Everybody knows about the 2011 Tsunami circumstance in Japan. This happened also in Fukushima prefecture, and caused the nuclear plant problem.
Fukushima has a huge prefectural museum which has a plenty of exhibits. Folklore exhibition room which is main interest of
this blog is just as large as a class room, but it shows people’s lives in this
prefecture well.
I extract “Fun of Old Japanese” from the
folklore room in part 1. In part 2, I do it from
the huge history exhibition room. Btw, the museum is located in Aizu-wakamatsu
city which is inland of the prefecture.
巨大な博物館で展示物も豊富です。本ブログのテーマの民俗関係は教室一つより大きいぐらいですが、人の暮らしが良く分かりました。パートⅠでは民俗関係の展示から、パート2では膨大な歴史関係の展示から、人びとの楽しみを拾っていきます。会津若松にあります。
It was a light snow day when I visited in November. It's at the beginning of the snow season.
訪問したのは雪まじりの日でした
There is a full-scale model of a float which is used in the Nihonmatsu lantern festival. People hit drums on its top.
エントランスホールには、二本松提灯祭の太鼓台の実物大モデルがあります。
The sign is folklore in Japanese, but it ”Children’s life in Fukushima” in English. It’s good. The lives in Aizu region where this museum is are shown in this room.
民俗は、”Children’s life in Fukushima”と表示されています。いいですね。この展示室で、会津の人々の暮らしを紹介しています。
Snow and people’s lives in a mountainous region、雪と山国の暮らし
Straw snow boots and coats which were necessities in winter are exhibited.
生活必需品の雪道用履き物・ゲンベイや簑の展示です。
It is written the order who tread down the snow road on the board. It was used until the mid-twenty century. I reckon the hard work strengthened the bond of residents. The photo in the lower right is its tools.
上の板には雪の道を踏み固める役の順番とルールが書かれています。大変ですが、人々のまとまりもできますね。雪踏み俵（右下）は、踏み固めのための藁靴です。
Shovels to remove snow and the saw to cut it show how difficult to live in a snowy area is.
雪下ろしのスコップ･コウシキ、右下は雪挽き鋸。雪国は大変ですね。
Livelihood in a mountainous area、山に生きる人達
What do you think about the old man who sleeps on the straw in the wooden box? I guess he is relaxed. Btw, I thought that the traditional bed for Japanese was only a futon mat before I saw the photo. A futon mat is easy to fold up and gives us a living space.
どうですかね、箱床。暖かいのでしょうか。藁を敷いています。落ち着きそうではありますが、寝床は畳んでコンパクトにするのが、日本の暮らしだと思っていました。
We Japanese like sansai (wild plants in mountain). I can sense his passion to find plants and make money.
ゼンマイを採ります。町に持って行って売るぞ、という一生懸命さが伝わります。
The photo above is festival cuisine. It’s mainly vegetable and is really low fat. Ego is made from seaweed.
祭の日の食事は、山の幸ですね、脂が少ない！左のマカロニサラダは今風です。エゴは、海草のえごを煮て、固めたものです。
The soup called Kozuyu on the right contains taro, carrot, thread konjac and so on in dashi stock soup of scallop. It is the feast of a celebration such as New Year’s Day.
The wooden tub on the left keeps local sushi made from river fish. Those are on sasa grass which give aroma. It’s fun time. They are also low in fat.
右側は、こづゆを入れる大椀の「おおとじ」。こづゆは、お正月などのめでたい時に食べるご馳走で、ホタテ貝柱でとったダシに、里芋・にんじん・糸こんにゃくなどを入れます。
左側は、ハヤなどの川魚の内臓を取ってご飯を詰めて、笹を敷いて漬けたすし桶です。楽しい時間ですね。
Those are typical preserved seafood in mountainous area, like Aizu. Fishes are cooked in soy sauce and sugar (left), or pickled (right). Isabella Bird who travelled Japan by rickshaw in 1878 wrote, “hundreds of pack-horses loaded with salt-fish had turned the tracks into quagmires.” In mountainous regions, seafood was vital protein source and it was a delightful dish for them probably.
