【遮光器土偶の「遮光器」を人生はじめて確認（汗）】

　人間の刷り込まれた「固定観念」というのは怖ろしいなぁと深く反省の一件。
　写真の「遮光器土偶」は日本史のなかでもとりわけ有名な一品。たとえてみれば本能寺の変とも並び立つほどの、信長級の超ポピュラー大スターだと言えるでしょう。
　わたしがこの土偶の画像とめぐり会ったのはたぶん小学校低学年の時期だろうと思います。「これはシャコウキドグウと言って、縄文時代の遺跡から発見されました」みたいに教科書で習ったのだろうと思います。
　子どもこころに圧倒的なその視認印象が強烈で「これはどうみても地球に降り立った宇宙人に間違いない」と深くこころに沈殿した。
　肝心の「遮光器」についての詳細な説明はその当時なかったのではないかと記憶している。いや、先生は補足説明したのかも知れないが、あまりに異星人的な印象が強烈で、そのまま刷り込まれてしまって、それは先史時代への強烈な探究動機ゾーンに仕舞い込まれてしまったのかも知れない。
　恥ずかしながら、先日はじめて「遮光器」という実物と対面して説明を聞いてしまった。
　現代でも北方民族のみなさんは冬の雪原からの反射光への基本対策として強烈なその乱反射から目を守るのに「遮光」する木製メガネを使っているという説明。
　「おお」であります。
　少年期に刷り込まれた「印象の固定化・誤謬」からついに解放されてしまった（笑）。
　北海道の冬の雪原での視覚体験はたっぷりと積層しているし、その反射光から目を守るのにゴーグルをする人がいることも知っているのに、まったく不意を突かれてしまった。
　下の写真は北海道立北方民族博物館資料目録3の木製雪眼鏡。使用民族はエスキモーで米国／アラスカ　1890-1930年　8.5㎝という説明文が付けられている。
　「極北の長い冬がおわり、陽射しが高くなるにつれて、雪原の照り返しが強くなる。このような季節には、紫外線から目を保護する必要がある。狩猟や旅行では長い時間、雪原や氷上で行動するため、エスキモーは木や骨などを利用してこのようなスリット状の穴を開けた雪眼鏡を作り目を守ってきた。日本の遮光器土偶の名称に使われた遮光器がこの雪眼鏡のことである。」と明記されている。
　幼少年期からの呪縛・凝り固まった「宇宙人」イメージがようやく破砕された。なんもさ、であります。そうならそうと早く言ってくれよ、というところですが、やはり初見の人間の印象というのは重いのだとも気付かされる。また、この宇宙人イメージがあったことで無上の吸引力で歴史への興味が喚起され続けたとも言える。
　ただ、その後の日本人はこういう遮光器を民具としてもほぼ伝承していない。
　縄文の時期はむしろ現代よりも温暖だった時期の方が長いともされている。
　信長の本能寺は徐々に解明されつつあるけれど、遮光器土偶の解明はやはりなかなか進展しませんね。むしろ興味の吸引装置としてはこのような状態の方が望ましいとも思える。


English version⬇

[First time in my life I confirmed the "light shielding device" of the light shielding clay figurine (sweat).
First encounter with the wooden light-shielding glasses inherited by modern northern peoples. Is this the clarification of the truth similar to the true culprit of the Honnoji Incident? ...

