Akiyama-gou community hall (1/2)、秋山郷総合センター・とねんぼ（その１）

Akiyama-gou in central Japan (boundary area of Nagano and Niigata prefecture) is deep in mountains. It was an unexplored site “hikyo/秘境”. A legend has that defeated samurai escaped there and hided in the medieval era. Hunters from northern Japan (Akita prefecture) settled there later.

The folklore exhibition room in the community hall shows us life in the mountainous area well. The hall is named “Tonenbo”; it is a dialect which means “fusion”. Locals hope the center becomes a venue in which various people gather.

秋山郷は長野・新潟県境の中津川渓谷沿いの13集落から成ります。平家の落人伝説がある中世の隠田百姓村であり、秋田からマタギがやって来て定着した村でもあります。

「とねんぼ」は物と物とが溶け合い粘り着くさまの方言。多くの人が集まることを願って付けたセンター内の民俗資料室の愛称。山村文化がしっかり紹介されています。

 

The folklore exhibition area is just inside the entrance.

センターに入ると資料室エリアがあります。

 

Slash-and-burn agriculture and food culture、秋山郷の焼き畑耕作と食の文化

Akiyama-gou consists of thirteen small villages. Although villages in Niigata area had rice field in even in the Edo period (1603～1868), rice field was developed in 1872 in Nagano area. So, locals relied on slash-and-burn agriculture and grew millet until then.

越後秋山には江戸時代から水田がありましたが上流の信州秋山での開田は1875（明治8）年。それまでは焼き畑をして粟などの雑穀を育てていました。

The rope was made from Japanese linden; horse and cattle don’t eat them. So, those were used as reins. Those were strong enough to be used as building materials. The local government (han, in the Edo period) required them as tax. The villages had poor land, however, tax was imposed.

科（しな）の木から作った科縄。牛馬が食べないので手綱に用いられ、強いので建築用にも用いられました。そして、飯山藩へ貢納する品でもありました。田のない山村でも課税は免れません。

The farming calendar of slash-and-burn agriculture in the old days is interesting.

The ground, which was covered with snow, shows up in the latter half of April. The festival praying for good crop was held on the 23^rd of April. Seeding to existing burned field started in the first half of May.

Trees in the farming area for the next year were cut down in the late July; the area was burned. Seeding was done in the new field.

October was the harvest time; the harvest festival (toukanya) was held on the 10^th of November. Then, the first snow falls, and a long winter started.

The panel on the left shows varieties of millet. Some were drought-resistant; residents planted various kinds of millet to live stably.

焼き畑の農事暦です。

雪融けが４月の中旬から下旬。秋山郷は日本有数の豪雪地域です。４月23日に豊穣を祈る丸山風ノ三郎様祭り。５月上旬から中旬に既存の焼き畑に播種。

翌年の畑を作るため７月下旬に山林伐採、火入れ。８月上旬に新焼き畑に播種。

10月に収穫。11月10日に収穫祭の十日夜。その後、初雪が降り12月上旬には根雪になる。冬が長いですね。

雑穀の粟と黍は旱魃などの災害に強いだけでなく、モチとウルチがありました。右のパネルには植え付け品目が詳細に書かれています。

Millets (awa and hie) are hung at right. Ear tips which have grains were dried over fireplace (irori) for 2 days (picture on the left). Be careful with fire!

右側に吊されているのが粟や黍です。穂先を切り取って囲炉裏の上で２昼夜ほど干しました。火の用心が大切ですね。

After drying, millets were hit by bent sticks (below); grains were collected. It is written on the previous photo, “After having supper, we could hear the sound of hitting from other houses. The sound enhanced our work. We ate millet back then. Rice was served to a sick person and guests. We could eat rice only on festive day. Now is the time of abundant materials including foods, so it would be difficult to imagine the life back then. It was an unforgettable time.” The memory written about the exhibits is impressive.

写真・下は乾燥した穀物の実をたたき落とす棒（ベエ）です。臼と杵を使って実を落とすこともありました。ひとつ前の写真の絵の下には

「夕食後、どこの家でもトントントンとクドこなしの音がし、それが各家庭の励みにもなった。当時は雑穀が主食であり、白いご飯は病人、来客、祝祭日以外は食べられなかった。あり余る物質に恵まれた現代では想像できがたく、往時をしのび感無量である」と書かれています。思い出とともに展示されているのがいいですね。　

Cooking millet. Millet was cooked with vegetable and wild grasses (katemeshi). Millet and beans were grinded into powder; they were boiled with vegetable and were seasoned with salt (porridge). Baked cake and steamed bun were also made; those were eaten as breakfast or portable food (bento).