Reference: Travel of Isabella L. Bird in 1878, part 8 イザベラバードが見た明治初期の日本（8）
こちらも山国らしい保存食です。貴重なタンパク源でもありますね。明治初期に東京から北海道まで旅をしたイザベラバードは、青森で、塩魚を積んだ馬列が多く通って行くのを見ています。海の魚が大量に運ばれてきたのでしょうね。
Culture of cotton clothes、木綿と衣服の文化
Culture of plant fiber and handmade、植物と手仕事の文化
Creepers which is similar to rattan and bark of broad-leaf trees were used as material of everyday goods. It is cold area, so bamboo don’t grow naturally and cotton is also difficult to grow which were used in other regions.
寒冷な東北では日用品になる竹は自生せず、衣服になる木綿も育てにくかったそうです。会津では、蔓や広葉樹の樹皮を使っていたそうです。
Everyday goods made of creepers. 蔓などで編んだ日用品。
Prayer and festivals in the snow region、雪国の祈りと祭り
People welcome the New Year god politely in the beginning of the year. After snow disappear from their ground, people purify their village; it is the preparation of the agricultural season.
お正月には年神様を丁重に迎え、雪が解けて春が来れば、生業に備えて集落を清めます。
The sacred rope of Houyouji Temple is transformed to a straw dragon, and goes around the village. The dragon bites a head and drives away bad luck (upper right).
法用寺のしめ縄は、藁蛇として地区を廻ります。藁蛇は頭を噛んで厄を払ってくれます。
Delight of the coming of spring、春を告げる神と人
At Hatsuichi (the first market of the year) in January, people play at a Tawara-Biki which is similar to a tug of war. In February, they have Hyakumanben (chanting) rite. In March, they perform lion dance at Higan period. Those are events which signal the coming of spring. In Hinoemata, people hold a local Kabuki performance in May which is late spring in a deep mountainous village.
2月2日の百万遍の藁人形、彼岸に町を巡り賑やかに踊る彼岸獅子、山奥に春の訪れを告げる檜枝岐歌舞伎（5/12）などがありますが、初市（正月）の俵引きは熱い行事です。
Tawara-Biki is an exciting event. 大俵引き（会津坂下町）
Please see the video link that runs in 5 mins. At 3 mins, you can see "The match by men".: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6NQqtQ8syQ
The lion dance in March is performed on the snow ground. However, people are delighted with the warm season which means spring just around the corner.
彼岸獅子、彼岸でも雪がたくさん残っています。でも、春がそこにいることを喜ぶのですね。
Straw crafts and sacred straw ropes、わら細工としめ飾り
Those are exhibited on the center table. Straw is actually near at hand because they are byproducts of rice. They are good heat insulator due to hollow structure, moreover they are recycled as fertilizer. They are utilized as material of various things including tools for religious service.
展示室中央にあります。藁はどこの農村にもあり、中空なので保温性に優れ、使い終わって捨てる時は肥料になるという優れものです。身近な道具であるだけでなく、祈りの場面で欠かせないものです。確かに、日用品であり、祭祀用品です。
Ejiko basket is a bed for a baby.
ベビーベッドのエジコは「嬰児籠」の意で、イチコ、イズミ、イズメ、ツグラとも言われています、と書かれていました。知らなかった。
The ship (upper right), tawara rice containers (lower right) and the shrine (left) for rites are made of straw.
宝船や俵（右）と、オフクラ（お宮、左）も藁で作られました。
Straw horses are made at Tanabata star festival in July. Those are common in Tohoku region.
七夕馬もありました。東北各地にあるそうです。
We can know how people in Aizu region live
in cold winter, how they celebrate the coming of spring and how they utilize
straw. Most of exhibits are not used in daily life now, but I can say they have
led a nice life.
寒い冬の暮らし、雪解けの喜び、手近にある藁を使った道具と祭祀用具、会津の人々の生活を知りました。
Visited in November, 2020
Official website: https://general-museum.fcs.ed.jp/ (in
Japanese), accessed in August, 2021
Previous post (Cattle themed museum in a neighboring prefecture, Iwate): The
Cattle Museum、牛の博物館
Next post (History
of Fukushima): Fukushima Museum(2/2)、福島県立博物館(2/2)
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