福島会津の「曲り家」／福島市民家園-6】

　曲り家というと東北地方でも「南部」地域、岩手県での古民家で特徴的とされる様式ですが、同様に多雪地域である会津地域にもこうした様式が根付いていた。農耕馬の保守管理について別棟ではなく「曲り家」として本屋に対して付加的な別屋をつなげてしまうことで、とくに冬期間の積雪寒冷条件での作業を合理化させるという建築間取り。
　馬という生身の体温を持つ動物をいっしょの空間で飼い暮らすことで、独特の一体感、心情が人びとに生成された。南部では異種間のイキモノ同士の交流の細やかさが強調されて、人間と馬との同衾までの習慣があったとされる。たしかに寒冷な条件下で「身を寄せ合って」寒さをしのぐという蓋然性はある。
　奥州産馬は日本史の中で、武士の台頭時期から重要な横軸を形成もしてきた。馬産は東北地方では対日本社会への重要な「交易品」であり続けた。そして住宅でもその文化がこうした形式として地域オリジナルとして独特に形成された。
　こちらの旧馬場家は、東北指折りの豪雪地帯の南会津に建っていた上層農民住宅。母屋主屋に対してL字型に突き出た「中門棟」があり、馬屋と便所などを持っていた。名付けて馬屋中門造りと呼称した。建て方としては切妻で、寄棟に対して屋根からの落雪のない一辺ができるメリットがあったのだとされる。多雪地帯としての切実な建築的対応と言えるだろう。中門棟には藁などを保存する中２階を備えていて、そこで飼育している馬の世話が一気通貫的に考えられている。

　一方で住居棟になる本屋はかなり大型の平面を持っていて、居間である「おめい（御前）」、その奥に寝室を仕切り、上手端にはその平面積の大きさを利用して３室を並べている。建築年代は文化４−５（1807-1808)年。約200年以上前の建築。
　古民家からはいかにも先人たちの「生活合理性」がストレートに伝わってきて、住宅と生き方の相関性が「響き合っている」と感じられる。住宅探訪のいちばんの面白さというのは、実は人間を知る、知りたいということが根底にあるのだろうと思う。
　現代住宅は、暮らし方という意味では、仕事の場との距離感が大きくあって、いかにも「住むだけ」という印象が強い。そういう仕事・生き方的な部分よりもたぶん「タイパ」という概念がむしろ強まってきている。「夫婦とも働き」が一般的になって来て「家事労働」の合理性獲得の方向に向かってきているのだろう。
　しかし生活合理性という意味では先人たちもこういう住宅のようにまったく同様に考えて、規格化を進めてきたのだと思う。故きを知って生かしていきたいと思う。


English version⬇

Fukushima Aizu's “Curved House” / Fukushima City Minka-en-6
A living space connected to a stable that gives a sense of “warmth” in a cold and snowy region. The pursuit of a sympathetic living performance. The homogeneity of wisdom in today's typa-oriented housing. The house is a house of wisdom and homogeneity.

　The kurikuri-ya is a style that is characteristic of old private houses in the “southern” Tohoku region and Iwate Prefecture, but this style has also taken root in the Aizu region, which is similarly a region with heavy snowfall. This architectural layout was designed to rationalize work in cold and snowy conditions, especially in winter, by connecting an additional annex to the main house as a “kurikuriya” for the maintenance and management of agricultural horses, rather than a separate building.
　By keeping horses, animals that have the body heat of their own flesh and blood, in the same space, a unique sense of unity and emotion was generated among the people. In the south, it is said that there was a custom of sharing the bed with a human and a horse, as the importance of detailed interactions between different species of animals was emphasized. It is probable that horses “huddled” together in the cold to protect themselves from the cold.
　Horses from Oshu have formed an important axis in Japanese history since the rise of the samurai. In the Tohoku region, horses continued to be an important “trading commodity” to Japanese society. The culture of horsehouses was also uniquely formed in this form as a regional original.
　The former Bamba House shown here is an upper-class farmer's residence built in Minamiaizu, one of the heaviest snowfall areas in the Tohoku region. The main house had an L-shaped “middle gate building” protruding from the main building, which housed a stable and latrine. It was called “Banya-chumon-zukuri” (horse stalls and latrines). It is said that the gabled roof had the advantage over the hipped roof that there was no snow falling from the roof. It is said to have been an architectural response to the heavy snowfalls in the area. The main gate building is equipped with a mezzanine floor for storing straw and other materials, and the care of the horses kept there is considered to be a one-stop operation.
　On the other hand, the main building, which serves as a residence, is quite large in plan, with the living room “omei” (front room), a bedroom at the rear of the living room, and three rooms at the upper end, taking advantage of its large floor space. It was built in the 4th-5th Bunka period (1807-1808). It was built more than 200 years ago.
　The old minka house conveys the “rationality of life” of its predecessors in a straightforward manner, and the correlation between the house and the way of life is felt to be “echoing” each other. I think the most interesting thing about exploring houses is the underlying desire to know and understand people.
　In terms of the way of living, modern houses have a large sense of distance from the place of work, giving the impression of “just living”. The concept of “typa” is becoming stronger than the work/life style aspect of it. As “both husband and wife working” has become more common, the concept of “housework” has been moving in the direction of rationality.
　However, in terms of the rationality of living, I believe that our predecessors thought in exactly the same way and promoted standardization, as in the case of this type of housing. I would like to learn from the past and make the most of it.

【ツルの恩返し「地域民俗」版／福島市民家園-5】

　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”.

