the Maruyama Baseball Stadium, and in various places around this area, there was a scattering of falling snow and dangerous fencing cones. The photo shows a view looking up at the fence of the Maruyama Baseball Stadium, where there was a scattering of falling snow and danger cones had been placed around the area.
So, the danger level of walking on the snowy road increased rapidly, and in fact, a person close to me had fallen down on the snowy road. He was still young enough to laugh and talk about it, but it would have been a disaster for an elderly person.
What is even more frightening is the cars. After the heavy snowfall, the width of the road was reduced from two lanes to about 1.35 lanes. If you try to cross the road, you will have to “yield” to each other around the snowy mountain in front of you. The edge of this 0.35 or so is a “slippery” slope.
If a car slips here with the slightest slight, a collision can easily occur.
I encountered such a situation at least twice yesterday. When someone like me, who has been driving for a long time, gives way, I can give enough consideration to the space between the cars, but when someone who is not used to driving tries to give way, I am glad to hear his/her intention, but there are times when the space between the cars is almost empty.
As a result, we sometimes encounter the problem of being forced to yield. You have no choice but to gesture and say, “Please give me a little more room. The other person may have a feeling of “I’m giving way to you,” but I have no choice but to stand on the safe side of the road.
Usually, we don’t experience this kind of situation in February, but this year’s abnormal weather is not a simple matter. Everyone should act with safety as their top priority.

【身近なタイムトンネル59年前・地図「歴史」感】



ふとしたことから昭和40年に制作された「高校生向けの地図」と対面してしまっていた。知人からなにげに貸し出されていて、そのまま書棚に仕舞い込まれていたものが、今回の書棚の断捨離の結果、どうにも「居場所」がなくなってたったひとつだけ、類縁がなく表に出てきたといったところ。
よく考えて見たら、わたしの高校時代に2年先行していることもわかった。たぶん知人の兄姉が高校の教科書として購入していたものだったのだろう。わたしにはそういう趣味はないけれど、ほかの教科書類はさっさとゴミ出しされても、地図だけは利用価値を見出されて保存されるケースがあるという。
というような「数奇」な経緯で、わたしの目の前に59年前の地図が開かれていた。
地図だけはなんとなく保存され続けるという意味がよくわかった(笑)。
ようするに地図はタイムトンネルなのだと深く実感。人間社会というのはいま生きている現代に至るまで「歴史時間」が積層されてきている。通常、十年ひとむかしというコトバがあるけれど、「現代」という時間の特定感覚はその程度なのだろう。それを超えると、時間がそこで静止しているような印象が強くなる。ペットのイヌの寿命とも同期できるような時間感覚だろうか。
そういう時間を超えてくると徐々に「過去」というよりも「歴史」というカテゴリーに入っていくと思えるのです。約60年というなかでは日本社会は激変してきていて、現代の認識からは相当のギャップがある。そしてそういう出会いからの時間との「対話」には独特の気配が発生する。
寿命が延びてきた現代人は、たぶんこういう過去との対話機会が飛躍的に増えていくのだろう。
写真としては札幌の周辺図と東京都心の地図を上に挙げた。札幌周辺ではわたしがいま住んでいるもっとも近い地名として「琴似」が表現されているけれど、この59年前当時は札幌では「区制」も敷かれておらず、札幌市ではあったけれど「琴似町」というカタチで「もっとも近い隣接集落」みたいな存在だった。
東京では山手線内を中心にクリップしたけれど、もちろん高速道路も描かれていない。新宿以外のターミナル駅名も表記されていない。当時13才だった中学生のわたしにしてみれば、激しく憧憬と未来性を感じていた地域だけれど、なにか牧歌的な表現になっている。それがまた、興味を掻き立てたか。

そんなタイムトンネルの中に入り込んだ意識から、「あの辺は当時、どんな様子だったのか」という好奇心も盛り上がっていく。つい最近まで書いていた「熊野」地域にも目が行って、「鬼ヶ城」などの活字を発見すると、当時の人間の地名価値判断との対話が芽生えてくる。地図に地名がどのように扱われているかという当時の常識感覚との対比。
こういう「約60年」というワンスパンでの時間把握の感覚を持つと、その先にある江戸期のひとびととの当たり前の対話、想像力の豊穣を感じられるようになる。まぁ歴史数寄の地図からの妄想。
やがてこういう時間のなかで自分自身も積層の小さな部位になっていくことへのリアリティを感じる。

English version⬇

[Familiar time tunnel 59 years ago, map “history” feeling
The geographical perception of time change. The time in which I lived, and already a great sense of distance. I have the feeling and realization that I will soon become a piece of that time and space. I am going to be a piece of that time and space.

