【大和国（奈良県）大庄屋 「片岡家住宅」探訪-1】

本日からはふたたび古民家建築探訪であります。日本列島37,000年史シリーズの最終章は日本国家始原期として大和国に神武東征した頃の探究。その象徴的な場所として奈良県宇陀市の桜実神社の八ツ房杉を紹介したけれど、そこから旧都・飛鳥に移動する道を走っていたら、道を見下ろすようにやや高台から石垣に防御された立派な屋敷が見上げられた。宇陀市中心部から通称、伊勢本街道と呼ばれる370号線を南下、典型的日本の景色ともいえる美しい里山の風景の中、一際目を引く豪奢で重厚な萱葺きの屋根の家が左側に見えてくる。周囲一体を見下ろす場所にあるいかにも立派な造りの家。
　その印象的なたたずまいに魅せられ、まるで導かれるように近づいて家人の方に由緒などを伺おうと声をおかけしたら、親切にご案内いただいた。そんな出会いがこの「片岡家住宅」との出会いでした。
　ことしのNHK大河は「どうする家康」ということで徳川四天王とされる本多忠勝（俳優：山田裕貴）がなかなか武家ヤンキー的に描かれています。窮地に陥って逃げ出そうと図った家康に槍を投げつけて諫めるなどかなり暴力的。かれは武田信玄にも敵将ながらあっぱれなヤツと見込まれていたという逸話もある。「家康に過ぎたるもの二つあり、唐の頭（兜の飾り物）に本多平八（忠勝）」というコトバ。で、その末裔一族がこの大和郡山で畿内地域の徳川支配の重要な一角として、領地を得ていた。その郡山藩の大庄屋家がこの片岡氏。で、この家の入口から一番奥、そしてもっとも「高台」に位置する場所に領主・本多家の殿様のために座敷が配置されていた。作りからすると一種城郭的とも思える配置・間取り。国指定重要文化財。
　ご案内いただいたのはこの片岡家当主の「彦左衛門氏」。代々の当主はこの名前を伝承してきているということで、いかにも江戸期の武家とも通ずる家系意識。片岡家は、歴代当主が近世のほぼ全期間を通じ田原村の庄屋を務めたという。
　片岡家には周辺の田原村に関する村方文書が豊富に残っており、その数は近世文書を中心に１万３千点を超える。片岡家住宅に関する史料もよく残っていて普請関係では、寛文９年（1669年）『殿様御殿御普請帳』と寛文11年（1671年）『座敷普請帳』があります。前者は主屋の客室部、後者は居室部の普請に関わる文書であり、上棟の際に用いられた木槌にも寛文10年（1670年）の墨書銘が見られるという。こういった経緯を勘案すれば、少なくとも350年以上の歴史が刻印された住宅ということになる。北海道ではまったく開拓されずほぼ太古の景色が広がっていた時代に、大和国ではこのようなたたずまいの家が存在し続けていたことになる。
　歴史時間の隔たりの大きさに打たれる思いがして、こういう家の文化が現代まで続いていることが本州以南地域の住宅文化のコアなのだと深く気付かされる。断熱や気密といういごこち要素よりも、社会的な身分意識であったり、階級意識のような社会文化が優先しているのだと思い至る。　続きはまたあした。


English version⬇

Kataoka Family Residence, a house in Yamato Province (Nara Prefecture)
This old house was built more than 350 years ago, and traces of the samurai culture can still be seen in the layout plan. The priority is not comfort but "expression of social status. The house was built more than 350 years ago.