【２階建茅葺き 江戸〜大正の「宿店」／福島市民家園-4】

昨日のブログ記事へはいろいろな反応があって興味深かった。書いている本人も気付かされることが多かったのですが、いちばん大きかったのは「古民家」として現代に移築保存されているような建築は、一般的には建築当時から「立派な」建築と見なされている建物が多く、その当時の一般のひとびとの住んでいた建物とは言えないと深く気付かされたこと。
　住宅建築もこうした見方を加味して考えて行かなければならないとキモに銘じさせられた。同時に歴史・民俗という実像への視線をあらためて考える契機になった。
　本日参観するのは内心、初見でビックリさせられた建物。古民家建築の常識的な理解として都市集住型の建築では「瓦屋根」を見る機会が多くそこで２階建ては良くあるけれど、この建物は屋根が茅葺きで２階建てでいわば現代住宅的なプロポーションを見せていたこと。
　名称は「旧筧家宿店」。福島市上烏渡字観音寺14番地に建てられていた。建築年代は江戸末期以前は確実で明治10年代に増築された事実が確認されると。ここは現在でも東北自動車道・福島西ICにほど近く、江戸期〜大正期には旧会津街道と旧米沢街道の分岐点に建っていた。
　その後、万世大路（福島と米沢を結ぶ道路）の開通や鉄道の奥羽本線や岩越鉄道（〜現在のJR磐越西線は福島県郡山から新潟県を結ぶ鉄道）の開通などで旅宿客が激減し営業を停止したのだという。要するに時代の変遷の中での人流の変化によって興亡をみせた商家建築。都市にあったそういった用途の建築はどんどんと不燃化ということで瓦屋根に変化していったのだけれど、東北福島では江戸期由来のいわば街道宿の姿が、残っていたようなのだ。
　さらに驚くほどに１階部分が開放的に作られていて、奥の座敷２室との仕切りがある以外の３方向が全開放されている。上部が重量感があってこれでは構造的にどうなのかと不安になるほど。たぶんそういった「目印」感があって、旅宿としてのランドマークだったのか。
　このあたりは江戸期の街道筋旅宿の建築のありように精通していないので不明だけれど、たしかに「目に付く」という機能性は確実にあったに違いない。
　機能性の面では、旅宿開業にあたって自宅主屋の「座敷」を使用するという発想は、この地方の宿店のありようを継承している、と説明書きにある。しかしたぶんこれは日本建築文化に於いて普遍的な発想だったのではないか。実は昨日のブログに感想を寄せていただいたTさんの示唆に富んだご意見。そもそも立派な座敷というのは、日本の住文化の中で「接遇」のために精一杯の「高級感」「おもてなし」を心がけた空間だっただろうという。
　この辺の空間創造の動機部分って、民俗としてもたいへんに興味深い。


English version⬇

2-story thatched building, Edo - Taisho period “Shukumoten” / Fukushima City Minka-en-4
Remnants of a roadside inn from the Edo period. The thatched roof visually appeals to the “sense of relaxation” and the two-story building is a landmark. Appealing to Japanese people who love to travel. The building is a landmark for Japanese people who love to travel.

It was interesting to see the various reactions to yesterday's blog post. The most significant was the realization that many of the buildings that have been moved and preserved today as “old private houses” are generally considered “magnificent” buildings from the time of their construction, and cannot be said to have been inhabited by ordinary people in those days. Residential architecture should also take this view into account.
　It is important to remember that residential architecture must be considered in light of this viewpoint. At the same time, it was an opportunity for me to reconsider my perspective on the real image of history and folklore.
　The building I will visit today is one that surprised me at first sight. As a common understanding of old private house architecture, it is common to see “tiled roofs” in urban residential architecture, and two-story buildings are common there, but this building had a thatched roof and was two stories high, showing the proportions of a modern residence, so to speak.
　The name of the building is “Kyu Kakei Jyuten” (old Kakei family's inn). It was built at 14 Kannonji, Kamikarasuwatari, Fukushima City. The construction date is certain to be before the end of the Edo period, and it is confirmed that the building was extended in the 10th year of Meiji era. It is still located near the Fukushima Nishi Interchange on the Tohoku Expressway, and during the Edo and Taisho periods, it stood at the junction of the old Aizu-kaido road and the old Yonezawa-kaido road.
　Later, with the opening of the Manyo Highway (a road connecting Fukushima and Yonezawa) and the opening of the Ou Main Line and the Iwakoshi Railway (the current JR Banetsu Nishi Line connecting Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, to Niigata Prefecture), the number of travelers declined sharply and the business was discontinued. In short, merchant house architecture rose and fell with changes in the flow of people over time. While such buildings in urban areas were gradually converted to noncombustible structures with tiled roofs, Tohoku Fukushima still retains the appearance of the highway inns that were originally built in the Edo period.
　The first floor is surprisingly open, and except for the partitions between the two tatami rooms in the back, all three sides of the building are open to the public. The upper part of the building is so heavy that one wonders if this is structurally sound. Perhaps it was a landmark as a traveling inn because of such a “landmark” feeling.
　I am not familiar with the architecture of roadside inns in the Edo period, so I am not sure, but it certainly had the functionality of being “conspicuous.
　In terms of functionality, the description says that the idea of using the “tatami room” of the main house to open a traveling inn was inherited from the innkeepers in this region. But perhaps this was a universal idea in Japanese architectural culture. This is actually a thought-provoking comment from Mr. T, who commented on yesterday's blog. He said that a splendid tatami room would have been a space in the Japanese residential culture where people tried their best to create a sense of “luxury” and “hospitality” for the sake of “hospitality”.
　The motive behind the creation of such a space is very interesting as a folklore.