I was suddenly confronted with a “map for high school students” produced in 1965. It had been casually lent to me by an acquaintance, and had been tucked away on a bookshelf, but as a result of this bookshelf decluttering, it had somehow lost its “place,” and only one of them has surfaced, unrelated to the others.
I thought about it and realized that it preceded my high school years by two years. Perhaps an acquaintance’s brother or sister had purchased the book as a high school textbook. I don’t have such a hobby, but I heard that in some cases, maps are kept because people find value in using them, even though other textbooks are quickly discarded.
So, by such “strange” circumstances, a map of 59 years ago was opened in front of me.
I now understand what it means that only maps continue to be preserved somehow (laughs).
In short, I realized that a map is a time tunnel. Human society has been layered with “historical time” up to the present day, the time in which we live. There is a common expression, “a decade ago,” but the sense of specificity of the “present time” is probably about the same level. Beyond that point, time seems to stand still. It is a sense of time that can be synchronized with the life span of a pet dog.
It seems to me that once you go beyond that kind of time, you gradually enter the category of “history” rather than “the past. In about 60 years, Japanese society has changed drastically, and there is a considerable gap from the present-day perception. And a unique sign occurs in the “dialogue” with time from such encounters.
As people’s lifespan increases, the opportunities to interact with the past will probably increase dramatically.
I have included a map of Sapporo and a map of central Tokyo above as photographs. In the Sapporo area, “Kotoni” is shown as the name of the nearest place where I live now, but 59 years ago, Sapporo did not have a ward system, and although it was part of the city of Sapporo, it existed as “Kotoni-machi” and was like “the nearest neighboring settlement.
In Tokyo, the clips were taken mainly within the Yamanote Line, but of course there were no expressways depicted. Terminal stations other than Shinjuku were not indicated. As a 13-year old junior high school student at the time, I was very attracted to this area and felt a sense of futurism, but there was something idyllic about the way it was depicted. Perhaps that is what aroused my interest in the area.

From the awareness of having entered such a time tunnel, one’s curiosity about “what that area was like back then” is also aroused. When I look at the “Kumano” area, which I had written about only recently, and discover printed words such as “Onigajo,” a dialogue with the place name value judgments of people of that time begins to grow. Contrast this with the common sense sense of the time about how place names were treated on maps.
When we have a sense of grasping time in the span of “about 60 years,” we can have a dialogue with the people of the Edo period and feel the richness of imagination that lies ahead. Well, it is a delusion from the map of history.
I feel a sense of reality that I myself will eventually become a small part of the stacked layers in this kind of time.

【資料類・本棚の断捨離と数寄傾向の再認識】



みなさんはどうであるかよくわかりませんが、わたしの場合、常備的で毎日参照する書斎の本棚はおおむねの趣味傾向や仕事関係の情報などが反映されています。
で、ときどきは使い勝手を考えて、断捨離を繰り返している。常時参照したい書類・書籍以外はときどき別の書棚に移行してもらって、つねに最新の興味傾向が色濃く反映されるようになる。その契機として断捨離は欠かせません。そうやっていまの興味分野に即して整理整頓したら、ずっと溜め続けていてその中身の整理整頓が追いついていないことが浮き彫りにもなってくる。
仕事の旅先で、残余時間が発生するとその地域の博物館・美術館などで、その土地や特定テーマについてなるべく参観するようにしている。その土地での暮らし方を「取材・整理」するには、そういった背景への知見が深まれば深まるほど、奥行き理解が進むのですね。
ただ、あまりにも次から次へとそういう情報が積層されて、整理整頓がまったく手に着かない。
写真の書籍などはふつうの書店で購入したモノはほとんどなくて、その多くは博物館などの展示イベントの「図録」類が大半です。
人間の知識活動は、まずは体験することが基盤を形成する。「見る」というのは、動物としての人間の情報活動の基本でしょう。そこからインパクトを受けてから文字情報・絵画情報などへと深まっていく。
ここに集約させたものはほぼ「図録類」ですが、このほかにも関連してのテキスト情報や冊子・カタログ類などもこれらの数倍の点数がある。それらを整理整頓させてみたら、案の定、
1 北海道
2 東北
3 関東
4 東京
5 中部
6 関西
7 とくに奈良県
8 兵庫を含む中国圏
9 四国
というように、地理分類が可能なように分散的に一定のボリュームで資料が積層していた。
東京は国立博物館展示が多く、それらは国外の文物に関連したものも多い。そしてその図録制作のあとがきなどを確認するとさすがにその領域の中核的な研究者などが監修していて、公平性に配慮された研究知見が反映されていることがわかる。
柳田國男さんや日本民藝運動の時代には手探りされていたような領域が、現代では各地の博物館施設の充実などで、みごとにスポットライトが照射されている。結局、こういった日本社会の先達のみなさんの開かれた道を、紆余曲折しながら暗中模索しているということなのでしょう。
こういうあたたかい「繭」に中から自分なりの問題意識に惹かれて、情報を整理整頓させながら、いろいろな見方を紡いでいきたい。自分の「数寄」が見える化しているようで、楽しい(笑)。

English version⬇

[Decluttering of documents and bookshelves and reaffirmation of my tendency toward “numismatics”].
After all, it is clear that I have lived my life deeply devoted to things like “folklore. I have several times as many materials from various regions of Japan as I had in the past. A wealth of themes to explore, a treasure trove of treasures. Themes and treasures.

