このブログでは2019-20年頃、北海道の住宅史の始原期を探って明治最初期の状況をずっと深掘りしてみていた。ちょうどコロナ禍によって社会閉塞のやむなき背景事情があったのだけれど、日常的な仕事の状況を反映したブログから、ちょっと意識変化してのブログのテーマ化だった。
　いまは逆にそこで追究した素材テーマ感が自分に強く影響してきている（笑）。年齢のこともあって開拓した事業を譲渡して、いまは比較的に自由にテーマに沿った掘り起こしを志向している。
　で、その過程で富岡製糸場のことに気付きが至って、北海道での始原期の開拓の実像一択でこれまで凝り固まっていたのかもと思えるようになった。わたしたち北海道人にとっては、いま現在にまでつながってくるのが、住宅性能進化に顕現した多くの先人の営為が主たる興味分野だけれど、一方で日本全体もまた、同様に「国家の近代化」に邁進してきていた事実にあまりにも無縁な姿勢だったのではないかと深く頓悟させられるのです。
　上の図は富岡製糸場の「継承される革新の歴史」というすばらしいガイドブックの付録年表図の一部。不勉強だったので、まずは教科書的にその歴史を学ばせていただくのに購入して、謹んで参照させていただいています。富岡製糸場は明治５年に操業開始するのだけれど、計画は明治３年からスタートしている。同時期、北海道では以下のような「洋造」建築がどんどんと建設されていた。


　同時並行した北海道・明治６年には開拓使の建築がもっとも活況を呈した１年。
象徴的建築としての「開拓使本庁舎」の大工事が進捗し、
さらに「お雇い外国人」たちがどんどん入地してきて、
いかにも北米的な「洋造新都市」がその骨格を表してきた時期。
　明治からの遠雷。
150年のタイムスリップは、しかしまったく古さを感じない。
むしろ日本という国家社会を進化させようとする明治という時代の必死さに深く打たれる。
　北海道人として、地域で展開した巨大な文明的進化がきわめて「現代的」なままに存続し発展進化し続けている状況に、自分自身も意識の上では「協働」感を持っていて、ひろく他を、日本全体を俯瞰するという心理にはなっていなかったのだと思われるのです。
　いま、さまざまな資料類を学ばせていただきながら、明治最初期の人びとの「熱さ」を追体験しているとその熱気が直撃してくる。北海道の「高断熱高気密」という住宅革新も、大きな視点で見ればこの明治の人びとの熱い思いが結晶して事柄であると思えるのです。
　そしてその明治の時代の人びとの心情を、すこしづつ掘っていきたい。まるで超高温の温泉源に出会ったような気分になっています（笑）。

English version⬇

Hokkaido Settlement and Parallel – Desperate Opening to Modernity – Tomioka Silk Mill – 4
An encounter experience at the ethnic level with modern civilization 150 years ago. Hokkaido people are fighting at the level of “living” survival. Here, it is a battle of reproduction and development. …

　Around 2019-20, this blog has been exploring the primitive period of Hokkaido’s housing history and delving deeper into the situation at the beginning of the Meiji period. The Corona disaster had forced me to look into the background of the social blockage, and this was a bit of a conscious shift from a blog reflecting my daily work situation to the theme of my blog.
　Now, on the contrary, the sense of material theme that I pursued there is having a strong influence on me (laughs). (laugh) Due to my age, I gave up the business that I had pioneered, and now I am oriented toward digging up materials in line with the theme in a relatively free manner.
　In the process of doing so, I became aware of the Tomioka Silk Mill, and I began to think that I may have been fixated on only the actual image of the pioneer settlements in Hokkaido in the primitive period. For us Hokkaido people, our main area of interest is the activities of our predecessors as manifested in the evolution of housing performance, which is connected to the present, but on the other hand, we are deeply reminded that Japan as a whole may have been too unaware of the fact that it was also striving for “national modernization” in the same way.
　The above figure is part of the chronological chart in the appendix of a wonderful guidebook entitled “History of Inherited Innovations” on the Tomioka Silk Mill. Since I had not studied the history of Tomioka Silk Mill, I bought it to learn its history as a textbook, and I am respectfully referring to it. Tomioka Silk Mill started its operation in 1872, but its planning started in 1872. At the same time, the following “Western-style” buildings were being constructed in Hokkaido.