【江戸時代中期「土座」の農家住宅／福島市民家園-3】

さて先般取材してきた「福島市民家園」の家その３。やはり住宅系ブログとして実際の住宅取材とその写真を整理していると心理が落ち着く。いろいろなネタは書きますが、やっぱり住宅にテーマを戻すと「ホーム感」が静かに盛り上がって無心になれる。ありがたいなぁと思う。そろそろ仕事人生終了後という友人たちも多いけれど、人によっては満たされない心の空洞を感じていると思われる人もいる。そういったことを考えると、こうして同じテーマに向き合い続けられるのは稀有な幸福。
　この家は福島市大笹生安養寺に建っていた住宅で、なんと江戸時代中期18世紀後半の建築。一昨日まで掲載した北海道栗山の開拓者の家は明治30年代頃の年代なので、約130年前くらい。それと比較してもさらに100年は遡ることになる。栗山の家はこの福島県の北方の隣県、宮城県南部なので、ほど近い位置に立地していたことになる。
　この家で特徴的なのは床面。室内の床は「土座」と呼ばれるスタイルで、土間の上に筵を敷き並べて床が構成されている。「え？土間か」と驚かされる。寒冷地域の常識として「凍結深度」という冬期間の土壌の凍結の深さを表す数値がある。空気の寒冷が土壌に冷気を蓄積させるのだ。たとえば札幌などでは60cmが土壌凍結の深さレベルでそこまで基礎を下げなければ建物に不同沈下の危険性が高まる。そもそも床下が凍結している土壌と直接接しているということは、寒さが直接人体に伝わってくる。
　しかし同時代、蝦夷地アイヌチセもまた土座なので、囲炉裏による常時燃焼加熱があれば相対的に土壌凍結は解消されていくのかも知れない。土壌にはその地域の年平均気温相当レベルの「地熱」があるので、一定の表面加温があれば、その地熱レベルまで室温上昇させることが可能だったかもしれない。このあたり、現代の家づくりとは違いが大きすぎてあまり実証研究がされていない。
　しかし視覚的には凸凹のある床面空間からはその特異性が伝わってくる。日本語表現に「地下（じげ）人」という言葉があるけれど、この空間からはいかにも語感に直接性が感じられる。生々しい日本人意識、その「社会的格差」の蓋然性が伝わってくる思い。床に「上がる」という言語表現の視覚化。
　江戸期の建築においてすら「床を上げる」だけの資力を持たない農家が一般的だったということだろう。この家屋の中で仏壇などが置かれ座敷として使われた箇所は、床上げされていた。またほかの福島市民家園建築ではこういう床面は見られなかった。床上げできるかどうかということがひとつの貧富の差、空間格差の表現だったと認識できる。
　東北地方では南部とは言え温暖地とは言えない福島でも、一般の日本人の住空間は歴史的にながくこのレベルだったのだろう。江戸期という経済発展期・安定期においてすらこうだったのだから、室町・戦国以前の頃の住空間というものも推して知るべし。


English version⬇

Doza” farmhouse in the mid-Edo period / Fukushima City Minka-en-3
The Doza space testifies to the origin of the Japanese word for “going up” to the floor. I tried to imagine the comfort of this space, which was always heated by a sunken hearth. The house is heated constantly by the sunken hearth.

As a housing blog, I find it calming to organize photos and interviews of actual houses. I write about all sorts of things, but when I return to the theme of housing, the “sense of home” quietly rises and I can be at peace. I am grateful for that. I have many friends who are almost at the end of their working lives, but some people seem to feel a void in their hearts that they cannot fill. Considering this, it is a rare happiness to be able to continue to face the same theme in this way.
　This house was built in Oosasao Anyoji Temple in Fukushima City in the late 18th century, in the middle of the Edo period. The pioneer house in Kuriyama, Hokkaido, which we had posted until the day before yesterday, dates from the 1890s, so it is about 130 years old. Compared to that, it goes back another 100 years. The Kuriyama house is located in the southern part of Miyagi Prefecture, a neighboring prefecture to the north of Fukushima Prefecture, so it was situated in close proximity to the house.
　What is unique about this house is the floor surface. The indoor floor is a style called “doza,” in which the floor is composed of a straw mat laid on top of an earthen floor. One is surprised, “What? Doza? In cold regions, there is a common knowledge called “freezing depth,” which indicates the extent to which the soil freezes during the winter. The coldness of the air causes cold air to accumulate in the soil. In Sapporo, for example, 60 cm is the depth at which the soil freezes, and if the foundation is not lowered to this level, the risk of unequal subsidence increases. The fact that the subfloor is in direct contact with frozen soil means that the cold is directly transmitted to the human body.
　However, in the same period, the Ainu Chise in Ezo also sat on the ground, so if there is constant combustion heating by hearths, the soil freezing level may be relatively lowered. Since the soil has “geothermal heat” at a level equivalent to the annual average temperature of the area, it may have been possible to raise the room temperature to that geothermal level if there was constant surface heating. Not much empirical research has been done in this area because the differences from modern house construction are too great.
　Visually, however, the uneven floor space conveys its peculiarity. There is a Japanese expression “jige-jin” (underground), and this space conveys a directness to the word. The space conveys the raw Japanese consciousness and the probability of its “ascending orientation. The visualization of the linguistic expression of “going up” to the floor.
　It is likely that even in the architecture of the Edo period, farmers generally did not have the resources to raise the floor. In this house, the floor was raised in the area used as a tatami room where a Buddhist altar was placed. This type of floor was not seen in any other Fukushima City Minkaen buildings. The ability to raise the floor is an expression of the disparity between the rich and the poor, and the disparity in space.
　Even in Fukushima, which is located in the southern Tohoku region but not in a warm climate, the living space of the general Japanese population has historically been at this level. Since this was the case even during the Edo period (1603-1867), a period of economic development and stability, one can only imagine what the living space was like during the Muromachi and Sengoku periods.

【オホーツク美幌の「板前農家」そばを食す】

　娘からの情報で、行列の出来ている蕎麦店を教えられた。そういう情報にはたいへん弱いので、さっそくものは試しと食べに行ってみた。ちょうど不動産関係の要件もあって、清田区里塚のセカンドハウスに向かう予定でその途次に店があった。
　写真の通り「板前農民」というキャッチで「自ら育て、自ら調理」というコンセプト。行ってみたら11時の開店早々15分後くらいに到着したのだけれど、20人くらいの行列。すでに開店しているのでなかに同数くらいは入っているだろうから、普通は諦めてしまうところだけれど、娘からの情報がアタマにくっついているので、覚悟を決めて待つこと約１時間。ようやく写真のように「天ぷら蕎麦」にありつくことが出来た次第であります。後で確認したら「新そば」の初出日ということで常連ファン大集合だったよう。
　きのうまで空知南部の栗山のことを書いていたので、こういう北海道内での各地域の独自性・風土性に敏感になってきている。「シン民俗」っていう造語をきのう書いたのですが、柳田國男さん的な民俗の派生形態、日本中の多様な地方から北海道という日本民族文化にとって未踏の大地に移住してきた人びとの生き様が、独特の北海道の「シン民俗」を生成させてきていると思う。そんな雰囲気つながりが、この蕎麦店の心意気に感じられていた。
　すっごい量が多いよ、との娘からの情報だったけれど、蕎麦の切り方がけっこう「太麺」だったせいか、お、案外少量じゃないのかと錯誤した（笑）。ところがどっこい、食べ始めてみると蕎麦の山がなかなか減少していかない。大皿に盛りつけてあるのだけれど、目測に相違してどうも「深さ」があるよう。
　で、天ぷらの方ですがこれもエビが５本も揚げてある。そのほかに丸く切ったタマネギ、カボチャ、半切りのナス。これもなんとか野菜優先に平らげたけれど、エビの方は２本がやっと。
　で、カミさんにエビ食の応援を頼んだのですが、彼女は悩んだ末にふつうのざるそばにしたところが、「サービスで」ということで野菜の天ぷらも付いてきていた。う〜む超満腹。
　ふたたび蕎麦に挑み始めたけれど、夫婦とも「ふ〜ふ〜」の混声合唱状態。カミさんも完全にオーバー気味で「もうムリ」。ここで、娘からの情報がふたたびアタマに再生。「残すひとが多いようで、持ち帰り用の容器を手早く出してくれる」とのことだったので頼んだら、すぐに持ってきてくれた。
　わたしも体重管理の成果で10%ほど体重減しているので、食事量はだいぶ落ちてきている。結局、この昼食で昨日の食事は完全終了（笑）。家に戻っても夕食の元気はまったく出てこない。というか立ちんぼでの行列が予想以上に体力消耗で、帰宅後は爆睡〜爆睡という状態。まぁ契約関係の書類確認などでの精神疲労も加わっていたことはありそうですが。
　本日朝になって、「あれ、けっこうウマかったな」とようやく平常が戻って来ています（笑）。