I don’t know about you, but in my case, the bookshelves in my study, which I use regularly and refer to every day, generally reflect my hobbies and work-related information.
And sometimes, I keep decluttering them for ease of use. Except for documents and books that I want to refer to constantly, I sometimes have them moved to another bookshelf so that they always reflect the latest interest trends in a strong color. This is an indispensable opportunity for this process. When you reorganize your books in line with your current interests, it also brings to light the fact that you have been accumulating books for a long time and have not kept up with the organization of their contents.
When I travel for work and have time left over, I try to visit local museums and art galleries to learn about the local area and specific themes. In order to “cover and organize” the way of life in a place, the deeper my knowledge of such background, the more depth understanding I can gain.
However, the information is piled up one after another, so much so that it is difficult to keep things in order.
Most of the books on photography I have purchased at ordinary bookstores are “catalogs” of exhibition events at museums and other places.
The foundation of human knowledge is formed through experience. Seeing” is the basis of information activity for humans as animals. From there, after receiving impact, it deepens into textual and pictorial information.
The collection I have assembled here is mostly “catalogs,” but there are also several times as many related textual information, booklets, catalogs, etc. as these. When I tried to organize them, it was as I expected,
1 Hokkaido
2 Tohoku
3 Kanto
4 Tokyo
5 Chubu
6 Kansai
7 Especially Nara
8 Chugoku area including Hyogo
9 Shikoku
In this way, the materials were stacked in a dispersed and constant volume to enable geographical classification.
Tokyo has many national museum exhibits, and many of them are related to artifacts from outside Japan. The postcards in the catalogs show that they were supervised by core researchers in the field, and that they reflect the findings of impartial research.
The areas that were explored in the days of Kunio Yanagida and the Japan Folk Art Movement are now in the spotlight thanks to the enhancement of museum facilities around the country. In the end, we are still groping in the dark, taking twists and turns along the path opened to us by the predecessors of Japanese society.
I would like to weave various views from within these warm “cocoons,” attracted by my own awareness of the issues, while keeping the information in order. It is fun to see my “sukiyomi” becoming visible (laughs).

【大雪30cm日本人的「共助」 ムラと住みごこち選び-3】



昨日ブログを午前6時前にアップさせて、気になっていた降雪具合を確認したら、マジでやばいレベルの降り方。2枚目の図は札幌管区気象台が発表するわが家の至近箇所(札幌市西区西野)での降雪データから2/11午前9時までのもの。
確認するとおおむね30cm程度の降雪が見られている。
さっそく早朝から夫婦共同作業。しかしおかげさまで新潟以南地域のような湿度過重な雪ではなく、粉雪っぽい軽い雪質。大型のママさんダンプでたっぷり満載して移動させても、腰から下半身に気合いを入れてやれば、けっこうラク。ということでご近所同士の「助け合い」もあって、わたしどもの敷地部分+借りている駐車場などが約1時間チョットで完了。
わが家は本来、煉瓦敷きにした駐車場については全面ロードヒーティングを敷設したのですが、敷設はしたけれど地球温暖化を加速させているように思えてしまったこと、石油熱源による加温という「雪対策」への反省みたいな気分が盛り上がってしまった。
また、そうやっても道路との段差解消がむしろ困難になるということで、自然的な積雪レベル調整・確保を優先させてある程度は堆雪層を容認しながら、結局は人力除雪にしているのです。
で、職住一体建物で敷地利用の余裕を考えていなかったので、わが家では除雪機の格納スペースは確保できずしまいだった。このあたりは自分の家づくりでの見通しの甘さと反省している。
しかしそういう人力除雪でも「堆雪場所整備」について慣習的にご近所の「お付き合い」として除雪機での手助けをありがたくも受けられている。
ご近所で駐車場として借りている敷地の持ち主団体や隣居の方からの善意。その駐車場の除雪をされる「ついで」に、近接のわが家敷地からの排雪の堆雪場所整備に対してそのたびヘルプしてくれる。まことに感謝。
ただそういう無言の関係性には少なくとも除雪についての時間的な「頃合い感」の共有がある。機械除雪に取り組む時間帯的な約束事が、問わず語りに存在しているのですね。あうんの呼吸での「ムラ」社会的な共助約束事とでも言えるでしょうか。
で、さらに「絶対にお礼の品などは遠慮します」という約束事が自然慣習的に交わされている。こういう規範の成立には、やはりお互いさまという「ムラ」共助の考えがある。
こうした共助思想というものは、日本人本来の生き方としての社会規範で、やがて「寄り合い」というような場で取り決めとして明示的になっていく部分なのでしょうが、都市の中のムラとしては、まだまだ「あうんの呼吸」段階と未成熟な部分。
キビシイ大雪ですが、それへの対応という部分で日本人の精神性の基盤としての「ムラ」意識が、根強い慣習として復元再生されていることが実感できる。
写真はすべての作業が終わったあと今朝になって「公共」除雪車が入った後の様子。ほぼ「ムラ」共同体的共助で済んだあと、申し訳的に除雪された様子がわかると思います(笑)。別に公共の仕事を批判するのではなく、これでいいのではないか、という意味です。

English version⬇

Japanese-style “Mutual Aid” in 30cm of heavy snow: Mura and choosing a comfortable place to live – 3
Mutual aid practices at snow-clearing composting sites in Hokkaido. When snow piles on the road become too high, a snow plow is indispensable. Mura” social help between neighbors. ・・・・・・.