From today, we will once again be exploring the architecture of old private houses. The last chapter in our series on the 37,000-year history of the Japanese archipelago is about the Shinmu expedition to Yamato Province in the early days of the Japanese nation. As I was driving along the road from Uda to Asuka, the former capital of Japan, I saw a magnificent house protected by a stone wall from a slightly elevated position overlooking the road. Heading south on Route 370, commonly known as Isehon Kaido, from the center of Uda City, a house with a luxurious and massive thatched roof stands out on the left in a beautiful satoyama landscape that can be described as a typical Japanese scene. It is a magnificent house overlooking the surrounding area.
　I was fascinated by its impressive appearance and approached the house as if I was being guided, and asked the owner to tell me about the history of the house. This was my first encounter with the Kataoka Family Residence.
　This year's NHK historical drama, "What to do, Ieyasu," portrays Honda Tadakatsu (actor: Yamada Hiroki), who is considered one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Tokugawa, in a rather samurai-like, yankee-like manner. He is quite violent, throwing a spear at Ieyasu when Ieyasu tries to escape in a tight situation. There is an anecdote that even Takeda Shingen, an enemy general, thought he was a brilliant man. Ieyasu had two great qualities: the head of his helmet and Honda Heihachi (Tadakatsu)," is the phrase used by Ieyasu. The descendants of the Tadakatsu family had a fiefdom in Yamatokoriyama, which was an important part of the Tokugawa control of the Kinai region. The Kataoka family was the headman of the Koriyama clan. The lord of the Koriyama clan, the Kataoka family, had a room for the lord of the Honda family at the far end of the house from the entrance and at the most "elevated" position in the house. The layout of the house seems to be a kind of castle-like. It is a nationally designated important cultural property.
　We were guided by Mr. Hikozaemon, the head of the Kataoka family. The family name has been handed down from generation to generation, and the family's lineage is very similar to that of the samurai families of the Edo period. The Kataoka family served as the village headman of Tahara village for almost the entire modern period.
　The Kataoka family has an abundance of village documents related to the surrounding Tahara village, numbering more than 13,000 items, mostly early modern documents. Historical documents related to the Kataoka family residence have also survived well, and in the area of fuchin-related documents, there is the "Tono-sama Goten Gosho Fuchincho" (1669) and the "Zashiki Fuchincho" (1671). The former is a document related to the fuchin of the guest room section of the main building, and the latter is a document related to the fuchin of the living room section, and an ink inscription of Kanbun 10 (1670) can be seen on the wooden hammer used at the time of the ridgepole raising. Taking this history into consideration, the house has at least 350 years of history stamped on it. While the landscape of Hokkaido was completely unexploited and almost unchanged from prehistoric times, houses with this appearance continued to exist in Yamato Province.
　I was struck by the vast gap in historical time, and was deeply impressed by the fact that this type of house culture has continued to the present day and is at the core of the housing culture of the Honshu region and southward. I realized that social culture, such as a sense of social status and class, takes precedence over the comfort factors of thermal insulation and airtightness. To be continued in the coming days.

【週末の食材探訪「北海道・近海魚さがし」】

　先週ひさしぶりに寿司を握ったので、すっかり魚類に首ったけ状態（笑）。ということで昨日は久しぶりに遠出して札幌から積丹の先まで足を伸ばしてみた。お目当ては東しゃこたん漁協の小売り販売店と余市のとあるお魚屋さん。東しゃこたん漁協では主に貝類探査。きのうは「まつぶ」やホタテの冷凍パックを購入してきました。殻から剥いてあるので、解凍して包丁捌きをすればおいしく楽しめる。つぶは独特のコリコリとした歯ごたえのある食感で北海道らしい地元の味わい。積丹では代表的な味覚だと思います。
　で、写真上は余市の魚屋さんで購入したヒラメを捌いていただいている様子。
　いわゆる「三枚におろす」包丁捌きであります。慣れたお魚屋さんのおろし方は勉強になる。旬のヒラメの美しい魚体がその美をさらに顕現してくれるプロセスから目が離せない。そう、男ってやはり美につよい憧れがあるのでしょう。ヒラメの薄いカラダがさらにうっすらと三枚におろされてその白い姿が露わになってくると、思わず歓声を上げてしまうのです。ドキドキ感がたまらない（笑）。
　日本列島に人が住むようになって、四方を海に囲まれたこの国土では周辺海域の魚類と共存してきた。森が豊かな山岳列島なのでそこから植物性の栄養分が周辺海域に雨水として流れ込んで、魚類はその豊かな海域に魅せられて「うま味」を涵養し続けてきたのでしょう。世界有数の海洋国家としてこの豊かな魚類資源で3万年以上の永きにわたって日本人は命を繋いできた。陸上動物以上に多様な種類のおいしさに惑溺させられてきたのだと思います。
　こういう魚の捌かれている様子を見ていると素直に感動させられる。いのちをいただくことにある種、敬虔な思いが募ってくるようでもあります。