This is a case that makes me deeply reflect on the fearful nature of the "stereotypes" that are imprinted on human beings.
　The "Shakogu Dogu" in the photo is one of the most famous items in Japanese history. It is a very popular star of Nobunaga's level, comparable to the Honnoji Incident.
　I think I first came across the image of this clay figurine when I was in the early grades of elementary school. I think I learned from my textbooks that "this is a Shakokidogu, which was found at a Jomon-era site.
　The overwhelming visual impression of the object made a deep impression on me as a child, and I was deeply moved by the thought, "This is definitely an alien that has landed on the earth.
　I remember that there was no detailed explanation of the "light shielding device," which was the most important part of the telescope, at that time. Perhaps the professor may have given a supplementary explanation, but the impression was so strong and alien that it was imprinted on my mind, and it may have been stored in the zone of my strong motivation to explore prehistoric times.
　I am ashamed to admit that the other day I came face to face with an actual "light-shielding device" for the first time and listened to its explanation.
　He explained that even today, northern peoples use wooden glasses to protect their eyes from the intense diffuse reflections of reflected light from snow fields in winter as a basic measure.
　Oh," he said.
　I was finally freed from the "fixed and erroneous impressions" imprinted on me as a boy (laugh).
　Although I have plenty of laminated visual experiences in the winter snow fields of Hokkaido and know that some people wear goggles to protect their eyes from the reflected light, I was caught completely off guard.
　The photo below shows wooden snow goggles from the Hokkaido Museum of Northern Peoples' Materials Catalog 3. The description of the glasses reads, "The people who used them were Eskimos from the United States/Alaska, 1890-1930, 8.5 cm.
　The long winter in the Arctic is over, and as the sun shines higher in the sky, the snowfield becomes more reflective. During these seasons, it is necessary to protect the eyes from ultraviolet rays. Because of the long hours they spend hunting and traveling on snowfields and ice, Eskimos made snow goggles with slit holes in them out of wood or bone to protect their eyes. The snow goggles are the light shields used to name the Japanese light shielding clay figurines. The article clearly states, "The snow goggles were used to protect the eyes.
　The "alien" image that had been spellbound and hardened since my childhood was finally shattered. I am not an "alien" at all. If that's the case, you should have said so earlier, but it also made me realize that the impression of a person who sees something for the first time is a heavy one. It can also be said that the presence of this alien image has continued to arouse interest in history with unparalleled power of attraction.
　However, Japanese people did not inherit this kind of shading device as a folk tool until later.
　It is also said that the Jomon period was rather longer than the present day, when the climate was warmer.
　Although Nobunaga's Honnoji is gradually being elucidated, the elucidation of the light-shielding clay figurines is still not progressing very well. In fact, it seems that this state of affairs is more desirable as a device for attracting interest.

【東京ビッグサイトと宗教建築デザイン】

　最近の東京・関東出張では東京ビッグサイトを訪問することがメッチャ多い。わたしが関係する住宅などのイベントの常打ち会場であることが多いワケなのですが、それ以外の興味領域でも使用される割合が多く実感的にはほぼ毎回顔を出している状況です。正面外観は毎度、こんな顔で迎えてくれる。
　なんとなく馴染みになってくる感覚があってキライではない。
　東京湾の埋め立て地に立地していて、新橋からゆりかもめで大体30分程度。広大な敷地と室内空間面積の「展示場施設」としての利便性は高い。いま考えれば合理性もあるけれど、沿革を見ると以下。
　「延床面積は約25ヘクタール総展示面積は約9.5ヘクタール。 建築総工費は1985億円。 東京都が1995年に世界都市博覧会（都市博）の会場として建設したが、青島幸男都知事の判断で都市博が中止になったため、中央区晴海（はるみ）にあった東京国際見本市会場を移転する形で開業した。」
　で、見ているうちに、形態について深層心理みたいなことを想起するようになって、日本の宗教建築の屋根の張り出し、せり上がりがこの三角プロポーションとアナロジーさせられるようになって来た。４つ足の立柱と三角錐とのバランスが腑に落ちるようになってくる。下の写真は鹿島神宮桜門。
　設計は（株）佐藤総合計画という現在所員数324名という組織設計事務所。

