Contents
4．Fun of Traveling
People enjoyed not only gathering
but also traveling which was the most joyful thing in their lives. Btw, Japanese people began traveling in the
6th century; they had to bring rice, fabrics and so on to the
capital (Nara, Kyoto) as a tax. Men went to Kyushu (near Korean peninsula) for serving
in the army. In medieval era, ordinary people began pilgrim 1).
In the
peaceful Edo period (1603～1868), people traveled a lot. They made a group to travel because for
safety reasons. They traveled with villagers, however, after leaving the
village, they were free!
The
official purpose of the trip was to visit shrines or temples, but many
entertainment establishments waited for travelers. Isabella L. Bird, who
traveled Japan in 1878 by rickshaw and horse, complained that almost all famous
shrines and temples were surrounded entertainment establishments and red-light
districts 2).
Ise which is the most
popular pilgrimage destination was special. There were records that lads who
lived in Shiga 3) and Fukushima 4) had an experience as an adult during the
pilgrimage to Ise. Onshi invited and welcomed pilgrims, and people enjoyed
extravagantly 5). It was an extraordinary fun time!
People
also pilgrimed to shrines and temples not so far from their village. It was
a one-day trip or a one-week trip. The kou (religious group)
dispatched delegates to the head shrine or temple of their religion, which was
Mt. Fuji and so on, every year. The destinations of the female pilgrimage to
Chichibu in Saitama 7) and the mixed one to Enoshima in Kanagawa 8) were not so
far from their village in Chiba. There was a man who kept annual pilgrimage
expenses for his wife 6), so people especially women would have traveled often.
Meanwhile,
people dutifully visited tourist spots on the way. I think they needed
topics which they talked to villagers after their journey. So, they visited
even the old stone monument all the way.
People
also enjoyed mingling with local people while traveling. For example, old
women exchanged lunch with them and chatted 9).
There was a trip of a hot-spring cure.
People went to a famous onsen hot-spring resort such as Arima in Hyogo
like nowadays. They usually stayed at onsen at least seven days and
cooked by themselves. Therefore, Arima had not only souvenir shops but also
grocery ones to sell food ingredients. Moreover, there have been tourist
attractions for killing time: a temple showed people its valuables and got
admission fee. It’s similar to museums in resorts today 10).
Asama onsen resort developed in the Edo period (1603～1868). There were only three bathhouses in the beginning; one for
the lord, one for his vassals, and the last one for ordinary people. At the end
of Edo period, there were nine public bathhouses; inns were built and visitors
came for hot-spring cure 11). Japanese likes onsen so much.
I was surprised that people walked around 40km a day; they
walked even in a rainy day in order to keep to the schedule. Moreover, they
traveled in a cold season (winter and early spring) because it’s an
agricultural off-season. However, it was the best event for them.
In the case of pilgrimage to Ise Shrine 12), villagers who remained
in the village celebrated the arrival of the delegates on the estimated day and
prayed to the Ise God. Surprisingly enough, the travelers arrived on time. It
was 17-day trip. They were so punctual. On the other hand, a wealth farmer in
Akita walked every day during his 211-day trip (from 4th of March to
8th of October in 1788). He pilgrimaged to Ise, however he also
visited Nagasaki which is around two thousand kilometers away from his village
13). It was an ascetic training?
1) The history of travel of Japanese ordinary people (published in 1971) 1/2、庶民と旅の歴史 PartⅠ
2) Travel of Isabella L. Bird in 1878, part 11 イザベラバードが見た明治初期の日本（11）
8) Yoshino’s daily life 43 (1858、安政5年）、February、2月