　また札幌市内の庶民的な市場でも、いろいろな魚類を参観させていただいた。中央市場の魚屋さんが経営するわが家にほど近いマーケット。いま時期、北海道周辺で捕獲される魚類ですが、それぞれがまことに印象的な姿カタチで迫ってくる。以下、北海道近海の庶民的な魚たちのユニークな姿を。
　キンキの魚体の外観の色合いの美しさには惚れ惚れとさせられる。一方その目元はマンガみたいな気絶っぷり。ニシンも好きな方は刺身で生食するのだそうです。細かく骨切りすることで刺身で食べられる。わたしも食べた経験はあるけれど、自分で小骨を丹念に捌く自信はない。「柳の舞」は道北・稚内で水揚げと正札に記載。ヤナギノマイはメバル科メバル属の一種で、主に北海道で大量に獲れる魚。メバル類の中では鮮度落ちが早く手頃な価格の総菜魚として売られている。価格は”メバル”としてはとても安いのだけれど、煮付けや焼き物などで食べると結構おいしくてコストパフォーマンスに優れた魚。

　といったところで、ヒラメとまつぶ、ホタテなどがわが家の冷蔵庫に収納されて、今週も徐々に食卓を彩ってくれる。シェフとしてはあれこれたのしく包丁捌きを考えて調理してみたい。


English version⬇

My Family's Weekend Shopping Trip "Looking for Fish
The spring-like weather lured us from Sapporo to the tip of the Shakotan Peninsula for a drive in search of fish. We encountered fish while looking at the sea that foretold of a gentle spring. The fish...

Last week I made sushi for the first time in a while, so I am completely hooked on fish (laughs). So yesterday I went out for the first time in a while and went from Sapporo to the tip of Shakotan. I went to a retail store of the Higashi Shakotan Fisheries Cooperative Association and a certain fish shop in Yoichi. At the Higashi Shakotan Fisheries Cooperative, we mainly explored for shellfish. Yesterday I bought a frozen pack of "matsubu" or scallops. Since they are peeled from the shell, you can enjoy them deliciously by thawing and knife processing. Matsubu has a unique crunchy texture and a local flavor typical of Hokkaido. I think it is a typical taste in Shakotan.
　In the photo above, a flatfish purchased at a fish shop in Yoichi is being processed.
　It is what is called "sampai ni orareru" (cut into three pieces) with a knife. It is instructive to learn how a fishmonger who is familiar with the process of grating fish. I can't take my eyes off the process, which further reveals the beauty of the beautiful seasonal flatfish. Yes, men must have a strong yearning for beauty. When the thin body of the flounder is further stripped down to three pieces, exposing its white body, you can't help but let out a squeal of delight. I can't get enough of the thrill (laughs).
　Since people have come to live on the Japanese archipelago, this land surrounded by the sea on all sides has coexisted with fish from the surrounding waters. As a mountainous archipelago with rich forests, plant nutrients from these forests flow into the surrounding seas as rainwater, and fish have been attracted by the richness of these waters and have continued to cultivate their "umami" taste. As one of the world's leading maritime nations, Japanese people have been sustaining their lives for more than 30,000 years on this rich fish resource. I believe that we have been bewitched by the variety of tastes more than land animals.
　I am honestly moved when I see these fish being processed. It is as if a kind of reverence for life is being stirred up in me.

We also had the opportunity to visit a variety of fish products at a common market in Sapporo. A market close to our house, run by a fishmonger in the central market. The fish caught around Hokkaido at this time of the year are all very impressive in their own way. Below are some of the unique forms of common fish caught in the waters around Hokkaido.
　The beauty of the coloration of the kinki fish's body is a sight to behold. Its eyes, on the other hand, are cartoonishly fainting. Herring is also eaten raw as sashimi if you like. By cutting the bones into small pieces, it can be eaten as sashimi. I have had the experience of eating it myself, but I do not have the confidence to carefully cut the small bones by myself. The "Yanaginomai" is listed on the tag as being landed in Wakkanai, northern Hokkaido. Yanaginomai is a member of the family Mevalidae, and is caught in large numbers mainly in Hokkaido. It is sold as a reasonably priced side dish fish because it does not lose its freshness as quickly as other mebaru species. Although the price is very low for a "mebaru" fish, it is quite tasty when boiled or grilled, making it an excellent cost-effective fish.