English version⬇

Eating soba at “Itamae Farmhouse” in Bihoro, Okhotsk.
I was expecting to make buckwheat noodles, but I chose to eat buckwheat noodles (laugh). But the training continues. Lunch at a buckwheat noodle restaurant that grows and cooks its own buckwheat noodles. The day ended with a full stomach. ...

My daughter told me about a buckwheat noodle restaurant with a long line of customers. Since I am very susceptible to such information, I decided to give it a try and went to eat there right away. I was going to visit a second house in Satozuka, Kiyota-ku, Tokyo, and the restaurant was right next to the house.
　As you can see in the photo, the restaurant is called “Itamae Farmer” with the concept of “grow your own food and cook it yourself. I arrived about 15 minutes after the restaurant opened at 11:00 a.m., but there was a line of about 20 people. Since the restaurant had already opened, there were probably about the same number of people inside, so normally I would have given up, but my daughter's information was stuck in my head, so I braced myself and waited for about an hour. Finally, I was able to get a bowl of “Tempura Soba” as shown in the photo. Later, I found out that it was the first day of the “new soba” season, so there was a large crowd of regular customers.
　Since I had been writing about Kuriyama in southern Sorachi until yesterday, I have become sensitive to the uniqueness and local characteristics of each region in Hokkaido. I coined the term “shin-minzoku” yesterday, and I believe that the way of life of people who have migrated from various regions of Japan to Hokkaido, a land unexplored by the Japanese ethnic culture, has created a unique Hokkaido “shin-minzoku”. Such a connection with the atmosphere was felt in the spirit of this soba restaurant.
　My daughter had informed me that it was a very large portion of soba, but I was under the illusion that it was not as large as I had expected, perhaps because the soba was cut in a rather “thick” style (laugh). However, when we started eating, the pile of Soba did not seem to decrease. Although it was served on a platter, it seemed to be deeper than I had guessed.
　As for the tempura, there were five deep-fried shrimps. There were also round slices of onion, pumpkin, and half-sliced eggplant. I managed to eat these vegetables first, but I could barely manage to eat two prawns.
　I asked my wife to support me in eating the shrimp, but after much deliberation, she decided to go with the regular zarusoba, which came with vegetable tempura as a “service. She was very full.
　We started to try the soba again, but both of us were in a chorus of “mmmmmmmmmm! My wife was also completely overloaded and said, “I can't eat any more. At this point, the information from our daughter replayed in our minds. I asked her for a take-out container, and she brought it to me right away.
　I have lost about 10% of my body weight as a result of weight control, so the amount of food I eat has been decreasing considerably. After all, this lunch was the end of yesterday's meal (laugh). When I returned home, I had no energy at all for dinner. In fact, the line at the stand-up bar was more physically draining than I had expected, and I went to sleep after returning home. Well, I guess I was also mentally fatigued from checking the documents related to the contract.
　Today in the morning, normalcy has finally returned to me, saying, “Oh, that was pretty tasty.

【茅葺きと洋式上下窓・栗山の開拓指導者の家-2】

わが家の北海道入植地の隣町であったのになぜかスルーしてきてしまっていた栗山町。知るほどにその存在の大きさに深く驚かされる。このブログにさまざまに情報をいただく住宅研究者のTさんから、また栗山町についての気付きのあるご連絡。
　この栗山町は開拓以来の挑戦者スピリット旺盛で、農業生産でも革新的な挑戦が継続して、北海道での稲作についても最初期から挑戦を行ってきたのだという。さらに商品作物の最たる存在とも言えるユリ根についても挑戦して大成功を収め、大正期には栗沢町からの「皇室献上品」となっていたのだと。
　この情報に接して、深く「えぐられる」思い。というのは、以前にも書き記したことがあるかも知れませんが、わたしの父母は隣町の「栗沢町」でまるで「農業試験場みたいだ」と人から言われるほどに商品性の高い作物生産に取り組んでいて、そのひとつの成果としてこのユリ根を生産し、それに留まらず、父はそうしたユリ根を周辺地域から集めて、遠く大阪の市場にまで遠距離出荷していたのだ。農家というよりも商家としての家系伝承の血が騒いだのだと思っていたのですが、この栗山で特産品だったことを知るに及んで、いきなりこの時期、大正末から昭和初期当時の地域を覆っていた時代相が、深々と襲ってきたように感じられるのだ。
　いわば家系伝承に近かった父母の活動痕跡が、このような隣村の活動などと連動した活発な人間活動、地域経済活動の一端であったことが明確に浮かび上がってくる。いわば点が線になり、そしてこの時代の北海道人の活発な生き様総体を浮き彫りにさせてくれるのだ。
　そうか、そうやって父母たちは時代の中で必死に生きてきたのだと、あらためて頓悟させられた。今回の栗山探訪、ひとつの「なつかしい」導きであるのかも知れない。
　写真は昨日に引き続き、栗山の開拓主導者・泉麟太郎邸の様子。１枚目は玄関から入ってすぐの居間の様子。玄関はやや引き込んだ位置で、茅葺き屋根が差し掛かっていて、雨や雪から人間を保守する一種の「風除室」的な空間であるけれど、土間空間は板敷き部分を含めて３畳ほどで土間主体の農家住宅ではなく武家の様式だと言える。採暖装置の炉が入口近くに配置されて、外気からひとを迎え入れてくれる。奥の北側に縁があって正面にそれが見晴らせる。野太い梁・柱がいかにも日本的な建築的力感を見る者に与えてくれる。
　そして茅葺き屋根という伝統的建築だけれど、開口部には上下窓が装置されている。こうしたガラス入りの窓は、北海道が日本社会に先駆けた「気密性向上」の象徴。伝統的価値感の中に、明治以来の「進取性」と実用性最優先の北海道住宅らしさが表現されているといえるだろう。