　設計当初のプロポーザル案はこちらのような形態で、どうも「天空の城ラピュタ」がイメージとしてあったのだそうです。東京都のプロポーザル案件だったので、審査員には「多様な見方」を反映する意味で建築専門家以外のひとも多いことを見越して「わかりやすい」点を重視したモノでしょう。
　ただその後、実施段階になってドンドン脚部が膨らみ、ズングリムックリ型になっていったとのこと。そして当初のイメージとは変容して日本的宗教建築のプロポーションに近づいていったのか。
　埋め立て地域なのでとくに外観意匠にはチタン素材などの錆びない建材が多用されている。形態がどんどん宗教建築に近づいていったのに、そう感じさせずにモダンデザイン風に受け取ってきていたのには、そういった素材感からの「パッと」見の要素が大きいでしょうね。
　ちょうどガウディの宗教建築・サグラダファミリアの設計趣旨展示会も東京近代美術館で開かれていて、建築デザインの趣旨説明をいろいろな側面からひもといていたので、それとの対比での「日本建築」としての見方をこのビッグサイト外観に当てはめてみた次第です。
　まぁ、建築は出来上がってしまえばだれからも公平に端的に、見られる存在になるので、思った感じたことは、自由に論じあうべきものだと思います。わたしはこういう建物、悪くないと思う。


English version⬇

Tokyo Big Sight and Religious Architectural Design
Gaudi created the Sagrada Familia from the historical design of Christian and Islamic architecture in a unique way. What is the sense of form that is common to modern Japan? ......

On my recent business trips to Tokyo and the Kanto region, I have been visiting Tokyo Big Sight quite often. The site is often a regular venue for housing and other events that I am involved with, but it is also used for many other areas of interest as well, so I feel that I am visiting the site almost every time I am there. The front exterior greets us with a face like this every time.
　It is not bad, as it has a sense of familiarity.
　Located on a reclaimed land in Tokyo Bay, it takes about 30 minutes from Shimbashi by Yurikamome. It is highly convenient as an "exhibition facility" with its vast site and indoor space. The history of the building is as follows.
　The total floor space is approximately 25 hectares, and the total exhibition area is approximately 9.5 hectares. The total construction cost was 198.5 billion yen. It was built by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in 1995 as the venue for the World Urban Exposition (Urban Expo), but when Governor Yukio Aoshima decided to cancel the Expo, the Tokyo International Trade Fair Center was relocated to Harumi, Chuo-ku, and opened.
　As I looked at the building, I began to think about the deep psychology of form, and began to make analogies between the triangular proportions of the overhanging and overhanging roofs of Japanese religious buildings and the balance between the four-legged standing columns and the triangular pyramid. The photo below shows the Kashima Jingu Shrine.
　The design is by Sato Sogo Keikaku, an organizational design firm with 324 members.

The initial design proposal was based on the image of "Laputa: Castle in the Sky. Since this was a Tokyo Metropolitan Government proposal project, the jury members included many non-architectural specialists in order to reflect "diverse views," and the emphasis was probably placed on "easy-to-understand" points.
　However, the legs of the building swelled and became larger and larger as the project progressed to the implementation stage. The proportions of the building were transformed from the original image and became closer to the proportions of a temple building.
　Because this is a reclaimed area, titanium and other rustproof construction materials were used extensively, especially for the exterior design. The fact that the form of the building was getting closer and closer to religious architecture, yet it was received in the style of modern design without giving that impression, must have been largely due to the "poof" factor from the texture of such materials.
　The exhibition of the purpose of Gaudi's religious building, Sagrada Familia, was also being held at the Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, and I was looking into the design of the building from various aspects, so I tried to apply my view of "Japanese architecture" to the exterior of the Big Sight in comparison with the exhibition.
　Well, once the architecture is completed, it will be seen fairly and straightforwardly by everyone, so I think we should freely discuss what we think and feel about it. I think this kind of building is not bad.