　So, the flatfish, matsubu and scallops have been stored in our refrigerator and will gradually grace our dining table this week. As a chef, I would like to enjoy cooking them with a knife.
　

【江戸っ子以来の文化「共通化」 下町長屋探訪-7】

　イラスト類は下町風俗資料館展示パネルから。四季変化が温暖な地域での、それも全国から集合してきた移住民たちの共有生活文化が昇華された様子が伝わってくる。
　このような江戸っ子・関東地域の四季認識に対して、北海道はたとえばきょう最終日の「さっぽろ雪まつり」という最新の日本人全体が受け入れる歳時記を加えたのだと思っています。東北や日本海側地域の湿度感とは違って、それこそ比較的に湿度感が低い、乾燥した雪質のような開放感がそこにはあるように思う。たぶん東京の江戸っ子気質の関東的な湿度の少なさと共通する部分があるのではないか。
　わたしは北海道で生まれ育った。大学で東京暮らしを経験しそのまま東京で就職して、札幌に転勤してその後自立した。人生時間では東京（神奈川と東京都内で居住）での暮らしが足かけ10年くらいの期間になっている。仕事上では東京との関係はさまざまに継続してきているので、主観的な意識としてはこの時間的継続感を持っている。北海道の「いちばん近い他地域」は青森ではなく東京だという認識がある。青森に行くのには札幌からだと、飛行機でも東京移動よりも時間制約が大きく「遠くなる」。
　これは東京が交通体系の中心・首都であり、こちら北海道が鄙であることの必然というのが一般的理解。けれどどうも人間の気質においても、その成立過程で「近しい」共通項目が多いと気付かされる。


　コトバでもわたしは北海道弁を東京でごくふつうに使ったりする。まぁ全国どこでもですが（笑）。あんまりそれを恥じるという認識を持っていない。この北海道弁は全国からの移民が混合して形成された言語であって、そういう意味で地域性というよりも「共通性」のようなものが基盤であり、そこに寒冷地的な共感文化が微妙にブレンドされたものと思っている。江戸っ子の話し言葉も、その成立過程を考えればやはり同様に全国からの移住民同士が、地域気候風土実感伝達要素を加味して成立させた。そして明治以降の日本社会ではそういう「共通言語化」が優勢な文化基盤になっていったのが事実。なので特段「恥ずかしがる」根拠がないと思うのです。まぁ恥ずかしがらせたいという志向は、文化的に保守的な層、主流派でいたい人が、優越意識を主張したいという理由から、鄙に対して上から目線したいだけなのだと思える。
　断熱・気密化という住宅性能面の全国共通化ということは進展していくでしょうが、そういうことも良き基盤共通化だと思います。住宅というある意味では生活文化が凝縮した領域を考えて行くとき、江戸っ子や道産子が生成されたような生活文化への見方というものに現代人はもっと目を向けるべきではと思います。


English version⬇

The "Commonization" of Culture Since the Edo Period: Exploring the Shitamachi Row Houses-7
A chronicle of downtown culture. The first period was a time of "commonality" and acceptance of strangers. The Edo culture was vigorously developed by the common Nipponization of the people. The Edo culture was full of "common-ness" and acceptance of strangers.

　The illustrations are from the exhibition panels at the Shitamachi Folk Museum. The illustrations show how the four seasons were sublimated into a shared lifestyle and culture in a region with a mild climate, where immigrants had gathered from all over the country.
　To this perception of the four seasons in the Edo and Kanto regions, Hokkaido, for example, has added the latest seasonal calendar accepted by the Japanese people as a whole, the Sapporo Snow Festival, the last day of which is today. Unlike the sense of humidity in the Tohoku and Sea of Japan regions, I think there is a sense of openness there, like a dry, snowy climate with a comparatively low sense of humidity. Perhaps it has something in common with the Kanto-like low humidity of Tokyo's Edokko temperament.
　I was born and raised in Hokkaido. I experienced life in Tokyo at university, found a job in Tokyo, was transferred to Sapporo, and later became independent. In terms of life time, I have lived in Tokyo (living in Kanagawa and Tokyo) for a total of about 10 years. I have a sense of temporal continuity in my subjective consciousness, as I have had various ongoing relationships with Tokyo in my professional life. There is a perception that the "nearest other region" in Hokkaido is not Aomori but Tokyo. Aomori is "farther away" from Sapporo than Tokyo, even by air, due to the time constraints.
　The general understanding is that this is inevitable because Tokyo is the center of the transportation system and the capital, and Hokkaido is remote. However, I have noticed that there are many similarities in the human temperament and in the process of its formation.