The second chart shows snowfall data from 9:00 a.m. on Feb. 11 at a location near my house (Nishino, Nishi-ku, Sapporo), as reported by the Sapporo District Meteorological Observatory.
The second chart shows snowfall data from 9:00 a.m. on Feb. 11, according to the Sapporo District Meteorological Observatory.
The couple immediately began working together early in the morning. Thanks to the snowfall, however, the snow was light and powdery, not humid and heavy as in areas south of Niigata. Even with a large dump truck full of snow, it was easy to move it around, as long as you put some energy into your lower back and lower body. So, with the help of our neighbors, we were able to complete our property plus a rented parking lot in about an hour or so.
We had originally installed road heating for the entire brick parking lot, but we felt that we were accelerating global warming and that we were reflecting on the “snow countermeasure” of heating with an oil heat source, even though we had installed the heating system.
Also, even if we did so, it would be rather difficult to eliminate the difference in level with the road, so we ended up using human-powered snow removal, while tolerating a composting snow layer to some extent, giving priority to adjusting and securing the natural snow accumulation level.
In the end, we were not able to secure storage space for a snowplow in our house because we did not consider the space available on the site for a building that integrates work and residence. I regret my lack of foresight in this area in the construction of my house.
However, even with such manpower, I am grateful for the help of the snowplow as part of our customary “association” with our neighbors in the “maintenance of snow composting sites.
The goodwill of the owner of the lot rented as a parking lot in the neighborhood and the people living next door. They help us every time we remove snow from the parking lot and maintain the snow removal area from our neighboring property. I really appreciate it.
However, in such a silent relationship, there is at least a shared sense of timeliness in snow removal. There is a time-zone commitment to mechanical snow removal that exists in the conversation regardless of the time of day. It could be called a “mura” social mutual aid agreement.
In addition, there is a natural and customary promise to refrain from giving gifts of gratitude. The establishment of such norms is based on the idea of “mura” mutual assistance.
This idea of mutual aid is a social norm that is inherent to the Japanese way of life, and will eventually become explicit in the form of agreements at “yoriai,” or gatherings, but it is still in its infancy in urban villages, where it is still at the “aun no kowtow” stage.
Although the snowfall has been severe, we can feel that the sense of “mura” as the foundation of Japanese spirituality is being restored and revived as a deep-rooted custom in response to the heavy snowfall.
The photo shows the scene after all the work was completed and the “public” snowplows entered the area this morning. You can see how the snow was removed apologetically after almost all the “mura” communal mutual aid was done (laughs). I don’t mean to criticize the public work, but rather to say that this is fine.

【現代人の生き方選択 ムラと住みごこち選び-2】



写真は京都の先斗町を賀茂川越に見たものと、栃木県足利市の古建築景観。
江戸期までの日本社会は基本的には農業立国・海民的暮らしを支える生産構造としてのムラ社会と、都市では農家の次男三男たちが流民となって長屋などに集住し、それとは別に商家という生き方を選択した階層が存在していた。そのほかでは武家がいたけれど、かれらの住居は非生産的な佇まいであり、生活感というものがきわめて希薄だったと思う。
基本的にムラというきわめて帰属性の強い結びつきが最上位に存在したのだと思う。イエ・住宅というものは、土間という作業空間を取り込んだ職住一体であり、それら家同士の相互扶助、相互責任関係の中で、ムラ社会はいわば「まゆ」のように人びとを包み込んでいたものだった。
個人主義よりも、ムラ社会の共同性のほうがはるかに優越して存在していた。
その社会倫理感・生活感が主流の価値感であって、都市居住者も基本的にそのムラ社会的な意識が支配的倫理として受容していたのだと思われる。たぶん幕府という政治機構自体がそういう社会基盤を無意識的に踏襲して存在していたのだろう。
ひとびとが生きていく、暮らしていくということは当然、ムラ的共同体と一体的意識のなかにあった。家系というものもムラ社会のなかでの位置付けが強固に存在していた。
わが家の家系が北海道に移住してきたときも、このムラ社会の一員が先行して移住し一定の成功を収めていたことに誘われ、導かれていた。強固なムラ価値感。
最近は少しは薄れつつあるとは言え、盆暮れという長期休暇ごとに繰り返される「里帰り」という日本人的営為には、この事実が刷り込まれているのだと思う。
こういう人間意識は、明治以降、さまざまな産業勃興があって、都市にひとびとを集中させていく流れの中でも、根強く存在し続けていたのだと思う。
それが「都市居住」のなかでも立地選択というときに強く作用する、なんらかの「選択基準」として機能したのではないかと思っている。
今日の拡大した都市での「街区選択」ということのなかにその残滓が見られる。
住宅建築・購入時、いくつかの選択可能な街区選びの時に「なんとなく」惹かれていくことにはこういうポイントがきわめて大きいだろう。
本人は住宅性能の専門家であり研究者である立場でありながら、自宅は相当隙間面積3㎠/㎡を超える低気密住宅を選択したという方と話したけれど、どうしても奥さんが「住みたい」と希望したのは札幌の「高級住宅地」に建つこの低性能建売住宅で、押し切られたのだという。
住宅性能という意味合いからは劣悪だけれど、しかし社会的価値感としては理解することはできる。その街区の放っている空気感のようなもの、都市の中での「街区選択」行為の基準としても、長く民族意識に刷り込まれている地域(ムラ)への共生感意識をが刺激される部分があるのだろう。その一員として生きていたいという欲求。
そして人間の生きる「環境」選択のなかで、この要素は非常に大きいことが理解できるのだ。