【初夏の道東-札幌円山オオウバユリ残照】

　7/15からの３連休で道東に行っていました。最近は自分自身が取材などで道内出張する機会はほとんどないので、久しぶりの自然とのふれあい、空気感をカラダいっぱいに受け止めて、自分の中身が蘇ってくるような独特の感覚に包まれていました。
　上の２枚の写真は宿泊していた中標津の路傍で見かけていたオオウバユリ。わたしのこの個人的なブログで札幌円山の散歩道でこの植物に深くシンパシーを感じていることはお分かりかと思いますが、そういう体験の積層から、独特の感覚で自生地がわかるので、ついクルマを停めて、たくさん「面会」してきました（笑）。「え〜、こんなとこで、急に！」とカミさんからは悲鳴が上がっていた（笑）。
　このアイヌの人びとのソウルフードについてはもう10年近く地元札幌、それも散歩道の円山周辺でウォッチしてきていると思いますが、注意を向けるようになって以降、この時期に道東を走ることがなくなっていたので、ほとんど初対面のような出会い感でありました。
　１枚目２枚目が道東中標津の路傍のヤツで、一方の３枚目が同時期の札幌円山地域のヤツ。あきらかに花房の量感がまったく違う。
　さすがの圧倒的ボリューム感で訴えてくる中標津と、なんともスリムな札幌の自然。
　花を見ると言うことで、人間のこころというのはどういう化学変化、反応を見せるものなのかはまったくわかりませんが、この両者の視覚体験の相違、視認心情の違いはわかりやすい。
　たぶん自然の地力の違いが如実に表れているということなのでしょう。十数年前、札幌円山でもこの中標津での個体のような輝きも見ていたように思う。
　花というのはいのちの精一杯の輝きであり、自然造形が生み出すドラマそのものでしょう。その個体がこの世にいのちを享けて生き抜いたという「叫び声」のようにも聞こえる。たぶん音楽的感受性ともっとも近いような視覚感性で受け止めているのでしょう。それはイキモノとしての同質性に強く訴求されてきて、その叫び声がこちら側と深く共振するような部分。
　やはり圧倒的な中標津の自然の奥行き感に圧倒される。
　一方で普段見慣れている札幌円山の痩せ細った個体の必死さにも深い共感を覚えさせられる。
　これは比較対照するようなことではなく、それぞれの地でこの種が必死に次世代にいのちを継承しようとしている実証なのでしょう。先週にはほとんどの個体が花房を落として果実の結果に向かって変貌していました。本格的な夏の到来ですね。


English version⬇

Early Summer in East Hokkaido - Sapporo Maruyama Oubayuri Afterglow
Glamorous beauty and delicate beauty. Is it the difference between Nakashibetsu and Sapporo's geographical strength or the difference in the natural power of the entire environment? But both are divine, desperately holding on to life. ...

I was in East Hokkaido for three consecutive holidays starting on July 15. Since I rarely have the opportunity to travel within Hokkaido for interviews these days, I was surrounded by a unique feeling of being in contact with nature for the first time in a long time and receiving the atmosphere with all my energy, as if my innermost self was being revived.
　The two photos above are of day lilies that I saw along the roadside in Nakashibetsu, where I was staying. As you may know from my personal blog, I have been deeply sympathetic to this plant on my walks in Maruyama, Sapporo, and I have a unique sense of knowing where it grows naturally, so I stopped the car and "visited" it a lot (laugh). (Laughs.) "Oh my God, here so suddenly! my wife screamed (laughs).
　I have been watching the soul food of the Ainu people in my hometown of Sapporo for almost 10 years now, especially in the Maruyama area, but since I started paying attention to the Ainu people, I have not been driving in the east of Hokkaido during this season, so it was almost as if I was meeting them for the first time.
　The first and second pictures are from a roadside in Nakashibetsu, while the third picture is from the Maruyama area of Sapporo at the same time. Obviously, the volume of the flower clusters is completely different.
　Nakashibetsu's flowers are overwhelmingly voluminous, while Sapporo's are very slim.
　I have no idea what kind of chemical changes or reactions the human mind undergoes when looking at flowers, but the difference in the visual experience and the difference in the perceived emotional state between the two is easy to understand.
　Perhaps it is a true expression of the difference in the power of nature. I think I also saw the same kind of brilliance as this individual in Nakashibetsu more than ten years ago in Sapporo Maruyama.
　Flowers are the fullest expression of life and the drama of nature's formations. It sounds like the "cry" of an individual who has lived out his or her life in this world. Perhaps we perceive it with a visual sensibility that is closest to our musical sensitivity. It is a part that strongly appeals to our homogeneity as a creature, and its cry resonates deeply with our side.
　The overwhelming sense of depth of Nakashibetsu's nature is overwhelming.
　On the other hand, the desperation of the emaciated individuals of Sapporo's Maruyama, which we are accustomed to seeing in everyday life, also makes us feel deep sympathy for them.
　This is not a matter of comparison and contrast, but rather a demonstration of how desperately this species is trying to pass on its life to the next generation in each location. In the last week, most of the individuals have dropped their flower clusters and transformed toward fruit results. Summer is in full swing.