　I use the Hokkaido dialect in Tokyo quite commonly, even in Kotoba. Well, anywhere in Japan (laughs). I am not ashamed of it. The Hokkaido dialect was formed by a mixture of immigrants from all over Japan, and in that sense, it is based on a kind of "commonality" rather than regionality, which I think is a subtle blend of the cold-weather culture of empathy. The spoken language of the Edo period was also formed by immigrants from all over the country, who added the element of transmission of a sense of local climate and customs to it. And it is a fact that such "common language" became the predominant cultural foundation in Japanese society after the Meiji period. So I don't think there is any particular reason to be "shy" about it. Well, it seems to me that the orientation of wanting to embarrass is just a culturally conservative group, people who want to be in the mainstream, wanting to look up to the remote people for the reason of wanting to assert their sense of superiority.
　I think that the national standardization of housing performance, such as insulation and airtightness, will continue to progress, but I think that this is also good basic standardization. When considering housing, an area where life culture is condensed in a sense, I think that people today should pay more attention to the way of looking at life culture that was created by the Edokko and Dosanko.

【道産子に先行のニッポン新人類「江戸っ子」 下町長屋探訪-6】

　都市計画とか町割りとかという概念は、日本でははじめての本格的な都城建設であった平城京の頃からの歴史過程に表現されてきたものだろう。わたしが暮らす北海道では日本の都市建設の最後の事例として札幌の街並みが造営されている。わたしはこのことについて身体感覚も持っている。
　最初期の時代は中国国家との外交関係構築の意味でも王都の建設が外交であり国家体制の構築そのものだった。そして都に人びとの集住が起こっていろいろな「文化」が生成してきたものだろう。大和地域に王権が成立して、ヤマトタケル神話などの「統一過程」を経て中央国家が成立し、その思想基盤として鎮護国家という概念も成立して日本国家が発展してきた。
　近世に至って関東地域にも江戸という大都会が生成した。この大都市計画は世界の都城建設でも大成功の部類なのではないだろうか。平城京・平安京などの都城、堺などの商業都市などとは違った面白い庶民文化・江戸っ子文化までをも生んだのだと思う。上の図は上野のお山、寛永寺とその周辺の「下町」の様子。その実相ではかなり民衆主導型の生活文化を育んでいたように思える。その基盤に「下町文化」がある。
　江戸下町について台東区立下町風俗資料館展示では以下のような要旨解説。
　「下町は庶民生活の中心地として、江戸に幕府ができて以来今日に至るまで栄えてきた。江戸は江戸城を中心に武家地60%、社寺地20%、町人地20%という武家中心の都市であったが、街道や海路によって全国から物資が集中する消費都市でもあった。そのため諸国から商人や職人たちが集まり江戸町人となった。
　江戸の町人は街道や表通りに沿って店を構えるようになった。こうした全国から集まってきた人たちで江戸の街は繁盛するようになっていった。かれらの大多数は「路地裏」の長屋に住まい「住めば都」で、よそもの、よそごとを素直に受け入れて生活の中に消化することも忘れなかった。二代目・三代目はやがて「江戸っ子」の名で呼ばれるようになる。（たぶん初期にはめずらしき人種名のような響きを持っていたに違いない。こういう呼称の初源かも知れない）この江戸っ子が江戸中期以降下町の主人公として続いていく。・・・」
　下町長屋の「木戸」アーケードには多様な「看板」が貼り付けられている。「祈祷〜高天原之進」みたいな怪しげな店から「宋学舎寓居」という学者さんの店、尺八指南とかお灸を据えてくれる店舗など。そうかと思えば色っぽいお姉さんが湯屋に向かう様子も（笑）、まさににぎやかで種々雑多な人間模様。
　北海道でも全国からの移民によって独特な社会と人間風土が出現したけれど、日本民族としての先行例として、この江戸下町文化は生成したのだろう。


English version⬇

The New Japanese "Edokko", the Newcomers of Japan, Preceded by Michi-Sanshi: Exploration of the Shitamachi Row Houses - 6
Living in a tenement house, they accept and digest what they see as strange and different. A leading example of the "Michisanko" spirit. Nippon newcomers. The newcomers of Nippon.

