【子ども遊び「メンコ」の歴史 戦後こども文化-4】

　わたしが札幌で幼年期にはパッチと呼んでいた子ども遊びが、東京では、というか日本中央の文化圏では「メンコ」という呼称で呼ばれていたことが明らかになった。特定の平面を競技盤面としてメンコを並べて相互に相手のメンコを奪い合う仮想戦争ゲームということのようだ。
　で、そのメンコの歴史について上野の「下町風俗資料館」展示では以下のように記載。〜メンコは江戸時代中期から遊び道具のひとつとして作られていた。はじめは型取りした粘土を焼いた「泥メンコ」で、明治初期頃まで使われていた（いちばん上の写真）。その後明治10年代に鉛の板に絵や模様を浮き出させて彩色された「鉛メンコ」が流行っていた（やや褪色しているが２番目の写真）。その後、木版刷りの技術を利用して、歴史上の武将の勇ましい姿や、軍人たちの絵を描いた「紙メンコ」が使われた。〜
　う〜む、であります。自分自身の身体感覚が江戸時代の子どもたちとも具体的に繋がっている発見。一方、紙製で円い形状で、競技盤面に叩き付けてその「風圧」で相手のメンコをひっくり返したり、盤面から脱落させたりするゲームルールからはやや違和感のある素材が書かれている。泥メンコなど、どう考えても風圧でひっくり返せないだろうし、鉛メンコも重すぎる感じ。泥メンコなど後世のわたしたちがパッチと呼んだ使用法とはかけ離れ、どっちかといえば中にあんこが入った今川焼きではないか（笑）。
　どうも子ども遊びとしてはそのルール、使用法が歴史的に変化してきたのかも知れない。時代考証のレベルの探究が必要とも思える。
　しかし、江戸時代からの子ども遊びのツールが平成の世代のわが子まで連綿として繋がっているという発見はなんとも身体感覚で歴史が感じられて楽しい。変わらない物事への人の感じ方、その普遍性を感受するひとつのきっかけとして再認識させられる。・・・


English version⬇

The History of Children's Game "Menko" Postwar Children's Culture-4
The discovery that my own physical senses are concretely connected to those of children in the Edo period. The reality that I too will eventually become history (laughs). ...

It has become clear that the children's game I called patch in my childhood in Sapporo was called "menko" in Tokyo, or rather, in the cultural sphere of central Japan. It seems to be a virtual war game in which players line up their mencos on a specific flat surface to compete with each other for the other's mencos.
　The history of menko is described in the exhibition at the "Shitamachi Folk Museum" in Ueno as follows 〜Menko has been made as a plaything since the middle of the Edo period (1603-1867). The first type of menko was "mud menko," which was made by baking clay molds, and was used until the early Meiji period (see the photo at the top). Later, "lead menco," in which pictures and patterns were embossed and colored on lead plates, became popular in the 1880s (the second photo, although slightly faded). Later, "paper menko," which utilized woodblock printing techniques to depict pictures of brave historical generals and soldiers, were used. 〜Hmmm.
　Hmmm. A discovery that my own physical senses are also concretely connected to the children of the Edo period. On the other hand, the paper menko is made of paper and circular in shape, and the rules of the game, in which the menko is struck against the competition board and the "wind pressure" causes the opponent's menko to flip over or fall off the board, describe a material that is somewhat strange to me. Mud menco, for example, would not be able to be overturned by wind pressure, and lead menco seems too heavy. Mud menkos are far removed from what we in later generations would have called patches, and are more like Imagawa-yaki with red bean paste inside (laughs).
　(Laughs.) Perhaps the rules and usage of this children's game have changed historically. It seems to me that we need to explore the level of chronological research.
　However, the discovery that the tools of children's games from the Edo period are still connected to my own children of the Heisei generation is a fun way to feel history with a physical sensation. It is an opportunity to recognize again that there is a way of feeling that does not change in the human world, and to appreciate the universality of this way of feeling. ...

