Author : Miyamoto Tsuneichi（1907-1981）、著者：宮本常一
Dr. Miyamoto was a folklore scholar who
walked around Japan,
interviewed people how they lived and recorded. He wrote a lot of books and
papers; his entire set of writings consists of 52 volumes.
It is said “The Forgotten Japanese” is
his masterpiece. People’s lives from the latter half of the 19th
century to the first half of the 20th century are written in it. It
was much more difficult to live than now. However, people found fun times. I’ll
highlight them. Those are lost lifestyles.
Although he wrote about each person, I
wrote about each fun thing: working, entertainments, wandering far from home,
lovemaking and studying.
The title of English version is “The
Forgotten Japanese: Encounters with Rural Life and Folklore”; you can buy it on
Amazon (Amazon
| The Forgotten Japanese: Encounters
with Rural Life and Folklore | Miyamoto, Tsuneichi, Irish, Jeffrey |
Ethnic Studies) It’s really worth reading.
宮本常一は、人々の暮らしを発掘し続けた民俗学の大家で、その著作集は52巻に及びます。彼は日本国中を歩き続けました。そして、彼の代表作といわれるのが「忘れられた日本人」です。幕末から昭和初期を生きた人々の生活を聞き取り、それぞれの生き様を記したお薦めの本です。
もちろん、今よりずっと苦しい時代でした。でも、楽しみはありました。それを抜き出していきます。聞き取った人ごとに記載されているのを、勝手ながら日々の楽しみ別に括りなおしました。仕事自体の楽しみ、歌などの芸能・余興、流離う（さすらう）こと、男女間の楽しみ、知る楽しみの五つです。
Fun of working、働く楽しみ
・Mr. Kajita、梶田富五郎翁
Dr. Miyamoto interviewed Mr. Kajita who
went to Tsushima Island and joined building a new hamlet when he was only six
years old (1873). He got on a boat to Tsushima, however he didn’t work. Those
boys were called “Meshi (meals) morai (receiving)”. It isn’t mentioned why they
got on a board. I just guess they relaxed fishermen, or they were regarded as
gods.
Their target was tai fish which has
been high quality fish. They moved to Tsushima from their island which is 300km
away; they wanted to get larger ones. Mr. Kajita talked vividly the fun of
fishing after growing up. They battled with a hooked fish by utilizing
their physical strength and intellect in order to pull it on a boat. He talked
in dialect, “How happy I am when pulling up on a boat, you never imagine! If
you get ten large tai fishes in a day, you feel great. You’d like to drink in
the evening. During a big catch, I didn’t think of earning. I just enjoyed
fishing. I really wondered why everybody didn’t become a fisherman.”
Fishing is a popular hobby, so it’s no doubt it is fun. People who hunt or
harvest creatures (fishermen, farmers, woodcutters and so on) must be happy,
mustn’t they?
It's same even now. 35 year old fisherman (shell diver) said in the TV program (NHK); I wonder why everyone doesn't do this work. It's really fun. <This paragraph was added in December, 2022>
Fishing boats (Photo by Arnold Genthe in 1908) https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/agc/item/2018719612/resource/
Tai fish (sea bream) from photo-ac.com
明治６年、七歳の時に、周防大島から対馬に渡って、浅藻（あざも）の漁村を切り開いた老人の話です。彼は、メシモライ（飯もらい＝仕事をしない）として船に乗った子供の一人でした。（何のために子供を乗せたのか、漁師の気休めか、神なのか、これは記載されていませんでした。）
彼らは鯛を釣る漁師で、大きな鯛を求めて瀬戸内から対馬へ行ったのです。大人になった彼の釣る楽しみが活き活きと描かれています。針にかかった大きな鯛が逃げないように頭と力を駆使して引き揚げます。「引きあげたときのうれしさちうたら―、あったもんじゃない。そねえなタイを一日に十枚も釣って見なされ、たいがいにゃァええ気持ちになる。晩にゃ一杯飲まにゃァならんちう気にもなりまさい。そういう時にゃァ金もうけのことなんど考えやァせん。ただ魚を釣るのがおもしろうて、世の中の人がなぜみな漁師にならぬのかと不思議でたまらんほどじゃった」。釣りは人気の趣味でもありますから、楽しいのは間違いないです。今も、生き物を相手に、自然の中で働く楽しみを持っている人は幸せですね。
【22/12/1 追記】海士の阿部和馬さん（35歳）も、こんな面白い仕事をなぜみんなしないのだろう、と言っていました。海に潜って鮑などを採る仕事です。（「僕が深く潜る訳～愛媛 佐多岬」11月12日放送、NHK・Dearにっぽん）今も共通する思いなのですね。
・Interviewees with literacy、文字をもつ伝承者
Mr. Tanaka who was an elderly farmer lived in Shimane Prefecture contributed to the redeployment of arable land. He talked about his job.