The concepts of city planning and town planning have been expressed in the historical process since the Heijo-kyo Capital, which was the first full-scale construction of a capital city in Japan. In Hokkaido, where I live, the streetscape of Sapporo was built as the last example of urban construction in Japan. I have a physical sense of this.
　In the early period, the construction of the royal capital was diplomacy in the sense of building diplomatic relations with the Chinese state, and the construction of the state system itself. People began to gather and live in the capital, and various "cultures" were born. The central state was established through a "unification process" based on the myth of Yamatotakeru, and the concept of a "shin-governed state" was established as the ideological foundation for the development of the Japanese state.
　In the early modern period, the great metropolis of Edo was established in the Kanto region. This metropolitan plan is probably one of the most successful in the world in terms of the construction of capital cities. It gave birth to an interesting culture of the common people and even the culture of the Edo children, which was different from that of Heijo-kyo, Heian-kyo, and other capital cities, or Sakai and other commercial cities. The above figure shows Kan'eiji Temple in Ueno and the surrounding "Shitamachi" (downtown) area. In reality, it seems to have nurtured a people-oriented lifestyle and culture. The foundation of this culture is "Shitamachi culture.
　The Taito City Shitamachi Museum of Folklore and Culture provides the following summary explanation of downtown Edo.
　As the center of the common people's life, Shitamachi has flourished since the establishment of the shogunate in Edo until today. Edo was a samurai-centered city with Edo Castle as its center, 60% of the land belonging to samurai families, 20% to temples and shrines, and 20% to townspeople, but it was also a consumer city with a concentration of goods from all over the country via highways and sea routes. As a result, merchants and craftsmen gathered from all over the country and became Edo merchants.
　Edo merchants set up store along the highways and main streets. These people from all over the country made the city of Edo prosperous. The majority of them lived in "back-alley" tenements, and they did not forget to accept and digest the stranger and the stranger in their daily lives. The second and third generations eventually came to be known as "Edokko. （The second and third generations eventually came to be called "Edokko" (probably because it must have sounded like a rare racial name in the early days). ) These "Edokko" continued to be the main characters of the downtown area from the mid-Edo period onward. The "kido" or "door" of a tenement house in downtown Tokyo.
　Various "signboards" are attached to the "kido" arcades of downtown tenements. From a dubious store such as "Prayer - Takamagahara no Noshin," to a scholarly store called "Sungakusha Foryo," to a store offering shakuhachi instruction and moxibustion, etc., there are a variety of signs. On the other hand, there is a sexy lady going to a bathhouse (laugh), and the scene is truly bustling with a variety of human activities.
　In Hokkaido, too, a unique society and human culture emerged as a result of immigrants from all over the country, and this downtown Edo culture may have been a precedent for the Japanese people.

【江戸庶民生活のリアリティ 下町長屋探訪-５】

　居住環境と人びとの暮らしぶりの探究を長い仕事人生でわたしは行ってきたと思います。通常業務では編集長職も昨年中に後進スタッフに移譲している。しかしやはり終のテーマとしては、ずっと頭のなかにあり続けていくのでしょう。現代の暮らし、家のいごこちの科学的探究と、暮らし方の進化の探索はこれからもメインテーマであることは間違いない。
　一方で加齢と共に徐々に、来し方のことの想像力に志向が向かってきています。現代と未来の人間の暮らし方の根幹には、昔人が積み重ねてきた「生活文化」がそこにあり、その強い影響が家づくりのベースを構成していることに気付き深く興味が湧いてくる。古民家探訪にはそういった原意識があると思います。
　先般から見て来た江戸由来の東京の「下町長屋」の暮らしぶり。台東区立下町風俗資料館の展示に添って江戸期の様子も確認してみたい。わたし自身がタイムスリップして江戸期に生まれ、そして現代と同じように居住環境についてのメディアを家業とするとしたら、やはりこの「下町長屋」という都市住居の基本について旺盛な興味を持ったに違いないと思っているのです。
　そういった興味から、江戸期の様子の絵画パネル表現に強く惹かれていた。以下に展示パネル説明文引用。
　「江戸の町人の大半が住んでいたのは裏長屋で、通りに面した木戸をくぐると路地があり、そこに軒を連ねて裏長屋が並んでいた。〜路地は長屋住民の共有通路。狭い住環境のため、路地は多目的に利用され、物売りの市、子どもの遊び場、夏には演題を出して夕涼み、そして井戸端会議の広場にもなった。」