【メンコとパッチ:道産子の疑問 戦後こども文化-3】

　わたしが幼年期だったいまから60数年前当時、子どもたちは紙芝居に目が釘付けになる一方、冬場でも室内でカラダいっぱい使ったゲームとして「パッチ」に精を出していた。写真のような丸い厚紙に強そうなイラストが描かれたり、有名なプロスポーツ選手の写真などが印刷されたもの。北海道札幌では、このゲームのことをパッチと言っていたけれど、子ども同士のウワサで「メンコ」というのが東京ではあるらしい、という不思議な会話があった。
　メディアが情報独占していた時代なのでWEBのように情報を自分で探索はできなかった。ジモティーたち同士ではそれ以上、詮索する方法も考えつかず、この不思議な「メンコ」という名前が頭の片隅でガン細胞化した。「東京に行ってみたい」という同年代少年少女たちの意識下の刷り込み起点に、このメンコへの疑問がとぐろを巻いていた。実際に東京に行ったらそういう意識下世界のことはまったく忘却されていたけれど（笑）。


＜写真と図は公益財団法人さっぽろ青少年女性活動協会PDF資料より＞

この解決不能のまま放置されてきた疑問がようやく解明された。結論はこのふたつの名称は同じゲームについての表現ということ。メンコという言葉はより始原的で漢字を当てるとすると「面子」だそうで、上の写真の2枚目のようなちょっと「馬面」を想像させるような縦長形状。遊び方としてはすぐ上の説明の遊び方になる。縦型のものはわたしは見たことがない。
　遊び方が進化してくるとより「円形」の方が最適となるので徐々に主流になってくる。北海道のような鄙ではその遊び方がすぐに想起できる「パッチ」という呼称が一般化したものでしょう。わたしの8才上くらいの兄たちもメンコという名前は使っていなかったと聞いた。
　しかしこの遊び、保育園で育った平成生まれの息子に聞いたら、平成の世でも生き長らえていたそうで保育園でやっていたようです。で、名前はメンコだったとのこと。
　縦に長い日本列島、文化の中心地と鄙との間で、共通語と方言が生まれるけれど、そのつい最近の実例なのかと思い至った。


English version⬇

Menco and Patch: Questions from Dosan-ko about Postwar Children's Culture - 3
Today's topic is a time-limited Jimotei dialect story. Is this an actual example of the creation of a common language and dialect between the first source region of culture, the capital city and the remote and rural areas? ...

　When I was a child, more than 60 years ago, children were glued to picture-story shows and played "patch" indoors in the wintertime, using their whole bodies. The game was played on a round piece of cardboard, like the one in the photo, with strong-looking illustrations or pictures of famous professional athletes printed on it. In Sapporo, Hokkaido, this game was called "patch," but there was a curious conversation among the children about a rumor that it was called "menko" in Tokyo.
　In those days when the media had a monopoly on information, it was not possible to search for information by oneself, as was the case with the Web. The boys could not think of any way to inquire further, and the mysterious name "Menko" became a cancerous cell in a corner of their minds. The question of this menko was curling around the imprint of the boys and girls of the same age who wanted to go to Tokyo. When I actually went to Tokyo, I was completely oblivious to this subconscious world (laughs).

This question that has been left unanswered has finally been clarified. The conclusion is that the two names refer to the same game. The word "menko" is more primitive and is said to be "menko" in Chinese characters, and its vertical shape reminds one of a "horse's face," as shown in the second photo above. The way to play with it is as explained above. I have never seen a vertical one.
　As the playing style evolves, the "circular" shape becomes more optimal and gradually becomes the mainstream. In remote areas such as Hokkaido, the name "patch" is probably more commonly used, as it immediately reminds people of this way of playing. I was told that my older brothers, who were about eight years older than me, did not use the name "menko" either.
　However, when I asked my Heisei-born son who grew up in a nursery school about this play, he told me that it had survived even in the Heisei era and was played at the nursery school. He told me that the name of the game was Menko.
　I wondered if this was a recent example of the common language and dialects that emerge between the cultural centers and the outlying areas of Japan's long, vertical archipelago.

【2月20日現在わが家周辺「降雪量」429cm】

雪まつりも終わってクルマで遠出したりすると、いわゆる「光の春」を感じる瞬間がときどきある。雪景色には変わりがないのだけれど少し「ぬるみ」のようなものが感じられるのです。春分を１ヶ月先に控え徐々に日の長さも感じられ、早朝のあかるさも時間が６時過ぎになると目に見えてくる。
微細な変化が訴えてくる独特の季節感。
なんですが、降雪は容赦なく続いていて雪かきに休息はなかなか訪れない。自宅兼用事務所なのでみんなが出社するまでの時間には事務所回りの除雪が欠かせません。なので降雪ぶりは日々のカラダの筋肉痛と完全に同期している（泣）。
ことしの冬はほぼ例年同様の降雪状況ですが、昨年の大雪とだんだん似てきていて、わが家周辺の堆雪ぶりはなかなかに過激な状況。周辺道路はほぼすべてが１車線化していて安全最優先の交通ぶり。
降雪量429cmは昨年の431cmとほぼ同じ。平年の399cmよりも多め。積雪深（積雪の垂直寸法）は99cmで昨年の104cmより5cm少なめですが、平年値80cmよりは20%以上深い。
グラフは札幌管区気象台が提供してくれている数値ですが、ほぼ毎日チェック。
ところで、昨日は久しぶりの業界的情報交換機会がありました。東大・前真之准教授とも久しぶりに対面。やはり対面しての情報交換は有益。意見の異なる問題についても、それぞれの考えを尊重し合う機会が必要でしょう。いまの日本にはそういう「寛容性」対話が欠けているように思いますね。
さて本日もわが家周辺の雪との黙々対話、頑張ります。