English version⬇

Thatched roof and Western-style upper and lower windows, Kuriyama pioneer leader's house-2
The thick columns and beams of the Japanese-style structure and the thatched roof give a sense of DNA. There are Western-style exterior fittings such as upper and lower windows with glass. The coexistence of Japanese values and performance rationality. The house is a combination of Japanese values and performance rationality.

Kuriyama is a town adjacent to my family's settlement in Hokkaido, but for some reason, I had never passed it by. The more I learn about it, the more I am deeply surprised at the magnitude of its existence. Mr. T, a housing researcher who has provided me with a variety of information for this blog, contacted me again with an interesting story about Kuriyama Town.
　He said that Kuriyama-cho has been full of spirit of challenge since its pioneering days and has continued to make innovative challenges in agricultural production, and has been challenging rice cultivation in Hokkaido from the very beginning. They also took on the challenge of cultivating lily bulb, the most important commodity crop, with great success, and in the Taisho Period (1912-1926), it became a “gift to the Imperial Household” from Kurisawa Town.
　I was deeply “gutted” when I came across this information. As I may have mentioned before, my parents were engaged in the production of highly commercial crops in the neighboring town of Kurisawa, which is said by some to be like an agricultural experiment station. He also collected lily roots from the surrounding areas and shipped them long distances to markets as far away as Osaka. I thought it was more in the blood of family lore as a merchant than as a farmer, but when I learned that it was a specialty product in Kuriyama, I suddenly felt a profound attack from the historical phase that covered the area from the end of the Taisho era to the early Showa era.
　The traces of the activities of the parents, which had been passed down from generation to generation, were clearly linked to the activities of the neighboring villages and were part of the active human activities and regional economic activities. The dots become lines, so to speak, and bring into sharp relief the active lifestyles of the people of Hokkaido at this time.
　I realized once again that this is how our parents had lived desperately in this era. This visit to Kuriyama may have been a kind of “nostalgic” guidance.
　The first photo is a view of the living room just inside the entrance. The first photo shows the living room just inside the entranceway, with the thatched roof hanging over the entranceway. A furnace is placed near the entrance to welcome people in from the outside air. There is a porch on the north side of the back of the house, which can be seen from the front. The thick beams and pillars give the house a Japanese architectural power.
　Although the roof is thatched, it is a traditional building with windows above and below the roof. These glass-filled windows symbolize the “airtightness” that Hokkaido pioneered in Japanese society. It can be said that this house expresses the “enterprising” and practicality-first Hokkaido style of housing since the Meiji period in its traditional values.

【120年前、明治30年代・栗山の開拓指導者の家】

　きのうからの続き。明治３年５月、戊辰戦争の敗北側・仙台藩の一領域、現角田市から、その士族群が新天地として北海道への入植に旅立った。当初の入植地は室蘭。集団の規模は44戸51名と記されている。婦女子は当面は故地に残して開拓の労働力としての男性たちが主体で、室蘭の輪西地域の原野の伐採、畑起こしに取り組んだのだろうと思われる。以降18年間に渡って牧場・林業・園芸・炭焼き・養蚕さらには「氷」を作って売ったり、さらには製鉄までも手掛けていたという。すごい開墾努力。
　10年経過後の明治14年にはさらに第２陣の開拓民を受け入れて本格的な開拓を進めようとした矢先、明治20年、それらの開拓地に新政府側から「屯田兵」110戸528人が入植し、さらに第２陣として110戸の入植が予定されるに至る。戊辰戦争敗者たちがせっかく開拓した地域を新政府側が「巻き上げる」に等しい。狭隘な輪西地域は共存は困難を極め、やむなく角田からの一統は、新天地をさらに奥地に求めることになった。その無念さは、察するにあまりあるけれど、先人たちはそれも受忍して栗山、当時の「アノロ」原野に向かうことになった。当たり前だけれど、明治初年の権力状況がそのまま反映した背景事情に思いが募る。
　このさらなる移住に際しても、冷静に計画を立案し「夕張開墾企業組合」という合資組織を立ち上げたのだという。事に当たってこういった経済的基盤を整備して財政的メドをも付けていた。移動に際しての最終困難であった夕張川渡河の局面では、アイヌ人による輸送舟はたった１人しか乗られず、いわば人身御供のように乗船したのは、万一のことがあってもその後の開墾労作業に影響の少ない女性が渡ったのだという。その状況を追記するとまことに万感が胸に痛みとして迫ってくる。
　いま室蘭本線という室蘭から岩見沢までの地方線があるけれど、その路地に沿って移動したことになる。
　しかしこの栗山にいまも記念館として残る開拓の主導者・泉麟太郎邸には、いかにもな武家様式が見られるのだと。たしかに間取りには農作業を主とした「土間」がなく、間取り図は南が下の図面だけれど、北側にも縁が設けられている。寒冷対応よりも、格式優先・伝統最優先の「屋敷」建築。

　写真は開拓・開墾作業を示したジオラマで目に飛び込んできたヒグマ。平野部であり木の伐採などを行えば、畑地を獲得することは出来ただろうけれど、木材伐採の斧や農地開墾のクワなどでかれらとも立ち向かって、追い払い、人跡を記していったのだろう。ヤワになった現代人であるわたしにはヒグマと聞いただけで震え上がってしまうけれど、淡々と人間社会領域を拡大していく先人には、まことにアタマが下がる。


English version⬇

120 years ago, in the 30s of Meiji era, Kuriyama pioneer leader's house
The new Meiji government dealt harshly with the defeated samurai families in the management of Hokkaido. However, they responded with careful and calm pioneering plans and carried them out. It is amazing. The home of a pioneer leader in Chestnut Mountain in the Meiji 30's.