English version⬇

[Modern People’s Way of Life Choices: Mura and Choosing a Comfortable Living Environment-2
An example of a housing performance researcher who chooses a low airtight house with an equivalent clearance area of more than 3c㎡. The selection of town block projects the mura-like sense of community value of the Japanese people. …

The photo shows Pontocho in Kyoto as seen over the Kamo River and the ancient architectural landscape of Ashikaga City, Tochigi Prefecture.
Until the Edo period, Japanese society was basically an agricultural nation, with the mura (village) society as a production structure that supported a seafaring lifestyle, and the second and third sons of farmers in the cities who became exiles and lived in tenements and other places. In addition, there were samurai families, but their dwellings were unproductive and their sense of life was extremely limited.
Basically, I believe that a strong sense of belonging, the mura (village), existed at the top of the hierarchy. Houses and residences were a single unit of work and residence, incorporating a working space called an earthen floor, and in the relationship of mutual support and responsibility among these houses, the mura society enveloped the people like a cocoon.
The communal nature of mura society was far superior to individualism.
This sense of social ethics and lifestyle was the prevailing sense of values, and it seems that city dwellers basically accepted this mura social consciousness as the dominant ethic. Perhaps the political structure of the shogunate itself unconsciously followed such a social foundation.
People’s lives and livelihoods were naturally integrated with the mura community. The family lineage was also firmly positioned within the mura community.
When my family immigrated to Hokkaido, it was guided by the fact that members of the mura community had already immigrated there before us and had achieved a certain level of success. A strong sense of mura values.
Although it is fading a little these days, I believe that this fact is imprinted in the Japanese practice of “sato-kitari,” which is repeated every long vacation season, Bon and year-end.
I believe that this kind of human consciousness has continued to persist even in the midst of the concentration of people in the cities since the Meiji era, with the emergence of various industries.
I believe that this human consciousness functioned as some kind of “selection criterion” that had a strong effect on the choice of location in “urban residence”.
We can see remnants of this in today’s expanded urban “choice” of neighborhoods.
When building or purchasing a house, one may be attracted to a certain neighborhood “somehow” when choosing one of several available neighborhoods.
I spoke with a person who is a housing performance expert and researcher, but who chose a low airtight house with an equivalent clearance area of over 3 square meters for his home, but his wife insisted that she wanted to live in this low-performance house for sale in a “high-end residential area” in Sapporo, and she was pushed into it.
Although the house is inferior in terms of housing performance, it is understandable in terms of social values. The atmosphere of the neighborhood and the “choice of neighborhood” within the city may also stimulate a sense of symbiosis with the local community (mura), which has long been imprinted in the consciousness of the local people. The desire to live as a member of the community.
And we can understand that this factor plays a very important role in the choice of “environment” in which people live.

【帰属する「立地・ムラ」選びと「住みごこち」選択-1】




写真は四国松山の高台からの「都市市街地」と東北津軽の古民家、そして古民家での家族の「だんらん」の様子です。
先日ある住宅技術関係の主導的な存在の方と話していて、わたしのブログについて率直な感想、印象をいただいた。自分自身でも非常に啓発的で、また、自己分析的に気付くことが大きかった。
自分自身のスタンス、環境が大きく変化することを自分で選択してきたのですが、そうするとある部分では「書けること」と「書けないこと」みたいな仕分けがどうしても必要になって、この毎日書き続けてきているブログ表現でも、「表現可能なテーマ」に自己限定するようになっていた。
自分自身では巨視的な視点、日本人としての「生きる環境」をトータルに考えるという点ではたとえばちょっと前まで書き続けていた「皇統と熊野」みたいなテーマも整合的な流れとは思っていたのですが、たしかに現実の住宅政策とか、リアルタイムの「暮らし方」検討みたいなテーマとは距離感がある。
・・・というような意識変化もあり、また環境変化も一段落ついたということで、表題のような普遍的で直接的なテーマを書いてみようと考える次第です。
最近の東京首都圏や大阪中心部などでは「タワーマンション」という新たな「立地・ムラ」選択が大きなトレンドになっている現実がある。そこに大きな「憧れ」を感じさせるような印象が起こっているのだという。極端な例ではそこに住みたいが一心で、不相応な選択をして生活破綻する例もあるとか。
人口減少時代を迎えて、より利便性と住宅地域「ブランド」化が進展している現実。都市居住においても「格差」型の立地・ムラ選択という社会構造が生み出されつつある。
こういったことを考えると、人間は結局、階層とか地域性指標に対してそれを最上位価値と考える存在なのだろうかと思えてくる。
一方では、住宅性能要件のような部分でも、北海道的なその選択感覚と関東以南地域でのそれとでは断層があるように思える。北海道地域ではその選択は地に足が着いた感覚があるけれど、関東以南地域では、ややもすれば「原理主義的」な、そして他者攻撃的なスタンスというちょっと異様な光景も生み出されてきているのだという。
こうした原理主義的な部分については今後、考察することになると思うけれど、今回の検討シリーズでは立地選択と環境性能という、ひとの「住まい」の究極的なテーマについて現代がどういった状況なのか、考えて見たいと思っています。あえて「立地」というフレーズに「ムラ」という場違いとも思えるものを結びつけたのは、どうも直感的にそこには人間の普遍的な真理としての「帰属を求める不安心理」というものが根深く存在しているのではないかと思っているからです。
今後、これまでの撮りため事例写真などと会話(?)しながら考えて見たいので感想がありましたら、よろしくお聞かせください。