　The year 1876 was the most active year for Kaitakushi (Hokkaido Development Office) construction in Hokkaido.
The symbolic “Kaitakushi Honcho Sho” (main building) was under construction, and more and more “hired foreigners” arrived in Hokkaido, creating the framework of a “Western-style new city” that was truly North American in style.
　A distant thunderbolt from the Meiji era.
The 150-year time slip, however, does not feel old at all.
Rather, we are deeply struck by the desperation of the Meiji era to evolve Japan as a national society.
　As a Hokkaido-er, I was consciously “collaborating” with the huge civilizational evolution that had developed in the region and was continuing to develop and evolve in a very “modern” way, and it seems that I had not yet developed the mentality to look at other parts of the world or Japan as a whole from a bird’s eye view.
　Now, as I study various materials and relive the “heat” of the people in the early Meiji period, I am directly affected by that heat. From a larger perspective, the housing innovation of “high thermal insulation and airtightness” in Hokkaido is also a crystallization of the passion of the people of the Meiji era.
　I would like to explore the sentiments of the people of the Meiji era. I feel as if I have found the source of an ultra-hot hot spring (laughs).

Posted on 10月 7th, 2024 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 歴史探訪 | No Comments »

富岡製糸場の参観ではやはり明治５年段階の大規模建築、公共投資としての大型建築のありようが興味深かった。それまでの日本建築は城郭建築が主体であり、その目的性に根ざした技術が伝承されてきた。民間建築は各地域での農家などの建築が主体で、都市では長屋などの集住建築が量的には主流という市場構造だった。
　そういう建築界の状況に対して、明治維新という革命は巨大なインパクトを与えた。産業のための建築という新領域が広大に広がっていくという予感で、のちにゼネコンと言われる企業家たちは奮い立っていた。
　明治４−５年という時期、さながら「洋造」建築の展示場のように北海道開拓の首府、札幌の街区建設が進められ、同時に寒冷気候に対応した住宅技術研究が旺盛に開始していた。たぶん明治期の国家にとって対ロシアの国防目的からの北海道移民促進と、この「ものづくりニッポン」の創始は両輪として意図され進められた。
　上の写真は富岡製糸場の建築風景と、外壁に現れた「木骨レンガ造」の構造素地。そして、伝統木造工法では柱のない大作業空間ができないことから、西洋の木造技術と言える「トラス工法」が導入されて柱のない大空間が可能になった様子。事実として、こうして出来上がった大作業空間は、その後、百年を超えて官営〜民営の全期間、富岡製糸場の経営の土台を支え続けた。普通は業容の拡大に合わせて建て替えなどで対応するのが一般的と言われる中で、ここでは創建時の建築が事業を支え続けたのだ。
　フランスの建築技師たちはメートル法に基づいた図面を提示したけれど、日本の大工たちは尺貫法に翻訳させながら柔軟に対応していった。
　北海道で官民挙げて「寒冷地対応」の住宅性能を追求進化させている一方で、産業発展の機能性空間という方向に本州以南地域では発展させていった様子が伝わってくる。

　建築として特徴的なレンガの表情。明治初年段階では、こうしたレンガは日本建築の伝統にはなかったので、旧来の「瓦製造業」たちが、フランス人技術者の指導を受けながら生産していったのだという。地元の土を焼成させた独特の風合い・色合いには、なにか癒されるものを感じる。「よく来たな、北海道から」と（笑）。
　また、つなぎのセメントは入手困難な輸入製品だったので、国内の漆喰が利用された。その構造もまた日本社会の柔軟な「対応力」を見る思い。
　木骨の骨組みを現場で木挽きしている大工職人たちの力感にもいかにも「精魂込めているぜ」みたいな心意気を感じさせられる。フランス人たちは「フランス革命と同等」と明治維新を評価していたとされるけれど、150年前ころの先人たちのはるかな叫び声が、こちらの胸奥に響き渡っていた。

English version⬇

Architectural “Innovations” of the Meiji Era: Large-Space Structure of Tomioka Silk Mill – 3
The “truss construction method,” which is not found in traditional Japanese construction methods, made possible a large space with no pillars, and at the same time, the bricks that make up the walls were researched and developed by a tile manufacturer. …