　Continued from yesterday. In May of the 3rd year of Meiji, a group of samurai from a region of the Sendai clan, now Kakuda City, on the losing side of the Boshin War, left to settle in Hokkaido as a new land. The initial settlement was in Muroran. The size of the group is described as 44 households with 51 members. It is thought that the women and children were left behind for the time being, and the men were mainly used as pioneer laborers, clearing the wilderness in Muroran's Rinsei area and cultivating the fields. Over the next 18 years, they were involved in ranching, forestry, horticulture, charcoal making, sericulture, making and selling “ice,” and even iron manufacturing. What an amazing effort to cultivate land!
　In 1887, just as they were about to accept the second group of settlers and proceed with full-fledged cultivation, 110 households of 528 “Tondenbei” from the new government settled in those settlements, and another 110 households were scheduled to be settled in the second group. The new government was “taking over” the areas that had been cultivated by the losers of the Boshin War. The narrow Wansei area was extremely difficult to coexist with, and the Kakuda lineage had no choice but to seek a new land further into the country. The regret of the situation is hard to imagine, but the predecessors accepted the situation and headed for Kuriyama, then known as the “Anoro” wilderness. It is only natural, but the background circumstances reflecting the power situation at the beginning of the Meiji period are very interesting.
　In this further emigration, they calmly drew up a plan and established a joint-stock organization called the “Yubari Development and Reclamation Enterprise Cooperative Association. They had also established an economic foundation and made financial preparations for the move. The final difficulty in the migration was the crossing of the Yubari River, where only one Ainu person was allowed to board the boat. When I write about this situation, I feel a pain in my heart.
　Now there is a local line called Muroran Main Line from Muroran to Iwamizawa, and it was along this route that the woman crossed.
　The house of Izumi Rintaro, the pioneer who led the development of Kuriyama, still remains as a memorial museum, and it is decorated in a samurai style. Indeed, there is no “earthen floor,” which was mainly used for farming, and although the floor plan is drawn with the south side down, there is an edge on the north side as well. The “yashiki” architecture prioritizes style and tradition rather than cold weather.

　The photo shows a brown bear that caught my eye in a diorama showing pioneering and land reclamation work. Although it would have been possible to acquire farmland by felling trees in the plains, the bears must have confronted them with axes for cutting timber and with staggers for cultivating farmland, drove them away, and left a human trail behind. As a modern, more experienced person, I shudder at the mere mention of the word “brown bear,” but I am truly impressed by our ancestors' efforts to expand the human social sphere.

【明治開拓入植、仙台藩角田から北海道栗山へ】

　北海道の中央部の栗山町へは、その西端にある「小林酒造」側からは数回訪問していたのだけれど、今回たまたま、より南側から町中央部に向かったことで、まったく違った印象を持った。
　わたしはこれまでの仕事経験で東北各地と縁が深まっていたのだけれど、そういう身体感覚経験からどうも宮城県南部地域との空気感の親和性を車窓から入ってくる景色に感じていた。こういう感覚はちょっと理知的に、科学的に説明出来る部分とは思えないのだけれど、強くあったと思うのだ。
　きのうのブログでも「なつかしい」感じと書いたけれど、そのあとで徐々にこの栗山町の歴史を掘っていく内に、宮城県角田市とのつながりを知るに及んで、北海道的な「民俗」性のひとつの手掛かりかも知れないと思う気持ちが強まってきている。
　実は別進行している案件に絡んで日本民俗学の祖・柳田國男さんの事跡を探究しているのだが、柳田さんも、また柳宗悦の「民藝運動」でも、北海道はほぼそういう意味での興味を深くは持たれないままに今日社会に至っている。しかし、日本の民の一部である北海道民は、遠く本州以南の故郷の土地を離れて開拓の鍬をこの地でふるってきた人びとの血脈であるのだ。
　そして日本住宅の決定的な弱さである室内気候の安定性を比類なく向上させた実績をすでに獲得してきている。日本人の「生きる力」としての「民俗性」は正統に評価されて然るべきだと、個人的には思ってきている。・・・おっと、少し横道。
　この栗山には明治期に対新政府との戦いに敗れた仙台藩の内、角田地域を領していた一統が北海道開拓に向かい、最初の地・室蘭からさらに奥地のこの栗山、当時はアノロ原野と呼ばれたこの地に移住して開墾してきた歴史を持っているのだという。上の写真と図は、一度訪問した記憶がある宮城県角田市の郷土記念館建築と、北海道の名付け親・松浦武四郎の探検図、そして現在のGoogleマップ。

　どうもわたしの仕事の個人史的にも重なるので、いろいろと「とっかかり」がたくさんあって興味をそそられている次第。きのうの「ヤリキレナイ川」という数十年ぶりの再発見もあったので、なにか数寄の琴線を強く刺激されているようにも思える。
　祖父以来のわたしの家系の北海道移住はこの栗山町の西北側隣の「栗沢町」で、それもいちばん岩見沢市に近い地域。わが家の視線としては、岩見沢からやがて札幌へと推移して行ったので、どちらかというと栗山町はもっとも縁遠くなってしまっていたのかも知れない。反省しつつ、謹んですこしづつ、掘ってみたいと思っている。


English version⬇

[Meiji pioneer settlement, from Kakuda in the Sendai clan to Kuriyama in Hokkaido.
My family lived in Kurisawa, the northwest neighbor of Kuriyama, and then headed for Sapporo, so my orientation was strongly in the opposite direction. I would like to reflect on this and follow in the footsteps of my predecessors. I would like to follow in the footsteps of my predecessors.

