「四百年間のいのちの履歴書」シリーズについて再度、書き進めてみたい。
　現代、明治以降から日本は西欧的価値観を受容して社会的な「価値観」を世界標準に限りなく準拠させて社会を改造してきた。そうしなければ欧米列強から植民地支配される恐怖心から、脱亜入欧というスローガンも叫ばれ、日本は世界の中で特異な地位を築いていった。西洋人から見ても非常に奇異な国家・民族として認識されたことだろう。
　そして第２次世界大戦・原爆投下を経て、今日の戦後世界がある。
　この期間はもうすぐ「江戸時代」の長さに近づきつつある。江戸期はほぼ250年間。それに対して明治以降の時間は158年になろうとしている。戦後社会もすでに80年超。
　この時間経過の中でいちばん大きな社会変化が、それまでの社会意識としての「家の存続」という基底的価値概念から、個人個人が法人組織に雇われる人生に変化してきたことが大きい。資本主義社会が生成発展していく中で、それまでの人間意識の根幹の「家の存続発展」という無上の価値観が、個人が直接社会との契約する社会に変容していった。家と個人の大きな価値観逆転だろうか。
　一方で戦国時代、多くの日本人は家系の存続と繁栄のために自分一個のいのちを捨てることすら厭わなかった。武士道とは死ぬこととみつけたり・・・。
　写真はわが家系に伝承されている六世の祖、1770-1836年の世を生きた三木寛蔵が書き残した「原氏由来の事」の巻物。この祖先は生まれて１歳で父親を亡くし母と祖母の愛情に支えられ、尾道周辺での商家だった父の跡を追って、やがて家を再興させた。しかしそういう人生経緯からか、激しく自分というもの、その生かされた血脈に心が向き合って、家名も変化した経緯までたどって、かれからみて曾祖父、さらにその先の先祖のことまで調査した。
　その軌跡を表現したのがこの巻物一巻。血脈のDNAを必死に探求しただろう事が想像できる。
　こういう「家」というもの、自分のDNAというものへの帰依のこころ。
　現代のわたしは、個人主義の時代に生きているのだけれど、この祖先からの「叫び声」のようなものに深く、鷲づかみにされる。そして孫が生まれ、血脈のあたたかさに満たされている・・・。
　家と個人主義。はたしてこの社会の行く先は？

●お知らせ
拙書「作家と住空間」幻冬舎から電子書籍で発刊
お求めはAmazonで。
https://amzn.asia/d/eUiv9yO

English version⬇

[The Conflict Between Modern “Individualism” and Traditional “Family” Values]
Is exploring one’s family history driven by a desire to feel the “warmth” of one’s bloodline? A longing for values that modern individualism cannot provide. …

I would like to resume writing about the “Four Hundred Years of Life’s Resume” series.
In modern times, since the Meiji era, Japan has embraced Western values and transformed its society by aligning its social “values” as closely as possible with global standards. Driven by the fear of colonial domination by Western powers, the slogan “Leave Asia, Join the West” was championed, and Japan established a unique position in the world. From a Western perspective, Japan must have been perceived as a highly peculiar nation and people.
Then, following World War II and the atomic bombings, we arrived at the postwar world of today.
This period is now approaching the length of the Edo period. The Edo period lasted nearly 250 years, whereas the time since the Meiji era is about to reach 158 years. Postwar society has already lasted over 80 years.
The most significant social change during this time has been the shift from the fundamental value of “the survival of the family”—which had been the basis of social consciousness—to a life in which individuals are employed by corporate organizations. As capitalist society emerged and developed, the supreme value of “the survival and prosperity of the family,” which had been the foundation of human consciousness, transformed into a society where individuals enter into direct contracts with society. Is this a major reversal of values between the family and the individual?
On the other hand, during the Warring States period, many Japanese people did not even hesitate to sacrifice their own lives for the survival and prosperity of their family line. “Bushido is to die…”
The photograph shows a scroll titled “The Origin of the Hara Clan,” written by Miki Kanzo (1770–1836), the sixth-generation ancestor passed down in my family lineage. This ancestor lost his father at the age of one and was raised by the love of his mother and grandmother. He followed in the footsteps of his father, who had been a merchant in the Onomichi area, and eventually revived the family business. Perhaps because of these life experiences, he became intensely focused on his own identity and the bloodline that sustained him. He traced the history of how the family name had changed and investigated his great-grandfather and even earlier ancestors.
This scroll captures that journey. One can imagine how desperately he must have sought out the DNA of his bloodline.
This devotion to the concept of “family” and to one’s own DNA.
Although I live in an age of individualism, I am deeply gripped by what feels like a “cry” from these ancestors. And now that I have a grandchild, I am filled with the warmth of this bloodline…
Family versus individualism. Where is this society headed?

● Announcement
My book, “Writers and Living Spaces,” has been published as an e-book by Gentosha.
Available on Amazon.

Posted on 3月 31st, 2026 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 未分類