9) Remnants of Days Past: A Journey through Old Japan、逝きし世の面影、Fun of the faith and the festival、信仰と祭の楽しみ
10) Historical docs. of Arima Onsen hot spring resort (part4/Final)、 有馬温泉史料･その4
11) Former Yamabe School、旧山辺学校校舎、“Biwa-no-yu” (hot-spring facility)、枇杷の湯
12) Yoshino’s daily life 38 (安政3年1～3月）、January、1月
13) Akita Prefectural Museum (2/2)、秋田県立博物館(2/2)、Edo period、江戸時代
4．旅の楽しみ
個々人には、旅の楽しみがありました。日本の庶民は、律令時代から旅をしました。兵役や納税のための旅です。室町時代になると巡礼も始まりました 1)。
平和が続いた江戸時代には、旅が盛んになりました。当時は行き倒れの回避するために一人旅は嫌われ、村人とのグループ旅行が主流でした。でも、村を出てしまえば、しがらみはぐっと減りますね。
旅の名目は、社寺参詣でしたが、実質的には遊楽の旅でした。明治の初めに日本を旅した英国人女性イザベラバードは、社寺は遊興場に囲まれていて、日本人には信仰心などはないと呆れ返っています 2)。
なかでも、伊勢の遊郭は特別で、近江や檜枝岐などの若者にとっては、そこで大人の経験をするという、通過儀礼の場所でもありました 3)4)。そして、トラベル･エージェントでもある御師の接待で豪勢に遊びました5)。旅はハレの時間です。
関東からの伊勢参りのような遠方への旅行だけでなく、近くの社寺への参詣やご開帳への日帰りの旅も楽しみました。隠居するにあたって、奥さんの物詣で費用を手当した人もいるぐらいですから 6)、頻繁に出掛けたのですね。
関東からの近場の旅として、大山や富士山のように、村から、毎年決まった時期に代参者を出していた旅、女性だけの秩父参詣 7)、男女混合グループでの相模への参詣 8)もありました。
旅に出た村人は、土産話のネタをしっかり集めて帰ってきました。例えば、宮城･多賀城の壺碑（つぼのいしぶみ）は、西行や芭蕉が歌を残した観光スポットですが、まあ普通の石碑です。みんなが見るから話題になって、外せない訪問先になったのだと思います。旅の話題で、帰村後の宴会を盛り上げたいですよね。
旅先では、地元の人達とお弁当の交換などをして交流を楽しんでいます9)。旅先の民家に泊めてもらうこともありました。
湯治の旅もあります。有馬温泉には庶民も出掛けました。7日単位の湯治です（一回りといいます）。有馬には、宿だけでなく自炊用の食材や土産物を売っている店があり、暇つぶしに出掛ける名所旧跡や、宝物を見せるお寺（今なら博物館ですね）もありました 10)。
松本市の浅間温泉では湯治場が賑わっていった様子がよく分かります。江戸初期には、三つの浴場（殿様、家臣、庶民用）だったのが、江戸末期には共同浴場が9箇所、宿もできて他所からも湯治客が来るようになりました 11)。日本人は温泉好きですから。
ところで、その頃の旅は、毎日、40kmほど歩きました。しかも、予定を守って雨の日でも歩きました。そして、多くの人が旅をするのは、寒い冬から早春です。農閑期ですからね。それでも、旅は一番の楽しみでした。
お伊勢参りでは、残った村人が、代参者の伊勢への到着の予定日に集まってお祝いをして、天照大神にお祈りしました。驚いたのは、代参者はスケジュールを守って歩き、その日にきちんと伊勢に着いていたことです 12)。211日にわたり毎日歩き続けた修行のような旅をする人もいました。秋田の上層農民です。伊勢参りは1788年の3月4日から10月8日までの旅で、長崎まで足を延ばしました 13)。
5．Fun of eros (loving)
Loving and sex acts are basic human
needs and fun. There
were many opportunities to fulfill the needs in an urban area such as Tokyo and Osaka. There
were not only red-light districts but also night markets which supplied meeting
places. The night market was held almost every day in front of shrines or
temples 1). It could be said that the urban area was a paradise.
In the rural area, there
were not so many opportunities. However, they made chances and events to enjoy
under the loose rule or habit. Yo (night) -bai (crawling) was a common custom across Japan until
around 70 years ago, in which a man stole into a girl’s room at night. They
enjoyed freely and didn’t have to keep their chastity 2).
Although few people recorded their
sex acts, folklorists started interviewing and recorded in the end of the 19th
century. There are unbelievable stories, for example, a man competed in singing
with a female pilgrim for sex 3).
On the other hand, there
was an elegant meeting place. In Shibaori-yakushi (deep mountain in Kochi prefecture), young men and
women gathered on the festival day and competed in creating short poems. They
exchanged the poem and someone stayed overnight together. A lady showed an
incomprehensible poem; if a man found the meaning, he visited her 4). It was
not only a raw desire. They enjoyed sex acts like nobles in the ancient era.
https://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/1305495
5．性愛の楽しみ
性愛は、人間の基本的欲求であり楽しみです。江戸や大阪では出会いの機会が多く、性愛の楽しみでもパラダイスでした。遊郭だけでなく、毎日のようにどこかで開かれている縁日も男女の出会いの場になっていました 1)。
農山村部でも、出会いの機会や、性愛を楽しむ行事を作って、厳しくはないルールのもとで楽しんでいました。何しろ夜這いは全国的に行われていましたから。恋人は一人という貞操観念にはこだわらず、比較的自由に楽しんでいたのです2)。このようなことを実名で書き残す人は少ないのですが、明治時代のことは聞き取り調査が行われているのでよく分かります。巡礼に来た女性と、体をかけて歌合戦をしたという信じ難い話も残っています3)。
一方で、雅な出会いの場もありました。高知の山奥の柴折薬師では、祭の日に若い男女が集まりました。「なぞの歌を残した女にたいして、男に心があればその歌を解いて訪ねて行くという。またその場での歌問答で二人の意志が通じれば、一夜の契りも許されたという」と書かれています4)。むき出しの欲望だけでなく、古代の貴族のように知的に性愛を楽しんでいました。
Previous post (Part2): What did Japanese do for
fun more than 100 years ago? 昔の人々の楽しみとは? （vol.1/r.2、two of four/その2）
Next post (Part4): What did Japanese do for fun more than 100 years ago? 昔の人々の楽しみとは? （vol.1/r.2、four of four/その4）
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