　I had visited Kuriyama Town in central Hokkaido several times from the west end of the town, from the side of the Kobayashi Sake Brewery, but this time I happened to be heading toward the center of the town from a more southerly direction, which gave me a completely different impression.
　My work experience has deepened my connection with the Tohoku region, and my physical sensory experience has led me to feel an affinity with the southern part of Miyagi Prefecture, as I looked out the car window at the scenery. I don't think this kind of feeling is something that can be explained scientifically, but I think it was strong.
　As I wrote in yesterday's blog about the “nostalgic” feeling, as I gradually dug into the history of Kuriyama, I came to know about its connection with Kakuda City in Miyagi Prefecture, and I began to feel that it might be a clue to the “folk” character of Hokkaido.
　In fact, I have been exploring the history of Kunio Yanagida, the founder of Japanese folklore, in connection with another ongoing project, but neither Mr. Yanagida nor Muneyoshi Yanagi's “Mingei Movement” have been deeply interested in Hokkaido in that sense, until now. However, the people of Hokkaido, who are part of the Japanese people, are descended from people who left their homelands far south of Honshu and wielded the plow of pioneering in this land.
　And they have already achieved an unparalleled improvement in the stability of the indoor climate, a critical weakness of Japanese housing. Personally, I have come to believe that “folklore” as the “power of life” of the Japanese people should be legitimately evaluated. Oops, a little digression.
　Kuriyama is said to have a history of cultivation by a line of the Sendai clan that was defeated in a battle against the new government in the Meiji period (1868-1912), and which had taken possession of the Kakuda area, and moved from Muroran, their first settlement, to Kuriyama, then known as the Anoro Plains. The photos and diagrams above show the architecture of the local memorial museum in Kakuda City, Miyagi Prefecture, which I remember visiting once, the exploration map of Takeshiro Matsuura, the godfather of Hokkaido, and the current Google map.

　I am intrigued by the many “triggers” for my interest, as they overlap with the personal history of my own work. Yesterday, I rediscovered the “Yarikirenai River” for the first time in several decades, so it seems to me that I am being strongly stimulated by a few old heartstrings.
　My family's first immigration to Hokkaido since my grandfather was to Kurisawa-cho, the northwestern neighbor of Kuriyama-cho, and the area closest to Iwamizawa City. My family's sightline has shifted from Iwamizawa to Sapporo, so Kuriyama-cho may have been the furthest away from my family's heart. With regret, I would like to dig a little deeper.

【ついに発見 伝説の「ヤリキレナイ」川】

子どもの頃から、北海道の川の名前で「ヤリキレナイ」川というのがあるということは聞いていた。子どもたちの耳に大人たちの「ヤリキレナイ」という言葉に込められた独特の厭世感情を感じて、ああ人生にはなんてイヤなことがあるんだろうと、恐れおののくこころを抱いていた。
　そういう大人的なイヤイヤ感を刺激する「川」というのは、なんという怖ろしい川なのかと想像力を掻き立てられ続けてきた。
　昨日はカミさんと最近よく野菜類を買い出しに出掛ける北広島市のお隣の長沼町・道の駅へ。またまたコールラビとか、ソー麺カボチャ、収穫期のタマネギ大量買いなどを楽しんでおりました。野菜中心の食事を心がける人間でも最大の楽しみは食なので、せめてもこういう楽しみを持つと幸せを感じさせてくれる（笑）。野菜のバラエティに目覚めると、これまた奥が深いのです。
　で、長沼からカミさんの発案で隣接の栗山町の日帰り温泉に向かった次第。カーナビに入力して向かったのですが、北海道生まれ育ちのわたしたちにも、まわりの風景がちょっと違う。なんか無性に「なつかしさ」に満ちているけれど、車窓からの風景感が新鮮。
　到着してからも、栗山のJR駅（苫小牧から岩見沢まで）の路線も乗ったことがないことに気付いた。ということで一種の迷宮に迷い込んだ感があって、栗山町の歴史資料館にまで探訪してしまっていた。これは面白い新発見。「いいね、こういうの」ということで高齢者のあらたな楽しみ領域発見になった。
　・・・その「探訪結果」についてはまたにして、その後カーナビに自宅を目的地として登録し、帰り道を走り始めた。栗山町から江別東の高速ICを目指して走り始めて十数分、上の写真のような「案内板」と遭遇してしまったのであります。「おお」
　さっそくクルマを降りて（カミさんは無関心に車内残留）写真撮影などをしていたのであります。
　ふつうはWEB検索などをかけて疑問点は解決することができますが、この「ヤリキレナイ」川についてはこの案内板ではじめて少年期からの疑問点が解決してくれた。アイヌ語の「ヤンケ・ナイ、またはイヤル・キナイ」が直接の語源だそうで、「魚の住まない川、または片割れの川」という意味。さらに片割れの川という意味は「近くに流れる由仁川と双生児の片割れ」ということだそうです。
　しかしイヤル・キナイという言葉からは「やる気がない」とも受け取れそうでいよいよ面白い。こういうアイヌ語に、やりきれないという日本語を宛てたのも秀逸。「北海道の民俗」を志向しているわたしには、こういったユーモア精神はひとつの手掛かりとも思えている次第です。さてどうかなぁ・・・。


English version⬇

Finally discovered: The legendary “Yarikirenai” river.
The river that bears the pessimistic murmurings of adults who sigh, “No, no, I can't do it anymore. We finally step into the reality of the fear in children's hearts. A gentle murmur. A gentle murmur.

Ever since I was a child, I had heard that there was a river in Hokkaido called “Yarikirenai” river. As a child, I felt the peculiar pessimistic feeling that adults put in the word “yarikirenai” in my ears, and I had a fearful feeling in my heart that, oh, what an unpleasant thing there is in life.
　The “river” that stimulates such a sense of dislike in adults has always stirred my imagination as to what kind of a scary river it is.
　Yesterday, my wife and I went to a roadside station in Naganuma, a town next to Kita Hiroshima City, where we often go shopping for vegetables these days. We enjoyed buying kohlrabi again, somen squash, and a large quantity of onions in the harvest season. Even for those of us who try to eat a vegetable-based diet, the greatest pleasure is food, so at least having this kind of pleasure makes me feel happy (laughs). When you wake up to the variety of vegetables, it is also very deep.
　So, at my wife's suggestion, we left Naganuma for a day trip to a hot spring in the neighboring town of Kuriyama. We entered the information into the car navigation system and headed there, but even for those of us born and raised in Hokkaido, the scenery around us was a little different. It was filled with a sense of nostalgia, but the scenery from the car window was fresh and new.
　After arriving at the station, we realized that we had never ridden the JR line in Kuriyama (from Tomakomai to Iwamizawa). This gave me a sense of being lost in a kind of labyrinth, and I even ended up exploring the Kuriyama Town History Museum. This was an interesting new discovery. This was an interesting new discovery for the elderly.
　After that, I registered my home as my destination in the car navigation system and started driving home. Ten minutes after I started driving from Kuriyama-cho to the highway IC of Ebetsu-higashi, I came across the “information board” as shown in the photo above. Oh!
　I immediately got out of the car (my wife remained indifferently in the car) and started taking pictures.
　Usually, I can solve my questions by searching on the web, but this information board was the first time for me to solve my questions about the “Yarikirrenai” River since I was a young boy. It is said to be directly derived from the Ainu word “yanke nai, or Iyarukinai,” meaning “a river where no fish live, or a river with one half. Furthermore, the meaning of “one half of a river” is said to mean “one half of a twin to the Yuni River that flows nearby.
　However, it is interesting to note that the word iyar kinai can also be taken to mean “unwillingness to do something. It is also excellent that the Japanese word for “unwillingness” was added to the Ainu word. As I am interested in the “folklore of Hokkaido,” this kind of humorous spirit is one of the clues I am looking for. I wonder how it will turn out....