English version⬇

As of February 20, "snowfall" around my house is 429 cm.
Sapporo is now at the peak of its snowfall season. I want to spend my time relaxing and interacting with the snow. I am also having a gentle conversation with my muscle pain. I am still in a state of pain.

When I go out by car after the Snow Festival is over, I sometimes have a moment when I feel what is called "spring of light. The snowy landscape is still the same, but there is a slight "lukewarmness" in the air. The daylight of early morning becomes visible after 6:00 a.m. as the spring equinox approaches a month ahead.
　Such minute changes give us a unique sense of the season.
　However, the snowfall has been relentless and there is no rest for the snow shovelers. Since our office doubles as a home office, it is essential to remove snow from around the office before everyone arrives at work. The snowfall is perfectly synchronized with the daily muscle aches in my body (I cry).
　The snowfall this winter has been almost the same as usual, but it is gradually becoming more and more similar to last year's heavy snowfall, and the amount of composting around our house is quite extreme. Almost all of the roads in the area are now single lane, and safety is a top priority for traffic.
　The 429 cm of snowfall is almost the same as last year's 431 cm. The 429 cm of snowfall is almost the same as last year's 431 cm, and more than the normal year's 399 cm. The snow depth (the vertical dimension of the remaining snow cover at that point) was 99 cm, 5 cm less than last year's 104 cm, but more than 20% deeper than the normal value of 80 cm.
　This graph is provided by the Sapporo District Meteorological Observatory, and we are checking this figure almost every day.
　Last night was the first opportunity in a long time to exchange information in the industry. I met with Associate Professor Masayuki Mae of the University of Tokyo for the first time in a while. As I said, exchanging information face to face is beneficial. It is necessary to have an opportunity to respect each other's views on issues where we have different opinions. I think that such a "tolerant" dialogue is lacking in Japan today.
　Well, I will do my best again today to remove snow from the surrounding area.
　

【日本の物語文化〜琵琶法師と紙芝居 戦後こども文化-2】

紙芝居というものは一種のメディアであり、都市環境を必須とする。田舎でも祭りなどのときには出張して上演する紙芝居師もいただろうけれど、ほんの数日間の興業ではその旅費はペイしなかっただろう。紙芝居の「まとめ記事」などを参照すると関東大震災や第２次世界大戦後など、経済社会が崩壊した時期に大量にあふれた失業者たちが、糊口をしのぐ生業として取り組んでいた様子がわかる。
　上の写真類は「台東区立下町風俗資料館」展示での紙芝居のテーマ内容のごく一部。こうした形式でのいわば在野の文化活動に対して、行政の側からのさまざまな利用があったとされている。２枚目の写真などは「教育紙芝居」として文科省が関与した題材まであったのだという。また、戦前期にはこどもたちへの軍国教育の一環として政治利用もされていた。日本文化のひとつの波及形式として、このような絵と語りによるストーリー展開形式があって、それが大衆の娯楽文化を形成していた状況が見えてくる。
　わたしの接触した時期には、いちばん上のようなSFチックなものや、その後マンガのヒーローの冒険活劇的なテーマが多かったと記憶している。やはり手に汗を握る活劇が、こどもたちの感受性には敏感に「刺さった」のだろう。いかにも教育的なものは自然に敬遠していたと思う（笑）。
　こういう形式の初源的なものとしてわたしには「琵琶法師」による平家物語が一番近似的だと思える。琵琶法師という社会的存在は、宗教勢力寺社がその布教と経済活動の一体化された一種のビジネス活動として展開したものとされる。琵琶というめずらしき楽器を演奏しながら、当時の社会の動乱をニュース的に、あるいは演劇的にひとびとに伝承することで日本社会のメディアの嚆矢だったと思える。日々の暮らしに追われる都市居住庶民には政治の極限形態である内戦、源平合戦には大きな影響を受けていただろうけれど、その変動状況についての客観的情報はなかなか伝わらなかっただろう。そういう知識需要をとらえて、京の街の先端的な芸能文化が、メディアの役割を果たし始めたのだと思える。日本の有名寺院には創建説話・縁起などの「絵詞」が多く残っているけれど、それらも法話の伝達手法として機能していた。
　もっと遡れば、鎌倉末期に戦災で失われた奈良の東大寺の復元再興にあたって総合プロデューサーだった重源が組織した「勧進」集団による活動が素地であったとも思える。
　情報の拡散方法が確立されていない時代、こういった語り部が社会的な需要に対応する存在だったのだろう。そういう社会的需要がわたしの幼少年期にはこの「紙芝居」形式だった。