In visiting the Tomioka Silk Mill, it was interesting to see how large-scale construction in the 5th year of Meiji (1872) was carried out as a public investment. Until then, Japanese architecture was mainly castle architecture, and techniques rooted in the purpose of such architecture were handed down from generation to generation. The architecture of the private sector was primarily that of farmhouses and other buildings in each region, while in the cities, row houses and other residential buildings were the mainstream in terms of quantity.
　The Meiji Restoration revolution had a huge impact on this situation in the architectural world. Entrepreneurs, who later became known as general contractors, were excited by the prospect of the vast expansion of a new field of architecture for industry.
　In the 4th and 5th year of Meiji (1871-1912), the construction of city blocks in Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido, was underway as if it were an exhibition hall for “Western-style” architecture, and at the same time, research on housing technology for cold climates was vigorously underway. The Meiji period was probably a time when the nation was promoting immigration to Hokkaido for the purpose of national defense against Russia, and the creation of “Monozukuri Nippon,” or “Manufacturing Nippon,” was promoted as a double-edged effort.
　The photo above shows an architectural scene of the Tomioka Silk Mill and the “wood-frame brick structure” that appeared on the exterior walls. The photo above shows the “wood-frame brick structure” of the Tomioka Silk Mill and the “truss construction method,” a Western wooden construction technique, which was introduced to create a large working space without pillars, because the traditional wooden construction method could not be used to create a large working space without pillars. As a matter of fact, the large working space thus created continued to support the foundation of the Tomioka Silk Mill’s management for more than 100 years during the entire period of government and private management. While it is said that the factory is usually rebuilt to accommodate the expansion of the business, the architecture of the factory at the time of its foundation continued to support the business.
　French architectural engineers presented drawings based on the metric system, but Japanese carpenters flexibly adapted the system by translating it into the shaku-kan system.
　While the public and private sectors in Hokkaido were pursuing and evolving “cold-weather” housing performance, the southern Honshu region was developing in the direction of functional space for industrial development.

　The look of the bricks is characteristic of the architecture. In the early Meiji period, such bricks were not part of the Japanese architectural tradition, so they were produced by the old “tile makers” under the guidance of French engineers. The unique texture and coloring of the fired local clay is soothing to the senses. I was surprised that they came all the way from Hokkaido,” he said with a laugh.
　The cement used to connect the buildings was an imported product that was difficult to obtain, so domestic plaster was used. The structure of the building also reflects the flexible “adaptability” of Japanese society.
　The carpenters who were sawing the wooden frame on site also showed a spirit of “we put our hearts and souls into it. It is said that the French regarded the Meiji Restoration as “equivalent to the French Revolution,” but the distant cries of our predecessors around 150 years ago echoed deep in my heart.

Posted on 10月 5th, 2024 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 住宅取材＆ウラ話 | No Comments »

　江戸期の古民家を探訪することが多いわたしですが、とくに最近行った福島市民家園では、多くの古民家で「養蚕〜機織り」が家内制手工業として営まれている様子に触れていた。また、ツルの恩返しという古民俗の様子もいかにも地域密着で根付いている様子がわかる。
　そんなことから当然のこととして、幕末〜明治の日本の製造業の基盤を形成し、そして世界に日本の存在を強く訴求した生糸生産・製品輸出の根源地になった富岡製糸場について、訪問して詳細にその根幹を取材したいと思うに至っていました。仕事生活の一段落からあらたな行動の方向性として、建築と人間社会みたいな領域を掘っていきたいという願いのひとつのあらわれでしょうか。
　歴史が好きでいろいろな探究をしていましたが、ふしぎとこの富岡製糸場のことは抜けていた。富岡製糸場の建設はフランス人指導者ポール・ブリュナの計画書をもとに1871（明治4）年から始まり翌年の1872（明治5）年には主な建造物が完成し操業が開始。繭から生糸を取る繰糸所では全国から集まった伝習工女たちが働き、本格的な器械製糸が始まった。ということで、先日の出張で足を伸ばしてようやく現地取材の機会を持つことが出来た。やはり建築の仕様ひとつをとってもいろいろな発見に満ちていた。
　ポール・ブリュナの言葉として「明治維新はフランス革命と同等」という位置付けをされていることがあり、日本の明治以降の近代化・工業社会化というものは人類史の中でも特筆すべき事柄なのだと思い至った。建築という側面からも、それまでの日本建築からは大きく隔絶した歴史を刻みつけている。従来は、北海道人として開拓期の「洋造」建築からの流れという視点に偏っていたかも知れない。
　それとはまた違う日本の近代化の流れ、とくに製造業の世界最先端化ということを生み出した、富岡製糸場の経験知は、ひろく日本社会の自信を呼び起こしていったのだと思う。さすがに明治ニッポンの国を挙げた産業育成・勃興にまつわる全体像なので、まだ取材の整理途上。だけれど、気付かされたことは膨大で、すこしづつ紡ぎ出すように振り返って見たいと思う次第です。
　たしかに明治維新というのは、今日の工業化現代国家・ニッポンの礎石だと強く実感する。世界史のなかでも地球規模でモノが行き交う交易の時代の始まりであり、その変革への対応で日本は独自の地位を獲得していった。温故知新。今日の日本は一歩間違えば、大きな停滞に直面するかも知れない。そうならなかった明治の決断に迫ってみたい。