【少年期妄想〜蝦夷地石狩川「ゴジラ」雲】

　昨日受診して教えられたまま投薬を受け、大人しくしています。おかげさまで喉の痛みもキレイさっぱりと消えて、出張取材の疲れも徐々に消えてきて、ゆとりが生まれてきました。
　「ゴジラ雲」について先日ちょっと書いたのですが、個人的には少年期の記憶の大海のなかにさまざまなその表情が残っていて、いつも脳内に残響してくる光景。一昨日あさ、ふと気付いてわが家の３階から遠望を撮影してみたのが、上の写真。
　わが家は、石狩平野の南方山岳地帯を背にして、まっすぐにアジア大陸・ロシア方向をにらむ地理配置にあたる。朝方の風景で画面右側が東で、左が石狩川河口方面にあたる。札幌からこの石狩川の流路方面を見晴らすとこういった「雲」の表情が日常的に見られるのですね。
　日本海方向からの「偏西風」が吹き流れていて、石狩川の水流から立ち上る上昇気流・水蒸気に接触することで、流路に沿った雲がごらんのように発生するのだと思います。
　ちょうど少年期に観ていた映画「ゴジラ」のような造形のこうした雲にこころが吸い取られていた。
　イマドキは秋の訪れを感じさせるような、やや清涼感のある大気のなかをゴジラの「行進」がゆったりと表れる。いまは地元の三角山のふもとに近い位置から見ているのですが、少年期にはほぼ同じ方向で、北大植物園の西南側から樹木越しにこのようなゴジラ雲が行進していた。
　まだ150年ほどの時間しか経過していない北海道ですが、今後とも日本人がこの地で暮らしていくとき、いわゆる「民俗」として、こうした雲形の光景というのはそのテーマ素材を提供するのではないだろうか、と夢想することがあります。ちょうど関東平野で「坂東太郎」という雲形がある「民俗」のコアになっていることともつながる可能性がある。
　そういうことが民族史の中に根付いていくとすれば、桃太郎やカチカチ山みたいな民俗伝承性を持ったわかりやすいストーリーが必要かも知れないけれど、現代社会でそういう機縁があるとは思えない。現代人は現代人的なスタイルで、そういった「伝承性」に挑戦していく必要があるのかもしれない。
　案外この写真のような背景のなかでSFとしてのゴジラを実際に歩かせる、ということが民俗に永続していくのにキャッチーであるかも知れない。そんな突き抜けたような発想力が、１世紀くらい経過したら北海道らしい民俗性として評価されるかも知れない。地元民からそういう発想が生み出されてこないモノだろうか、と期待している。妄想だけれど（笑）。


English version⬇

Boyhood Delusion - Ishikari River “Godzilla” Clouds in Ezochi
This is a delusional version of the Nodo-Ache Akari. How about the movie Godzilla rampaging through such a photographic background? A battle between humans and Godzilla like Momotaro (laughs). .......

　I went to see the doctor yesterday, received medication as I was taught, and have been quiet. Thanks to this, the sore throat has gone away clean and clear, and the fatigue from the business trip interview is gradually disappearing, giving me a sense of relaxation.
　I wrote a little about “Gojira Clouds” the other day, but personally, I still remember the various faces of Gojira Clouds in the ocean of my boyhood memories, and it is a scene that always reverberates in my brain. The day before yesterday morning, I suddenly realized that I had taken a distant view from the third floor of our house.
　Our house is located against the southern mountainous area of the Ishikari Plain, with the Asian continent and Russia in the distance. In the morning scene, the right side of the picture is to the east, and the left side is the mouth of the Ishikari River. When we look out from Sapporo toward the Ishikari River, we can see this kind of “cloud” expression on a daily basis.
　I believe that westerly winds from the Sea of Japan blow and flow along the Ishikari River, and when they come into contact with the updrafts and water vapor rising from the water flow of the Ishikari River, clouds along the flow path are generated, as you can see.
　My heart was absorbed by these clouds, which were shaped like the movie “Godzilla,” which I had just watched as a boy.
　In the present day, Godzilla's “march” slowly appears in the slightly cooler atmosphere that reminds us of the coming of autumn. Now I am watching from a position near the base of the local Triangle Mountain, but in my boyhood, in almost the same direction, such a Godzilla cloud was marching through the trees from the southwest side of the North University Botanical Garden.
　Although only about 150 years have passed in Hokkaido, I sometimes dream that when Japanese people continue to live here in the future, such cloud-shaped scenes may provide thematic material for their so-called “folk customs. This may be connected to the fact that in the Kanto Plain, “Bando Taro” cloud formations are the core of a certain “folk custom.
　If such a thing were to take root in the history of a people, it might be necessary to have an easy-to-understand story with folkloric traditions like Momotaro or Kachikachiyama, but I don't think such an opportunity exists in modern society. Perhaps it is necessary for modern people to challenge such “folklore” in a modern style.
　It may be a catchy idea to make Godzilla actually walk as science fiction against the background of this picture, which will be perpetuated in the folklore. Such an out-of-the-box idea may be appreciated as a folklore characteristic of Hokkaido after a century or so has passed. I am hoping that the local people will come up with such an idea. It is just a fantasy (laughs).