【江戸期農家／間取りとひとの暮らし 浦和の開発農家-5】

　この蓮見家住宅は江戸中期の農家住宅の典型的な仕様だと言われる。広間型三間取、寄棟造、茅葺。桁行七間（16.8m）梁間三間半（5.5m）。江戸市中では庶民は長屋に住み住み暮らしていた時代。一般的にはこういった農家の次男三男層は、この生家を離れて江戸に向かい、そこで職を見つけて長屋に住み、立身することを夢見ていたが、その多くは夢破れて帰る故郷もないまま、刹那的な人生を生きた時代。
　広島県東部で暮らしていたわが家の江戸期の過去帳などを見てみても、身分制固定化社会での生きにくい現実の断片を証立てる現実に突き当たって、胸苦しさを覚えたりもする。夢見がちな幼少年期を過ぎてくれば、こういった現実に早々に放り出されただろう。そうであっても盆暮れなどには帰省することもあり、いっとき親子兄弟、幼なじみたちと屈託のない時間を過ごせただろうか。
　しかし生家を継ぐ長男層としても厳しい年貢取り立て圧力のなかで苦しい生き様だったことはあきらか。そういうなかで、なんとか自作地を工夫して商品作物、この地域では幕末期などには輸出産業として活性化した養蚕業のためのクワを栽培して生き延びてきたのだろう。開国して経済的に自立できることへの期待感というのは民の側に大きかったに違いない。幕末期に自然発生した社会運動「ええじゃないか」の真実か。
　住宅内部は間取り図の向かって右に間口の半分以上の土間を取り、土間に沿って梁間いっぱいに板の間のヘヤ、その上手にオクと、その裏側にナンドを配した、いわゆる三室広間型の間取り。ヘヤには囲炉裏を設け、囲炉裏に接し土間側に板敷きの床を張り出していて、このヘヤ後方には戸棚を造りつけている。だいたい計算してみるとこの「板敷きの間」は収納のナンドを含めて10坪程度20-22畳程度だろう。日本人の生活空間とは基本的にこのような形式であって、戦後普遍化した「個人主義」的な個室間取りというものとは無縁。
　よく見てみるとこの板敷きのヘヤにだけ天井が張られている。やはり主要な生活空間では「断熱」の切実な工夫として密閉化を図った痕跡だろう。仕上げ的には竹簀子天井になっており、囲炉裏には火天がある。

　唯一の畳敷きのオクには天井が張られておらず、屋根の裏側を直接見ることになる。座敷飾りとして床の間と仏壇、戸棚が設けられている。どのように使われたかの記録はないが、基本的には冠婚葬祭的なハレの場として利用されて、普段は寝室的な利用をされたものだろうか。
　面積103㎡（約31坪）。正面から見て右側が馬屋の入口、左側が土間の入口となっている。土間と馬屋の間は柱が１本立っているだけで、馬屋に柵が設けられておらず、床も土間と一体となっている。
　具体的な江戸期の庶民の暮らしようが立ち上ってくるたたずまい。


English version⬇

Edo Period Farmhouse / Floor Plan and People's Lives: Development Farmhouse in Urawa-5
The state of the common farmhouse in the middle Edo period. The division of how the eldest son and the second and third sons stand. The severe way of life of each can be seen. ・・・・.