On the festive day, soba noodle was made. However, leaf (oyamabokuchi, lower right) and seaweed were used as binder instead of wheat flour; wheat could not be cultivated there. I felt as if I had heard from a villager; explanation is so elaborate.

収穫した雑穀の調理：雑穀は野菜・野草と混ぜた糧飯（かてめし）として食べられました。また、粟・黍・トウモロコシ・小豆などの粉と野菜を混ぜて炊き、塩で味付けして粥（カキツボウ）として食べました。ちゃなこ（焼き餅）やあんぽ（饅頭）にして朝食や携帯食にもしました。

ハレの日は蕎麦を打ちましたが、小麦を作れなかったので植物（オヤマボクチ）の繊維と布海苔をつなぎに用いています。拡大写真の右がオヤマボクチの葉、左が蕎麦の実。説明がとても詳しく、経験者からヒアリングしたように感じました。

なお、オヤマボクチを使った蕎麦は、現在でも食べられます。

A tub for salt is set on a barrel for miso-paste. Locals have made almost all necessities by themselves, however, they bought salt from coastal areas. Bittern dripped from salt was used to make tofu.

上が塩の桶、下が味噌桶。なんでも作る秋山郷の人たちですが、塩は日本海から取り寄せました。塩からしたたるニガリは豆腐の作りに用いました。

The tools above were used while making tofu. It says, “All works were done with neighbors (collaborative work group, yui).” People in old days chatted while working; it would be joyful!

豆腐の作りに使われた道具。「一連の作業はすべて、隣近所の共同作業（結/ゆい）で行われた」と書かれています。ワイワイガヤガヤだったのでしょうね。みんなで働くと楽しいです。

The tools at lower right were used while peeling horse chestnut. It says, “While working, they laughed aloud without any hesitation. --- It was a chance for women to talk with openly, ant to exchange information.” After working, “Women served their home cooking (pickled vegetable, fried beans, pumpkin seeds and so on). They drank tea and enjoyed endless chatting.” It is also written, “Snow fell calmly outside, but women continued talking. The night time in Akiyama was going by.” They lived in an unwealthy area, but I’m confident they were happy.

栃の実むきに使われた道具（右下）と作業の説明。「誰彼はばからない嬌声、天下太平賑やかな笑い声･･･（中略）･･･女衆にとっては遠慮もへったくれもない雑談の場でもあり、情報交換の場でもあった」。作業の後は「当家のカカア自慢の手料理、漬菜、たくあん、カボチャ種と、豆いり、その他が「ジロブチ」の上に並び、渋茶をすすりながら尽きることなく雑談の花が咲く。外はしんしんと雪が積り女衆の積る話に秋山の夜は更けて行ったものであります」と書かれています。幸せな時間ですね。

Full-scale living room is displayed. Straw snow shoes are set on the shelf above the fire place (irori). Outfits were dried above the fire place because of heavy snow in winter. The panels before told us locals enjoyed life (mainly chatting) even in such a difficult housing environment. Two straw cat houses are set in front of the fire place.

実物大の囲炉裏部屋が展示されています。囲炉裏の上の火棚で干しているのは藁の雪ぐつなど。積雪のため室内干し。大変ですね。

しかし、慣れていれば気にすることもなく会話を楽しんでいたのでしょうね。囲炉裏の前には猫つぐら。

Beddings are displayed at the left. Locals worn the indigo overcoat (kaimaki) and slept. It is written in the panel, “Even in snowy Akiyama-gou, the bedding made people stay warm”. A book issued in 1837 (“Hokuetsu-seppu”) says locals slept in a large straw bag and a couple did in a larger one.

左は夜具のかい巻き。雪深い秋山郷でも「暖かく、寒い冬を過ごすことができた」と書かれています。『北越雪譜』（1837）には人々は大きな叺（かます、藁の袋）に入って寝た、とあるそうです。「妻あるものはかますをひろく作りて夫婦一つかますに寝る」とあります。

Two cotton clothes. Men and women wore such close-fitting trousers except for sleeping; locals wore them in a field, in a forest and in a house.

綿布の股引（モフケ、モモフケ）。「男女とも寝るとき以外は山野・田畑・住まいを問わずに履いていた」ものです。

 

 

Visited in July, 2025

 

 

Official website：http://sakae-akiyamago.com/watch/137/ (in Japanese)

 

 

 

 

Previous post (museum in the same village): Sakae Village culture and history museum、栄村歴史文化館 こらっせ

Next post (hunting culture): Akiyama-gou community hall (2/2)、秋山郷総合センター・とねんぼ（その２）(coming soon)