English version⬇

Tomioka Silk Mill, the origin of Japanese manufacturing
The Meiji Restoration, a direct social reform that continues to the present day. How was the Japanese manufacturing industry, which surprised the world, created? The …

　I often visit old private houses from the Edo period, and especially at the Fukushima City Minka-en, which I visited recently, I was exposed to how “sericulture – weaving” was being operated as a cottage industry in many old private houses. The ancient folk custom of repaying cranes for their kindness is also evident in the way it is rooted in the local community.
　This naturally led me to want to visit the Tomioka Silk Mill, which formed the foundation of Japan’s manufacturing industry from the end of the Edo period to the Meiji period and became the root of raw silk production and product export, which strongly appealed to the world about Japan’s existence. This may be an expression of my desire to explore areas such as architecture and human society as a new direction of action after the end of my work life.
　I love history and have done a lot of research on it, but I was surprised to find that I had not mentioned the Tomioka Silk Mill. The construction of the Tomioka Silk Mill began in 1871 based on the plans of a French leader, Paul Brunat, and the main buildings were completed and operation started in the following year, 1872. In 1872, the main buildings were completed and operations began. At the reeling factory, where raw silk was harvested from cocoons, apprentice workers from all over the country worked, and full-scale instrumental spinning began. I finally had a chance to visit the site on a recent business trip. As I expected, I was filled with various discoveries, even in terms of architectural specifications.
　In the words of Paul Brunner, “The Meiji Restoration was equivalent to the French Revolution,” and I realized that the modernization and industrialization of Japan after the Meiji period is a matter of particular note in the history of mankind. From the aspect of architecture, too, the history of architecture in Japan is marked by a sharp departure from that of the past. As a Hokkaido-native, I may have been biased to the viewpoint of the flow from “Western-style” architecture of the pioneering period.
　The experience and knowledge of the Tomioka Silk Mill, which gave birth to a different trend of Japan’s modernization, especially the world’s most advanced manufacturing industry, must have aroused the confidence of Japanese society at large. As one would expect from the overall picture of the development and rise of industry in Meiji Japan, I am still in the process of organizing my coverage. However, I would like to look back at what I have learned and see what I can learn from it.
　Indeed, I strongly feel that the Meiji Restoration was the cornerstone of today’s modern, industrialized Japan. It was the beginning of an era in world history in which goods were traded on a global scale, and Japan achieved a unique status by responding to these changes. The new age of learning from the past. One misstep and Japan today could face major stagnation. We would like to look at the decisions made by the Meiji period that prevented this from happening.

Posted on 10月 3rd, 2024 by 三木 奎吾
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　昨日までは会議参加などで東京に出張しておりました。昨年、環境の変化があったのですが、それ以来推移を注意深く見守るような時間が経過している次第。ちょうど１年間の期間が過ぎてきて、ひとつの節目になっておりました。今後は徐々に自分自身のテーマ領域に向かって集中していきたいと考えています。またそういう領域の「取材」もしてきていました。
　東京は不思議な「季節感への無感覚」時間。どうもほとんど暑さは感じずに、長袖でも短袖でもどっちでもいいような空気感。一方帰ってきた札幌は秋を感じる気配。今日からは新環境での本格的始動とも考えています。今後ともよろしく。
　住宅写真主体のブログは最近継続中の「福島市民家園」シリーズです。本日の建物は「元・客自軒」という福島市で有数の割烹旅館。この建物は幕末期の歴史上重要な舞台になったことで知られている。新政府軍と奥羽同盟軍との戦いは会津の攻城戦がもっとも激戦地になった。敗者になった会津は下北半島に国替えされることになって、深い恨みを新政府に対して抱くようになる。一方でこの福島市でも、新政府の「奥羽征討軍」の下参謀・世良修蔵が佐幕派の仙台藩士に襲撃され、この「客自軒」に引き立てられた後、阿武隈川河畔で惨殺されたという事件が発生した。この下参謀（しもさんぼう）というのは、明治維新・戊辰戦争の際に東北地方を従えるための奥羽鎮撫総督府に置かれた役職。総督の下に副総督・参謀と共に置かれ、このうち総督・副総督・参謀には公家が任命され、下参謀には武家の代表者が任命された。公家の総督・副総督・参謀はいわば“お飾り”に過ぎず、総督府の実権は武家である2人の下参謀（薩摩藩・長州藩出身）が握った。 この世良修蔵は長州の第二奇兵隊の軍監だった。
　この客自軒建築は、その後1878年には福島町議員選挙の「投票所」にも使われた。
　復元には江戸後期とされる創建時に近い形に復元された。解体前には４棟があったけれど、創建時の２棟のみを復元したのだという。建築部材はほっそりとした柱梁が使われていて、当時の「町屋造り」の手法に近い、略式の「数寄屋造り」手法とされている。
　