This Hasumi family residence is said to have typical specifications of a mid-Edo period farmhouse. It is a three-room, wide-plan house with a hipped roof and thatched roof. It has a girigakukan of 7 ken (16.8 m) and a beam span of 3.5 ken (5.5 m). In the Edo period, common people lived in row houses. Generally, the second and third sons of these farmers left their birthplace and headed for Edo, where they found jobs and lived in tenements, dreaming of a successful life, but many of them lived a transitory life without a home to return to.
　When I look at the Edo period ledgers of my family, who lived in the eastern part of Hiroshima Prefecture, I sometimes feel a sense of bitterness as I come face to face with a reality that testifies to the fragments of a reality where life was difficult in a society with a fixed status system. If I had passed through my dreamy childhood, I would have been thrown out of this kind of reality as soon as possible. Even so, I would have returned home at the end of the Bon holidays and spent some carefree time with my parents, siblings, and childhood friends.
　However, it is clear that even for the eldest sons who succeeded to the family of their birth, life was difficult under the severe pressure of collecting tribute. In such a situation, they must have managed to survive by devising ways to cultivate their own land to grow commodity crops, such as mulberry for sericulture, which became an active export industry in this region at the end of the Edo period. There must have been a great sense of anticipation on the part of the people that they would be able to open up the country and become economically independent. Is this the truth of the "ee-jana-nai" social movement that spontaneously emerged at the end of the Edo period?
　The interior of the house has an earthen floor more than half the size of the frontage on the right side of the floor plan, a wooden floor with a hearth between the beams along the earthen floor, an oku (a small wooden box) on the upper side, and a nando (a wooden stand) on the back side, in a so-called three-room, wide-room layout. The hearth is set in the hearth, and a wooden floor is placed on the earthen floor side of the hearth, and a closet is built behind the hearth. The "itashiki-no-ma" is about 20-22 tatami mats, including the storage nandos, and is about 10 tsubo (about 1.5 square meters) in area. Japanese living space is basically in this form, and has nothing to do with the "individualistic" private room layout that has become universal since the end of World War II.
　If you look closely, you can see that the ceiling is stretched only over this wooden floor. It is probably a trace of the attempt to seal the main living space as an earnest device for "heat insulation. The ceiling is finished with bamboo screens, and there is a fire pit in the sunken hearth.

The only tatami-matted oku does not have a ceiling, and the view is directly behind the roof. An alcove, a butsudan (Buddhist altar), and a cupboard are installed as part of the tatami room decorations. There is no record of how it was used, but it is likely that it was basically used for ceremonial occasions such as weddings and funerals, and was usually used as a bedroom.
　The area is 103 square meters (about 31 tsubo). The entrance to the stable is on the right when viewed from the front, and the entrance to the earthen floor is on the left. There is only one pillar standing between the stable and the earthen floor, and the stable is not fenced in, and the floor is integrated with the earthen floor.
　The floor is also integrated with the earthen floor. This is the kind of appearance that brings to mind the lifestyle of ordinary people in the Edo period.

