伝統食にみる「食」の社会的役割
忘れてはならない重要なつながり
これまで解説したように「食べる」という行為には、三つの局面があった。①ひとつにはエネルギーや栄養を摂取する自然界内での営み、②つぎに商品として経済をまわし人の社会的役割とその人間関係を形づくる営み、③そして食物の生産地および廃棄の現場でみられる自然界と人間社会とをつなぐ営みがあった。
「食べる」という命の根幹をなす行為に欠かせない感謝のこころは主に第三の営みから育まれ、いまや「モッタイナイ精神」として日本にとどまらず世界に知られることとなった。古くから伝わる日本の自然観が世界からも注目されたといえよう。
米と魚を中心に摂る日本の伝統的食生活の形成は、稲作の伝来から今日に至るまで、様々な役割を担いながら継承されてきた。 約3000年前に朝鮮半島を経由して北九州地方に伝来し、後に東へと伝格していったといわれている稲作は、日本の地理的条件に適合したことで、国家的事業として行なわれると共に、稲作文化を形成していった。明治維新にいたるまでに、米は食物としてだけでなく「年貢」としても扱われ、封建的な土地制度や村社会の形成、ひいては国家形成を担った。
また、各地に伝承される祭りや踊りは村人の結束を保つ役割があり、その起源は五穀豊穣を祈願する儀式であったと考えられている。 周囲の自然環境との循環を担う機能として、水田は重要な役割を果たしてきた。
そこに生息する微生物をはじめ昆虫、小動物などの命を支え、それらの生物の多様性によって、隣接する森林もその機能を保つことができた。森林を保つことで沿岸に魚を集め、その繁殖と保護をはかることができた。このような自然の循環の中に組み込まれた水田で稲作をおこなっていた人々は、長年の経験と伝承から森林の保水力が稲作には必要不可であることを知り、森林を敬い、そこに社を設けて大切に管理した。
沿岸で漁業を営む人々も森林をかけがえのないものとして、魚の臓物などを肥料として提供するというバランスのとれた森と海の間の循環を形成していた。 このように、伝統的食生活に欠かせない米は、食物や商品作物としての役割のほかに、人間同士をつないで村や国を形成するという社会的役割をもち、また稲作や漁携という生業を通して、森林の保水力と生物の多様性を維持する暮らし方や、そこにある伝承文化や宗教儀礼を形成した。
よって、各地方の伝統的食文化は風士に根差した人間社会と自然界の間にあるつながりの上にあり、その土地に存在している社会的で経済的な側面と、文化的で宗教的な側面に深くかかわりながら形成されてきたといえる。
Important connections that should not be forgotten
As explained so far, there were three aspects of the act of eating. (1) There were activities in the natural world that ingested energy and nutrition, (2) activities that shaped the social roles of people and their relationships by turning the economy around as commodities, and (3) activities that connected the natural world and human society, as seen in the production and disposal sites of food.
The spirit of gratitude, which is indispensable for the act of “eating,” which forms the basis of life, was mainly nurtured from the third activity, and is now known not only in Japan but also in the world as the “Mottainai spirit.” It can be said that Japan’s view of nature, which has been handed down since ancient times, has attracted attention from around the world.
The formation of Japan’s traditional diet centered on rice and fish has been inherited from the introduction of rice cultivation to the present day, playing various roles. Rice cultivation, which is said to have been introduced to the Kitakyushu region via the Korean Peninsula about 3,000 years ago and later spread to the east, was carried out as a national project and formed a culture of rice cultivation because it was adapted to the geographical conditions of Japan. By the time of the Meiji Restoration, rice was treated not only as food but also as an annual tribute, and played a role in the formation of feudal land systems and village societies, as well as the formation of nations.
In addition, festivals and dances handed down in various regions play a role in maintaining the unity of the villagers, and it is believed that their origin was a ritual to pray for a bountiful harvest of five grains. Paddy fields have played an important role as a function of circulation with the surrounding natural environment.
It supports the lives of microorganisms, insects, and small animals that live there, and the diversity of these organisms has allowed adjacent forests to maintain their functions. Maintaining forests allowed them to attract fish along the coast, breed and protect them. The people who cultivated rice in the paddy fields that were incorporated into such natural cycles learned from many years of experience and tradition that the water-holding capacity of forests is not necessary for rice cultivation, so they respected the forests and established shrines there to carefully manage them.
Coastal fishermen also regarded the forests as irreplaceable, forming a well-balanced cycle between the forest and the sea, providing fish offal as fertilizer. In this way, rice, which is indispensable for traditional diets, has not only played a role as a food and commodity crop, but also has a social role of connecting people to form villages and countries, and through the livelihoods of rice cultivation and fishing, it has formed a way of life that maintains the water-holding capacity and biodiversity of forests, as well as traditional cultures and religious rituals.
Therefore, it can be said that the traditional food culture of each region is based on the connection between human society and the natural world rooted in the fushi, and has been formed while being deeply involved in the social, economic, cultural and religious aspects that exist in the area.