　記憶がだんだんと薄れていくのだけれど、幼少年期にこういう人間くさい紙芝居に接したことで、メディアというものの具体的なイメージを体験したことは間違いがないと思っている。


English version⬇
　
Japanese Storytelling Culture: Biwa-houshi and Picture Storytelling Postwar Children's Culture-2
The Heike Monogatari (The Tale of the Heike) and other forms of cultural transmission for the masses were established in Japanese society. It became a means of livelihood for the unemployed during the turmoil. The atmosphere of the postwar black market. ・・・・.

Paper theater is a kind of media that requires an urban environment. Even in the countryside, there were probably some kamishibai performers who traveled to perform at festivals and other events, but their travel expenses would not have paid for themselves if they performed for only a few days. The "summary articles" on kamishibai show business show how the unemployed, who were in great numbers after the Great Kanto Earthquake and the collapse of the economy and society after World War II, were engaged in this business as a means of making a living to survive.
　The photos above are just a few of the themes of the picture-story shows on display at the Taito City Shitamachi Museum of Folklore. The second photo even shows an educational picture-story show that the Ministry of Education and Science was involved in. In the prewar period, they were also used for political purposes as part of military education for children. This type of storytelling with pictures and narration was one of the spillover forms of Japanese culture, and it was used to form a popular entertainment culture.
　I remember that during the period I was in contact with these stories, many of them were science fiction stories, such as the one at the top of this page, and later on, adventure stories with heroes from manga. I think that the children's sensitivities were more sensitive to "action" stories that made them sweat and sweat. I think they naturally shunned anything that was too educational (laughs).
　The Heike Monogatari in "Biwa-houshi" is the closest I can think of to the origin of this form of drama. The social existence of the biwa priest is said to have developed as a kind of business activity in which the religious power of temples and shrines combined their proselytizing with economic activities. The biwa, a rare instrument, was a pioneer of the media in Japanese society, playing it and passing on the social upheavals of the time to the people in a news or theatrical manner. The common people living in the city, who were busy with their daily lives, would have been greatly affected by the civil wars and Genpei wars, which were the most extreme form of politics, but objective information on the state of change would not have been easily conveyed to them. It seems to me that the cutting-edge performing arts culture of the city of Kyoto began to play the role of media to capture this demand for knowledge. Many famous temples in Japan still have "pictorial scriptures" that contain stories about the founding of the temple and its history, and these also functioned as a method of conveying Buddhist stories.
　Going back even further, it seems that the "Kanjin" group organized by Shigen, the general producer of the reconstruction of Todaiji Temple in Nara, which was lost in the war at the end of the Kamakura period, was the foundation of the temple's activities.
　In an age when information diffusion methods had not yet been established, these storytellers must have existed to meet social demand. In my childhood, this social demand was in the form of "picture-story shows.

　Although my memory is gradually fading, I am certain that I experienced a concrete image of the media through my childhood contact with these humanistic picture-story shows.

【紙芝居は戦後メディア勃興の導火線？ 戦後こども文化-1】

　どうもわたしのブログは、コロナ禍以降、「生活文化探求」の方向が強まってきた。冷静な自己分析。現場的な住宅取材はスタッフが頑張っている中で自分自身はこれまで全般的な住宅業界動向を「掘り起こし型」で取材してきていた。それがユーザー動向と連動してナマの市場把握に繋がると考えていた。それが４年前に感染症警戒から社会的情報遮断が一般化した。
　その間も住宅取材はいろいろな困難を超えて継続できてきていた。もちろんさまざまな困難要因はあったけれど、取材先のご協力をいただいて継続できたことはある意味、奇跡的だったかも知れません。感染症の最中でもユーザーの家づくりのリアルを取材できていたことは、一定期間経過したら、きわめて重要な「記録情報」にもなり得ると考えています。「感染症の中で日本の家はどう作られていたのか？」。
　一方で、業界横断的な情報交流については、４年を経過してようやく徐々にリアルで復活しつつある。それでも自由度はきわめて低いレベルだと思います。
　そんなことから、勢い「住文化」の掘り下げ型の活動が不可避になっていたのだと思います。住宅は人間の「暮らしのイレモノ」なので、そこに生きる人びとの生活実感を把握することが大前提。そういう意味で、生活文化の実相を深掘りしていくのは、多くの経験を積んできた者の責任でもあるのでしょう。