English version⬇

Kappo Ryokan Kyakujiken” in Fukushima at the end of the Edo Period / Fukushima City Minkaen-7
Kappo Ryokan was the scene of a deadly attack during the final days of the Meiji Restoration. A substantial government military staff member was attacked here. Light sukiya-style architecture. …

　Until yesterday, I was in Tokyo on a business trip to attend a conference. Last year, there was a change in the environment, and since then, I have been watching the transition carefully. I have just passed the one-year period, which was a milestone for me. From now on, I would like to gradually concentrate on my own theme area. I have also been “covering” such areas.
　Tokyo is a strange “numb to the seasons” time. I hardly felt the heat, and the air felt as if it didn’t matter whether I wore long or short sleeves. On the other hand, Sapporo, where I came back from, feels like autumn. Today is the first day of work in the new environment. I look forward to working with you in the future.
　This is the ongoing “Fukushima City Minka-en” series, a blog mainly featuring photos of houses. Today’s building is “Kyakujiken,” one of the most famous kappo ryokan (Japanese-style restaurant) in Fukushima City. This building is known to have been an important stage in the history of the end of the Edo period. The battle between the new government forces and the Ou Alliance forces was the most fierce in the siege of Aizu. Aizu, which was the loser, was transferred to the Shimokita Peninsula, and came to harbor deep resentment toward the new government. Meanwhile, in Fukushima City, Shuzo Sera, a subordinate general staff member of the new government’s “Ou Conquest Army,” was attacked by Sendai clan fighters of the Sabaku faction and brought to Kyakujiken, where he was brutally murdered on the banks of the Abukuma River. The position of “Shimo-sambo” was assigned to the Ou Governor-General’s Office to control the Tohoku region during the Meiji Restoration and the Boshin War. The governor-general, deputy governor-general, and general staff were appointed by court nobles, while representatives of the samurai class were appointed to the position of subordinate counselors. The governor-general, vice governor-general, and general staff were merely “decorations,” so to speak, and the real power of the governor-general’s office was held by the two subordinate general staff members (from the Satsuma and Choshu clans), who were samurai. Shuzo Sera was the military commander of the Choshu’s 2nd Kibeitai.
　This Kyakujiken building was later used as a “polling station” for the Fukushima Town Council election in 1878.
　The building was restored to a form close to that of its original construction, which is believed to have been in the late Edo period. There were four buildings before the demolition, but only two were restored to their original state. The building is constructed with slender pillars and beams, and is said to have been built in the abbreviated “sukiya-zukuri” style, similar to the “machiya-zukuri” style of the time.