　「長屋は平屋建てで９尺２間と言われるように３坪から５坪程度の居住面積の長屋であった。勝手の入口を入ると４畳半か６畳間があり、勝手のへっついの上には煙出しの引き窓、座り流しには水瓶が置かれていた。」
　いや、現代の暮らしぶりのマザーがリアルに存在している。当たり前だけれど人間の暮らしに不可欠な要素がコンパクトにまとめられて、機能としては過不足なく成立されている様子がよくわかる。そして狭さについては独特の「下町人情」がそれを補完して、いわば集合知としての人間環境を作っていたといえる。
　いま現代の住環境創造のなかで達成すべきものは住宅性能に関することが大きいけれど、地域としてはほぼ高断熱化が進んだ北海道では、むしろこうした「社会環境」の知恵での総合的な未来型人間環境の価値感が高まっているように思っている。北海道では少なくとも意識に於いてはそういった段階にあるのだろう。もっといごこちのいい社会環境を考えたら、下町人情という領域は巨大な宝庫。
　こういった江戸期由来の庶民の暮らし方のエッセンスから学ぶべきことは多いと思う。


English version⬇

The Reality of Edo Folk Life: Exploring the Shitamachi Row Houses-5
The way to futuristically enrich the local environment may be a soft sense of value like "downtown humanity. A downtown community with an expanded area. ...

I believe that I have been exploring residential environments and people's lifestyles for a long time in my work. In the past year, I have transferred the position of editor-in-chief to a junior staff member in the normal course of business. However, it will continue to be in my mind as a theme for the rest of my life. The scientific exploration of modern living, the comfort of home, and the search for the evolution of living styles will undoubtedly remain the main theme.
　On the other hand, as we age, we are gradually becoming more oriented toward the imagination of what is to come. I am deeply intrigued to realize that the "lifestyle culture" accumulated by people in the past is there at the core of the modern and future human way of living, and its strong influence constitutes the base of house building. I believe that such an original consciousness exists in exploring old private houses.
　The way of life of "downtown row houses" in Tokyo of Edo origin that we have been seeing for some time now. I would like to confirm the Edo period conditions along with the exhibition at the Taito City Museum of Shitamachi Customs and Folklore. If I were to travel back in time and be born in the Edo period, and if I were to make my family business of media about living environments, as I do today, I am sure that I would have a keen interest in this basic urban dwelling called the "Shitamachi Nagaya".
　Because of this interest, I was strongly attracted to the painted panel representation of the Edo period. The following is a quote from the exhibition panel description.
　Most of the townspeople in Edo lived in back row houses. When you passed through the wooden door facing the street, there was an alley, and the back row houses were lined up in rows of eaves. 〜˜The alley is a shared passageway for the tenement residents. Because of the narrow living environment, the alleys were used for many purposes, including peddler's markets, children's playgrounds, cool evenings in the summer with a performance, and squares for well-meetings."

The row houses were one-story structures with a living area of about 3 tsubo to 5 tsubo, or 9 shaku 2 ken, as they were called. Entering the entrance to the winch, there was a four-and-a-half or six-mat room, with a sliding smoke outlet window above the winch and a water bottle in the sink."
　No, the mother of the modern way of life exists in real life. It is obvious that the elements essential for human life have been compactly put together, and the functions have been established without excesses or deficiencies. The smallness of the house was complemented by the unique "downtown humanity," so to speak, creating a human environment of collective knowledge.
　Although the main focus of today's housing environment creation is on housing performance, I believe that in Hokkaido, where the region has become almost completely insulated, there is a growing sense of the value of a comprehensive future human environment based on the wisdom of such a "social environment. In Hokkaido, at least in terms of awareness, this is probably the case. If we think of a more comfortable social environment, the area of downtown humanity is a huge treasure house.
　There is much to be learned from the essence of the common people's way of life that originated in the Edo period.