　生活の歴史、日本人的な感じ方として現代人の直接的な経験であって、意識下で大きな要因になっているものに「戦後期の少年少女向け文化」というものがある。たぶんいまの社会をリードしている人びとの感受性の起点になっている。その後のテレビ文化など大衆文化の起点としての確認が必要でしょう。
　以前にも紹介した「台東区立下町風俗資料館」展示で、案の定「紙芝居」についての展示があった。わたしは幼年期、具体的には3才から10才くらいまでの期間で接していた記憶がある。いちばん上の写真はモノクロの記録写真として同館に展示されていた。街角の一角で子どもたちが放課後、遊んでいるところを選んで、即興のメディアが出現していた。自転車の荷台が木工で工夫されて展示装置に変わっていった。画面にはストーリーマンガが展開して、娯楽に飢えていた戦後少年少女たちは食い入るようにクギ付けになっていた。
　わたし自身の「メディア」体験の初源はやはりこの紙芝居だったと思う。このメディアはその後、力道山のプロレスの街頭動画テレビから各家庭に導入されたテレビに駆逐されていったけれど、その「体験」は鮮烈を極めていた。
　上演終了後には、木箱の中からお菓子の類が販売されて、子どもたちから「放映料」として徴収していたのだけれど、娯楽の興奮感から易々とその大人の策略に引っかかっていた（笑）。この紙芝居文化をはじめとしてしばし、戦後期の少年少女風俗文化について考えて見たい。

English version⬇

The Postwar Children's Culture: 1] Postwar Children's Culture: 1 Postwar Children's Culture-1
This is a historical heritage that gave boys and girls, who were starved for entertainment, a starting point for contact with "culture. Personally, I think it is worthy of registration as a World Cultural Heritage site. I think it deserves to be inscribed on the World Cultural Heritage List.

　My blog has become more of an "exploration of lifestyle and culture" since the Corona disaster. A dispassionate self-analysis. While the staff has been doing their best to cover the housing industry in the field, I myself have been covering the housing industry in general in a "digging-up" type of way. I believed that this would lead to an understanding of the real market in conjunction with user trends. Then, four years ago, the general public began to block out information due to warnings of infectious diseases.
　During that time, we were able to continue our coverage of housing, overcoming various difficulties. Of course, there were various factors that made it difficult, but the fact that we were able to continue our coverage with the cooperation of our clients was, in a sense, perhaps miraculous. The fact that we were able to cover the realities of users' house construction even in the midst of the infectious disease could become an extremely important "record of information" after a certain period of time has passed. How were Japanese houses built during the infectious disease?" .
　On the other hand, cross-industry information exchange is finally being gradually revived in the real world after four years. Still, the level of freedom is extremely low.
　I believe that such a situation made it inevitable for us to dig deeper into the momentum "housing culture" type activities. Since houses are "living things" of people, it is a prerequisite to grasp the real sense of life of the people who live there. In this sense, it is the responsibility of those who have accumulated a great deal of experience to delve deeply into the realities of life and culture.

　　The history of life and the Japanese way of feeling are the direct experiences of modern people, and one of the major factors in their consciousness is the "postwar culture for boys and girls". It is probably the starting point of the sensibility of those who are leading today's society. It is probably necessary to confirm it as the starting point for subsequent popular culture, such as television culture.
　In the "Taito City Shitamachi Folk Museum" exhibit, which I have mentioned before, there was an exhibit on "picture story shows," as I had expected. I remember being exposed to them in my childhood, specifically from the age of 3 to 10. The photo above is a black-and-white record of my childhood, and is on display at the museum. The improvised media appeared on a street corner where children were playing after school. A bicycle cart was contrived with woodwork and turned into an exhibition device. Story cartoons unfolded on the screen, and the postwar boys and girls, starved for entertainment, were transfixed.
　I believe that my own experience with "media" began with these picture-story shows. Although this media was later eclipsed by Rikidozan's wrestling video on the streets and the introduction of television in every home, the "experience" was still very vivid.
　After the performance, candy was sold from a wooden box and collected from the children as a "broadcasting fee," but the excitement of the entertainment made it easy for them to fall for the adults' tricks (laugh). I would like to consider the postwar culture of boys and girls, starting with this picture-story show culture.