【300年前の調理煮炊き空間 浦和の開発農家-4】

　浦和の開発農家・蓮見家の台所空間。
　土間に隣接して囲炉裏が板の間にあってそのすぐ近くに「流し」がある。土間と裏口をはさんでカマドが対置されている。現代の間取りでいえばシステムキッチンとダイニングの空間に相当している。というか、およそ300年前の調理空間だけれど、現代と通底する面が非常に多いと思う。
　流しでの作業では水瓶から取水しながら食材を洗い包丁で裁断しながら、一方で加熱調理火力は基本的にはカマドでメイン食材を調理し、補助的に囲炉裏火力も利用したのだろう。それらの動線がたいへん合理的な間取りで構成されていることが一目瞭然。
　これより古い時代の戦国期の調理の場の復元などを見る機会があったけれど、そこでは流しが「座った」姿勢で作業するスタイルが取られていた。広い板敷き空間でたくさんの女性たちがほぼ座った体制で、調理作業に向き合うというのがより原初的であるのかと思わされたけれど、この江戸中期の時代・関東の農家住宅では「立って」食材と向き合うスタイルになっている。時代の進化だろうか。作業効率的にどう考えても、座ったままの状態では力仕事的な調理作業などにはあまり合理的とは言えないだろう。まぁ一方でその分、盛り付け作業などの繊細な部分についてはこの座作業で日本的気遣い文化が盛り上がった可能性がある。
　日本の家庭料理文化にこのポイントがどのように影響を与えたのか，興味深い。
　台所の作業空間にはその時代での女性を中心としたライフスタイルが顕著に反映していると思う。最近の家事と間取りの関係を見ると、夫婦共働きを前提にして、洗濯と乾燥、衣類の整理作業が非常に合理的に、時間節約的になっていてファミリークローゼットが主役化してきている。台所は食卓と一体化してより作業効率的な合理化が進展していると思います。
　この江戸期農家住宅でも基本的に女性は「共働き」が前提でしょう。室内空間のおよそ半分を占める土間空間は基本的に農作業のための主要装置であり、生業である農業の核心作業空間。早朝からの屋外作業のための準備から夜なべ仕事としての「縄」などの植物繊維加工作業まで、朝から夕方、夜まで基本的には農作業が延々と続く毎日。これら土間での農事作業との時間節約型での「連続性」が大きな「解決課題」だった様子がわかる。当然日々の農事に関連した食材が食卓に上っただろうから、一体化は必然でもあった。
　まぁ、現代では食の空間以上に洗濯乾燥仕舞などの作業も肥大化してきているので、まことに「世に連れて」家事作業の解決方法は変化してきていると思う。
　いずれにしてもこうした先人の生活痕跡には深くリスペクトさせられる。


English version⬇

300-year-old cooking and boiling space Urawa development farmer-4
How did the rational change of "sink" from sedentary to standing work affect the Japanese lifestyle? ...

Kitchen space of the Hasumi family, a development farmhouse in Urawa.
　Adjacent to the earthen floor is a sunken hearth on a wooden floor with a "sink" in the immediate vicinity. A kamado is placed across the earthen floor and the back door. In a modern layout, this space would correspond to a system kitchen and dining room. Although the cooking space is about 300 years old, it has many similarities with the modern kitchen.
　In the sink, food was washed and cut with a knife while water was drawn from a water bottle, while the main food was basically cooked in a kamado and hearth heat was used as an auxiliary heat source. It is obvious at a glance that these lines of flow are composed of a very rational floor plan.
　I had an opportunity to see a reconstruction of a cooking area from the Warring States period, which was much older than this, where the sink was used in a "sitting" position. I thought it was more primitive to have a large number of women sitting down in a large wooden floor to face the cooking work, but in this farmhouse in the Kanto region during the mid-Edo period, they are "standing" to face the foodstuffs. Is this an evolution of the times? In terms of work efficiency, sitting down is not very reasonable for heavy-duty cooking. On the other hand, the Japanese culture of care and attention to detail in such delicate tasks as serving may have been enhanced through the use of this sitting style of cooking.
　It is interesting to see how this point influenced the Japanese home cooking culture.
　I think that the kitchen workspace reflects the lifestyle of the time, especially that of women. Looking at the relationship between housework and the floor plan these days, based on the assumption that both husband and wife work, washing and drying and organizing clothes have become very rational and time-saving tasks, and the family closet has taken on a leading role. The kitchen is integrated with the dining table, and I believe that more efficient rationalization of work has progressed.
　Even in this Edo period farmhouse, women are basically supposed to "work together". The earthen floor space, which occupies about half of the interior space, is basically the main equipment for farm work, and is the core work space for farming, which is the livelihood of the farmers. From early morning preparation for outdoor work to nighttime work processing plant fibers such as "rope," farm work basically goes on and on from morning to evening and into the night. It is clear that time-saving "continuity" with the farm work in the earthen floor was a major "problem to be solved. Naturally, food related to the daily farm work would have appeared on the dining table, so the integration of the two was inevitable.
　Well, nowadays, washing, drying, and putting away clothes has become even bigger than the space for food, so I think that the solution to housework has changed "with the times.
　In any case, I deeply respect the traces of our ancestors' lives.