English version⬇

The “Location/Village” and “Quality of Living” Selection that Belongs -1
Tower condominiums have become the symbol of “winners” because of their top convenience. The basis of this way of life and sense of value is the worship of “location” and belonging. What is the point of contact with environmental performance? ・・・・・・.

The photos show the “urban city area” from the heights of Matsuyama, Shikoku, and an old minka house in Tsugaru, Tohoku, as well as a family “gathering” in an old minka house.
I was talking with a leading figure in housing technology the other day, and he gave me his honest opinion and impression of my blog. It was very enlightening and a great deal of self-analytical realization on my part.
I have chosen to change my own stance and environment drastically, and in doing so, I inevitably had to sort out certain parts, like “what I can write” and “what I cannot write,” and even in this daily blog expression, I had come to limit myself to “expressive themes” (as I have been doing in the past) I have been limiting myself to “expressible themes” in this daily blog expression.
I thought that the theme of “the imperial lineage and Kumano,” which I had been writing about until a little while ago, was consistent with a macroscopic viewpoint and a total consideration of the “living environment” of the Japanese people, but it is true that there is a distance between this theme and real housing policies or real-time “living style” studies. However, there is a sense of distance between the themes and the real housing policy or the real-time “way of life” study.
However, I have been thinking that the theme of “Kumano” is consistent with the current trend, but it seems distant from the real housing policy or the real-time “way of living” theme.
The reality is that recently in the Tokyo metropolitan area and central Osaka, there has been a major trend toward the selection of new “locations and irregularities” called “tower condominiums. The impression of a great “longing” to live there is occurring. In extreme cases, there have been cases of people who want to live there, but in the sole desire to live there, they have made unworthy choices that have led to the collapse of their lifestyles.
The reality is that as we enter an era of declining population, the “branding” of residential areas is becoming more convenient. In urban living, too, a social structure of “disparity”-type selection of location and community is being created.
Considering the above, it makes me wonder if human beings are, after all, beings who consider hierarchy and regional indices to be the highest value.
On the other hand, even in areas such as housing performance requirements, there seems to be a fault line between the Hokkaido sense of choice and that of the regions south of the Kanto region. In Hokkaido, the choices are more grounded, while in the Kanto region and southward, there is a more “fundamentalist” and aggressive stance toward others, which is a bit bizarre.
I will discuss these fundamentalist aspects in the future, but for this series of articles, I would like to consider the current situation regarding the ultimate theme of people’s “home,” namely, site selection and environmental performance. The reason why I have dared to combine the phrase “location” with something that seems to be out of place, “unevenness,” is because I intuitively believe that the universal truth of human beings, the “anxious psychology of seeking belonging,” is deeply rooted in this area.
I would like to think about this while having a conversation (?) with the photos I have taken so far. If you have any thoughts, please let me know.