Posted on 10月 1st, 2024 by 三木 奎吾
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　この福島市民家園には、展示館が別に建てられていて、古民家での暮らしぶりや、その民俗のありようについてのさまざまなビジュアル説明が開示されていた。古民家と民俗は当然ながら建築と人間のくらしの関係性、その淡い領域を浮かび上がらせてくれる。わたしたちの先人は古民家での暮らしの中でどのような精神生活を送っていたのか、が見えてくる。
　展示で見入っていたのはこの素晴らしい民話譚。内容は方言の話し言葉で読み下していただきたいのだけれど、日本全国どこにもある。Wikiでは以下の要約。
　〜一般に「翁が罠にかかった鶴を助け、その鶴が人間の女性に姿を変えて翁とその妻に恩を返す」という筋立てが知られている。類似する話は日本全国で報告されており、文献・伝承によって細部で差違が見られる。 〜
　この福島県福島市の郊外・10kmほど離れた地域に「鶴沼」や「二子塚」という地名は具体的に存在しているので、この地域にリアリティを持って語り伝えられてきた伝承と思える。北海道人としては、こういう神代にまで遡るような説話を具体的な地名まで含めて語られると、クラクラとせざるを得ない。
　そして古民家での寝物語で、親から子へ連綿と語り継がれてきたのだと想像すると、そのひとびとがリスペクトしていたなにごとかに心を動かされる。地域がこういう説話を共有していることに深く打たれる。とくに方言がそこにメロディとして共鳴までされるとまったく圧倒されてしまう。
　この民家園では養蚕文化を伝える古民家も見た。〜【桑の木の中の養蚕民家、湧き上がる暮らしパワー】
　この養蚕文化とツルの恩返し伝承は重なるのだろうと容易に想像できる。

　個人的な妄想だけれど、養蚕によって蚕というイキモノが農村に貴重な現金収入をもたらす希少な生産手段であり、そこから生産される織物が都市の上流女性を美しく彩ったという生産−流通−消費のプロセスを考えれば、そこにツルという日本列島の自然の中でわかりやすく美を象徴する存在が、物語的に仮託されたことには平仄が合うと感じられる。
　寝物語を聞いた女の子たちは、ツルの美しさを想像しながら自分もきっとそういう存在にと、憧れの心理を持ったかも知れないし、男の子たちは「焦がれる」ということの始原をそこに見ていたのではないだろうか。その物語とともに寝に着いただろうたくさんの世代の積層を思わされる。
　柳田國男の民俗学からも、柳宗悦の民藝からも、こうした文化を認められなかった北海道人としては、足許を見つめて「あらたな気付き」を探究するしかない、と思う。

English version⬇

The Crane’s Benevolence “Local Folklore” Edition / Fukushima City Minka-en – 5
This is a bedtime story of a tale that exists throughout Japan, with the exception of Hokkaido, and gives the specific names of local places. The profundity of the culture is deeply moving. …

　The Fukushima City Minka-en has a separate exhibition hall, which provides a variety of visual explanations of how people lived in old private houses and their folk customs. Naturally, the relationship between old private houses and folklore reveals the faint realm of the relationship between architecture and human life. We can see how our ancestors lived their spiritual lives in old folk houses.
　I was fascinated by this wonderful folk tale in the exhibition. The following is a summary from Wiki.
　〜The story is generally known as “The old man rescues a crane from a trap, and the crane transforms into a human woman and repays the favor to the old man and his wife. Similar stories have been reported throughout Japan, with differences in details depending on the literature and folklore. 〜The story is told in the suburbs of Fukushima City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.
　The names “Tsurunuma” and “Futakozuka” exist in the suburbs of Fukushima City, Fukushima Prefecture, about 10 km away, so it seems that this story has been passed down with reality in this area. As a Hokkaido native, I cannot help but feel a little nervous when I hear such tales that date back to the divine era, including the names of specific places.
　And when I imagine that these tales were passed down from parents to children in old houses, I am moved by something that these people respected. I am deeply moved by the fact that the local community shares these tales. Especially when the dialect is used as a melody, it is overwhelming.
　In this minka garden, I also saw an old house that conveys the culture of sericulture.
It is easy to imagine that this sericultural culture and the tradition of repaying cranes for their kindness overlap.

　It is my personal fantasy, but if we consider the production-distribution-consumption process, in which silkworms were a rare means of production that brought valuable cash income to rural villages through sericulture, and the textiles produced from these silkworms beautified urban upper-class women, then it makes sense that the cranes which symbolizes beauty in the natural environment of the Japanese archipelago, was narratively entrusted to the cranes.
　The girls who heard the bedtime story may have imagined the beauty of cranes and longed to be one of them, while the boys may have seen the origin of their “longing” in the story. The story reminds us of the layering of many generations who would have arrived at bedtime with the story.
　As a Hokkaider who could not recognize this culture from the folklore of Kunio Yanagida or the folk art of Muneyoshi Yanagi, I have no choice but to look at my own feet and search for “new insights”.

Posted on 9月 29th, 2024 by 三木 奎吾
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