“We are familiar with beauty of the nature, cultivate our land and grow the important foods for the people. I don’t know any other joyful and satisfying work like farming. Some say we are cultivating rain or shine, however, farmers have more leeway than others. After seeding, we can go to onsen hot springs, visit our head temple or relatives; the term continues around two months. We only farmers can be granted it. Then we start planting rice seedlings. After planting, we get rid of weeds in the rice field and take care of cows in the morning. After that, we farmers have naptime, don’t we? After harvesting in autumn, we keep unhulled rice in boxes. We make a few straw sandals in the evening and sleep. We go to temples and boast the trips one another. Agricultural offseason continues almost three months. No other workers have such an offseason.”
He wrote fun
things of farming and their benefit clearly, although he probably overstated.
Reference: Rice
Farming Process and Annual Events 稲作と年中行事
島根に住み、耕地整理に貢献した農家の田中梅治翁は、百姓の楽しみを次のように書き残しています。
「自然の美に親しみつつ自分の土地を耕しつつ、国民の大切な食料を作ってやる、こんな面白く愉快な仕事が他に何があるか、年が年中降っても照っても野良仕事というけれども、百姓ほど余裕の多い仕事が他に何があるか、一旦苗代に種を播いたら植え付けまでの約二か月は温泉行、ご本山参り、さては親戚訪問でき得るのは百姓ではないか、植え付けを終わって朝草を刈り牛を飼ったら昼寝をゆっくり出来得るのは百姓ではないか、秋収穫を終え、籾を櫃に納め置き炉辺に榾（ほた）を燃やしつつ藁細工に草履の二、三足も作ってその日を送り、又仏寺に参詣して自慢を戦わしつつ、殆ど三月の吞気暮らしの出来るのは百姓でなければ真似のできないことではないか」（カタカナは平仮名に置き換え）と書いています。
誇張されていると思いますが、明快に働く楽しみが書かれています。
・Women’s community、女の世間
Women had an exclusive community. The
members talked together and helped one another. The fun things during rice planting
are mentioned. I believed the work was the hardest one while farming before
mechanization, because they had to bend down to plant. But, it’s wrong.
Some sang beside the rice field and
others hit drums. The rhythm enhanced the planting work. The practice continued
until the advanced planting way was introduced in which a straw rope was put in
the field and women planted with regularity. However, they enjoyed chatting
while the rope was set on the new location. They talked a lot; they talked not
only gossips but also harmless dirty talks such as a rice field god peeped them
from the ground. Women chatted likewise while sorting fruit.
女性は、女性同士の世間を持ち、そこで話し合い、助け合っていました。その中で、田植えの楽しみについて書かれています。私は、機械化前の田植えは腰を曲げた作業で一番きつい仕事だと思っていましたが、違いました。
田の畦で歌う人や太鼓を叩く人がいました。音楽（田楽）で、田植えがはかどったそうです。
植え縄をして規律正しく田植えをするようになると田植え唄は止んだそうです。でも、縄を引き直す間には、腰を伸ばし、おしゃべりを楽しみました。よくしゃべります。世間話だけでなく、田の神様が下から覗いているというようなたわいない話やエロ話が続きました。ミカンの選果場でもそんな話になったそうです。
On the other hand, men brought
seedlings to the fields. When the seedlings were not delivered (it meant women
planted quickly), they made fun of carriers. Women enjoyed singing, chatting
and joking while planting. I didn’t know.
It is written, women couldn’t enjoy
rice planting after the efficiency was prioritized or men joined the planting. It
was a women’s community or a chatty one.
また、忙しい田植えでは、苗運びが遅れると、男を馬鹿にしたり、からかったりしました。苗運びは男の仕事でした。田植えをしながら、歌って、しゃべって、男をからかって楽しんでいたのですね。
請負になってスピードを上げたり、男も田植えをするようになったりして、「田植がたのしみで待たれるような事はなくなりました」と書かれています。女の世界、おしゃべりを楽しむ世界ですね。
By the way, there were festive rice plantings. Those were held by a wealthy person when they recovered from illness and so on. Dozens of cows, musicians joined it. Many spectators gathered from various areas. The event is performed in Hiroshima Prefecture even now as one of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritages.
Festive rice planting、壬生の花田植 The Cattle Museum、牛の博物館
ところで、金持ちが病気回復などの祝いとして、牛を何十匹も入れ、音頭取りもでる祭りのような田植えもありました。今は広島に伝統行事として残る花田植えですね。あちらこちらから見物に来たそうです。
Previous post (Travel manual published around 200 years before):
Ryokou
Youjin Shu “Things to know while traveling” (published in 1810) (3/3)、旅行用心集 part3
Next post (Second part of this book: entertainments、芸能・余興): The Forgotten Japanese (published in 1960 )(2/6)、忘れられた日本人 part2
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