【ひと区切りには「にぎり寿司」 総数180くらいかなぁ】



いろいろとプロジェクトが始動し始めてきています。環境変化の整理整頓段階から新環境での行動半径の様子が「見える化」されてきております。
そういったタイミングなので仕入れてきていたネタを捌いてのにぎり寿司ふるまい。今年初めて、っていうか、2−3年ぶりに腕を振るわせていただきました。ネタはいろいろなので一々の説明は特段ありません。札幌中央卸売市場で購入したり、余市の名物鮮魚店で仕入れたりの各種であります。
リモートワークの人も一部いるのですが、15人程度が結果的には食してくれていたようでした。そのあたりの人数把握も不明だったので、まぁ総数は適当な判断で、タイトルのような「感じ」で握っていました。
昼食としてスタッフにふるまう。時間的には握り作業としては炊飯器が5合炊き限度なので、1回5合分で約1時間×2回の合計2時間程度。女性スタッフも多いので、シャリはできるだけ「小さめ」希望に即して握った。これって時間は掛かる。その前段の「ネタの捌き」におおむね1.5時間程度。合計4−5時間程度といったところ。
作業時間を考えて逆算していくと、早朝からということになります。その日は道庁の住宅諮問会議出席の日程もあり<こちらは全国でも焦眉の課題になりつつある「住宅性能向上型のリフォーム事業領域活性化・スタートアップさせる方策会議」。追ってその概要などをお知らせいたします。>、その準備などもあるので握り終わりはおおむね10:30頃。その間で「ブログ執筆〜アップ作業」おおむね2時間も挟むので、なかなかにタイト。
でもまぁ、好きこそなんとかで、にぎり寿司作業を進めながらの平行業務はそれはそれで楽しくもある(笑)。ヘンですが、ゆとりを持って作業進行は進められました。
昼食としては、主食の他にバランスを考えてカミさんが「ひじきの煮物」「きざみ長芋とキュウリの和え物」「枝豆」とかの添え物を作ってくれて栄養バランスを整えてくれた。わたしの方は握りのちょっとした合間に味噌汁も造作。こっちはタマネギ・ゴボウと豆腐という異色の取り合わせでの汁物。多少は味見していたけれど、少しは残るものと考えていたら、きれいさっぱりカラッポになっていた(笑)。おかげで自分ではしっかり味わいを確認しておりませんでした。スタッフに聞いたら「メッチャ美味しかった」との声をいただいた。また、カミさんの「きざみ長芋とキュウリの和え物」の作り方教えて、という声もあったそうで、夫婦揃って甲斐があった次第。
仕事の元気はまずは食べものから、ことしも折に触れて頑張ります。

English version⬇

I think the total number of nigiri-zushi is about 180.
I’m getting up earlier and earlier with age. Completed a total of 4-5 hours of work from early morning to 10:30 am. Restarted Miki Diner. …

Various projects are beginning to get underway. We are beginning to “visualize” the radius of action in the new environment from the organizing stage of the environmental change.
Since the timing was such, we processed the ingredients we had purchased and served Nigiri-zushi. It was the first time this year, or rather the first time in a couple of years, that I was able to show off my skills. I don’t have to explain each and every ingredient, as there are many different kinds of ingredients. We bought some at the Sapporo Central Wholesale Market and some at a famous fresh fish store in Yoichi.
There were some remote workers, but it seemed that about 15 people ate as a result. Since we were not sure how many people we had in that area, well, we judged the total number to be appropriate and held the “feeling” as shown in the title.
It was served to the staff as lunch. In terms of time, the rice cooker is limited to cooking 5 cups of rice as the nigiri work, so it took about 1 hour for 5 cups at a time x 2 times for a total of about 2 hours. Since there were many female staff members, I made the rice as small as possible according to their requests. This takes time. The first step, “processing the ingredients,” takes about 1.5 hours. In total, it takes about 4-5 hours.
If you count backward, considering the time required for the work, it would start early in the morning. On the same day, I also have a schedule to attend a housing advisory meeting of the provincial government (this is the “Meeting on Measures to Activate and Start Up the Housing Performance Improvement Remodeling Business Domain,” which is becoming a pressing issue in Japan). We will provide an outline of the meeting as soon as possible. >I will be finishing my work around 10:30 a.m., as I have to prepare for the conference. In between, I had to spend about two hours writing and uploading my blog, so it was quite a tight schedule.
But, well, like is like, and it’s fun to do parallel work while working on nigiri sushi (laughs). (Laughs) Although it was strange, we were able to proceed with the work with a relaxed mind.
For lunch, in addition to the staple food, Kami prepared “hijiki no nimono” (stewed hijiki mushrooms), “kizami yam and cucumber salad,” and “edamame” (green soybeans) to balance out the nutrition. I also made miso soup in between nigiri (rice balls). This soup was a unique combination of onion, burdock root, and tofu. I had tasted some of it, but I thought there would be a little left over, but it was completely empty (laugh). Thanks to this, I did not check the taste myself. When I asked the staff about it, they said, “It was very tasty. Also, my wife asked me to teach her how to make “chopped yam and cucumber salad,” so it was worth it for both of us.
We will continue to do our best from time to time.

