宮沢賢治記念館 - 宮沢賢治と農業 Kenji Miyazawa Memorial Museum - Miyazawa Kenji and Agriculture

 

宮沢賢治は、質屋や古着屋などの事業を営む花巻の名家に生まれたたが、盛岡中学校を卒業後、盛岡校等農林学校に入学し、その後、亡くなるまで農業に関わり続けた。

宮沢賢治記念館の最後の展示は、賢治と農業との繋がりを紹介する展示だった。

宮沢賢治は、学校で得た農業科学の知識を使い、地元の農家を助けることに、その後の半生を捧げた。

Miyazawa Kenji was born into a prominent family in Hanamaki that ran a pawnbroker and second-hand clothing store, but after graduating from Morioka Junior High School, he enrolled in Morioka Agriculture and Forestry School and continued to be involved in agriculture until his death.

The final exhibit at the Miyazawa Kenji Memorial Museum was an exhibit showcasing Kenji's connection to agriculture.

Miyazawa Kenji dedicated the rest of his life to using the knowledge of agricultural science he gained at school to help local farmers.

しかし、単に農業の知識で農家を助けるだけでなく、羅須地人協会という組織を立ち上げて、肥料などの知識を伝えたり、地元の人々にレコードでヨーロッパの音楽を聴かせたり、自らはチェロなどの楽器を演奏する楽団を作ったりした。

『農民芸術概論綱要』という文章では、農民のような日々の労働に携わる人たちこそ、芸術の恩恵を預かるべきである、という主張を展開している。

少し前の時代になるが、イギリスのウィリアム・モリスも、工場労働者こそ、日々の生活の中で芸術に親しむべきだ、という思想に似ている。

However, he didn't just help farmers with his agricultural knowledge; he founded an organization called the Rasu Jijin Association to teach them about fertilizers, play European music on records for local people, and even formed an orchestra playing instruments such as the cello.

In his essay "An Outline of Peasant Art," he argues that it is people who work daily, such as farmers, who should be the ones to benefit from the arts.

A little earlier, the British writer William Morris also held a similar idea that factory workers should be familiar with art in their daily lives.

宮沢賢治は、その後、友人の誘いから東北粉石工場に技師になった。肥料を作るための施設だが、賢治はおそらくそこでの経験をもとに、『グスコーブドリの伝記』を書いた。

その物語の中で、主人公の若き技師グルコーブドリは、冷害に苦しむイーハトーヴの人々のために、自分が犠牲になって火山を人工的に爆発させ、人々を救う。

それは、宮沢賢治が理想とする生き方だったのかもしれない。

賢治は、1933年に37歳の若さで亡くなった。その死の直前、夜遅くまで農民たちの相談を引き受けていたという。

Later, Miyazawa Kenji was invited by a friend to work as an engineer at the Tohoku Powdered Stone Factory. It was a facility for producing fertilizer, and Kenji likely based his experiences there on his writing of "The Biography of Gusuko Budori."

In the story, the protagonist, a young engineer named Gusuko Budori, sacrifices himself to artificially erupt a volcano and save the people of Ihatov, who are suffering from cold damage.

This may have been Miyazawa Kenji's ideal way of life.

Kenji died in 1933 at the young age of 37. It is said that just before his death he was consulting with farmers until late into the night.