017.高田 02.雁木
017.Takada 02.Gangi (Japan)

2023年2月1日

日本有数の豪雪地、高田で、各家の正面に差し出した庇をつなげて歩廊にしたものが雁木。

In Takada, one of Japan's heaviest snowfall places, the Gangi is an arcade that connects the eaves protruding in front of each house.

仲町通りの北部の雁木。
See Gangi in the northern part of Nakamachi-dori street.
https://goo.gl/maps/SzTX98Sj5mzMfnoy8

雁木は、冬、雪を避けて、人の往来を可能にした優れた都市的仕掛け。雁木の立つ場所は私有地で、市民が公のために差し出した空間が、最盛期には18キロ、今も13キロ残り、高田市民の公精神の高さを伝えます。

初めて高田を訪れたとき、伝統的な木造の雁木が、鉄骨造や現代風に変わっているのを見て、嘆かわしく思いましたが、人間は成長し、寛容になるもの。久しぶりに訪れると、さまざまな時代、構造、デザイン、高さが混在する雰囲気が、無理にコントロールせず、人の営みをダイレクトに映し出した仕掛けとして、愛おしく見えるようになりました。

ほとんどの伝統的雁木は、母屋の前に庇を取り付けた「落とし式」ですが、古い形式は、文化財指定の「旧今井染物屋」のように、歩廊の上に住居を載せた「造り込み式」。不思議なことに、最近の建物には、２階から上を張り出して、その下を歩廊に公開したものがあり、今風ながら「造り込み式」に先祖返り。新しい家の雁木が、２層近い高さなのは、豪雪地域の特例で、基礎の高さが1.8mまで認められ、その上の１階の窓に合わせて庇が高くなったため。

問題は、空き家が壊されると、家とともに私有の雁木も消えてしまうこと。お年寄りが「昔は、家から学校まで、傘も差さずに行けたのに」と嘆いていましたが、雪の時期に歩くと、雁木の途切れた場所に、突然雪溜まりが現れ、凍結で滑りやすく、雁木が機能しません。私有地への介入を控える役所の姿勢は高田でも同じで、助成金によるお願いという形のため、歯抜けを押しとどめる力は弱く、雁木の将来は明るいとは言えない状況。

Gangi is an excellent urban device that allows people to come and go while avoiding the snow in the winter. The Gangi is a privately owned space, and the citizens provided it for public use. The distance of the Gangi was 18 km at its peak, and still remains 13 km, showing the magnificence of the public spirit of the Takada citizens.

When I first visited Takada, I was saddened to see the state that traditional wooden Gangis were replaced into steel-framed or modern Gangis. However, everyone grows up and becomes more tolerant. When I visited after a long time, I came to appreciate a mixture of Gangi of various eras, structures, designs, and heights. Those were a device that directly reflected human activity without forcibly controlling.

Most traditional gangis are the otoshi-shiki style, which eaves were attached in front of the main building. Meanwhile, the old gangis are the tsukurikomi-shiki style, which placed the dwelling space on top of the gangi. The representative one is the Imai dyeing shop designated as a cultural property. Strangely, some recent buildings have an overhang part from the second floor, and the lower part is open to the public in the arcade corridor. It was a throwback to the contemporary "tsukurikomi-shiki style." The gangi of the new house is nearly two stories high. Because, a special regulation in heavy snowfall areas allows to raise the foundation height up to 1.8m. Therefore, the eaves become higher to match the windows on the first floor.

The problem is that the privately owned Gangi disappears when a vacant house is pulled down. An aged man used to lament that they could go from home to school without an umbrella in his childhood. In the snowy season, a place where Gangi breaks off is slippery, and gangi system doesn't work. The city government's stance of refraining from intervening in private land is the same in Takada. The government doesn't force Gangi but ask a favor to establish by subsidy. The power to stop toothless state is weak. The future of Gangi cannot be said to be bright.