【橿原に宮を建て「即位」紀元 皇統神話と熊野の旅-33】




いま奈良県橿原市に広大な敷地をもって建てられている「橿原神宮」は、創建としては明治になってからで1890年4月2日。神武天皇が橿原宮で即位したという「日本書紀」の記述に基づき、畝傍山の東南麓に明治23年(1890) に創建された。祭神は神武天皇と媛蹈韛五十鈴媛皇后(ひめたたらいすずひめこうごう)。この皇后は出雲の大国主の息子の事代主神の娘とされ、その名に「たたら」という製鉄のことだまを響かせている。
天皇という存在は稲作農耕社会秩序を象徴するような役割があると思うけれど、初代天皇にも「農耕鉄器」との所縁が投影されているようにも感じられる。
神武天皇の御陵が、橿原神宮に隣接する現在地に定められたのは幕末の1863年。明治10年代になると橿原宮址を調査し顕彰しようという動きが高まり、民間から宮址碑の建立や橿原神社の創建の出願が相次いだとされる。
こういう流れから考えれば、明治の時代精神として皇統の称揚気運が高まって社地が整備されていったという経緯が表現されている。しかし逆に言うと、国譲りした出雲大社が歴世、荘厳な社殿を維持し続けていたことと比べれば、皇統紀元の「宮建築」は驚くほどのあっけなさで顧みられなかったことになる。日本の建築の歴史でも出雲大社は特異的な規模と承継性を持っている一方、大和政権のさりげなさが特徴的ではないか。
その後の皇統の宮はあらたに天皇が即位するとあらたな宮が作られて、点々と移転し続けるというスタイルを取っていくことになる。東アジア的な「都城」の建設は6-7世紀の飛鳥京まで待たねばならない。そもそも都城を建設するという思想自体、対中国王朝との外交関係が主たる動機となっている。皇統始原の段階ではそのような志向性はなかった、もしくは希薄だったといえるのだろう。そうしたことからそもそも神武天皇が実在したのかどうか、という論議を呼んでいる。「皇統神話」とした由縁だけれど、しかし一方で熊野に触れて、そのこととの関わりで考えれば、いかにも神話と歴史のあわい接点という印象も強く感じられる。

北海道人として熊野という地域についてはほとんど知識もないままに、しかしなにかに惹かれて歩いてみて、そのロマンに深く「鷲づかみ」されてしまった(笑)。言語による表現以前の、話し言葉での伝承段階から、たぶん縄文から弥生への時代変容の痕跡が、熊野には濃厚に残っているのだと思う。
その後の皇統はこのような地域文化を有効活用しながら、自らの祖先神話の世界を盛り上げていった側面があるのだろう。そういう意味で意図的かそうでないかは別にして、日本文化のいろいろな始原にかかわることがらが文化風土として残り続けている。今後も、折に触れて探訪してみたい。

English version⬇

The “Accession” to the Throne” Kashihara, Nara, Japan: The Myth of the Imperial Lineage and the Journey to Kumano – 33]
The Jimmu Expedition to Kumano. This is an exploration of an area that is not clear as to whether it is myth or history. After all, is it a way to “transmit” the social transformation from the Jomon to the Yayoi period through expressions that transcend language? by …

The Kashihara Shrine, now built on a vast site in Kashihara City, Nara Prefecture, was founded on April 2, 1890, in the Meiji era (1890-1912). The shrine was built in 1890 at the southeast foot of Mt. Unebi, based on the account in the “Chronicles of Japan” that Emperor Jinmu ascended to the throne at Kashihara Palace. The deities are Emperor Jinmu and Empress Ehime Tadasu Isuzu Kogo. This empress is said to be the daughter of Kotoshironushi, the son of Okuninushi of Izumo, and her name echoes the iron-making word “tatara.
The existence of an emperor is symbolic of the social order of rice cultivation and agriculture, and it seems that the first emperor also has a projected connection with “agricultural ironware.
It was in 1863, at the end of the Edo period, that Emperor Jinmu’s mausoleum was located at the present site adjacent to the Kashihara Shrine. In the 10th year of the Meiji Period, there was a growing movement to investigate and honor the site of the Kashihara Palace, which led to a series of applications from the private sector for the erection of a monument at the palace site and the establishment of the Kashihara Shrine.
This trend suggests that the Meiji period’s spirit of honoring the imperial lineage led to the development of the shrine site. Conversely, however, compared to the fact that Izumo-taisha, which had been handed over to the state, continued to maintain its majestic shrine pavilions for generations, the “palace architecture” of the imperial era was surprisingly neglected. In the history of Japanese architecture, Izumo-taisha is unique in its scale and succession, while the casualness of the Yamato regime is characteristic.
The subsequent palaces of the imperial lineage were built when a new emperor ascended to the throne, and were continually relocated from place to place. The construction of a capital city in the East Asian style had to wait until the Asuka-kyo capital in the 6th-7th century. The idea of building a capital city was primarily motivated by diplomatic relations with the Chinese dynasties. At the beginning of the imperial lineage, there was no such orientation, or it could be said that such an orientation was weak. This has led to a debate over whether Emperor Jinmu really existed in the first place. This is the reason why the book is called “the myth of the imperial lineage,” but on the other hand, if you think about it in relation to Kumano, you can get the strong impression that it is a crossroads between myth and history.

As a Hokkaido native, I knew little about the Kumano region, but something about it drew me to walk there, and I was deeply “gripped” by its romance (laughs). I believe that Kumano retains traces of the transformation from the Jomon to the Yayoi period, probably from the stage of spoken tradition before language expression.
The subsequent imperial lineage may have made effective use of this local culture to enhance the world of its own ancestral mythology. In this sense, whether intentionally or unintentionally, things related to the origins of Japanese culture continue to remain as part of the cultural climate. I would like to continue to visit these places from time to time in the future.