講道館正面の嘉納治五郎師範の銅像に関しては、見たことのある方も多いと思いますが、師範の銅像は、その他にも嘉納師範とゆかりの深い場所数か所に立っています。今回は、我孫子の天神山緑地に建てられた銅像と、その背景をご紹介します。文＝灘中学・高等学校長 和田 孫博嘉納治五郎先生グローバル人材のロールモデルⅩⅨ．我孫子の別荘と手賀沼保勝会 ２０２０年（令和２年）４月、千葉県我孫子市の天神山緑地に嘉納治五郎の銅像が建てられた。東京高等師範学校跡地、講道館、筑波大学、灘中学・高等学校などに立っているのと同じ銅像だ。この銅像の型の作者は日本のロダンと呼ばれた朝倉文夫氏。嘉納と交流のあった朝倉は１９３６年、１９４０年のオリンピック東京大会招致成功を祝ってこの像を制作した。現在は台東区の朝倉彫塑館にこの型が保存されているが、朝倉は「嘉納とゆかりの深いところにしか像を建ててはいけない」と遺言したそうである。嘉納は１９１１年（明治44年）我孫子の手賀沼を見下ろす高台に別荘を建て、頻繁に休養に訪れた。その縁で銅像の建立が認められたのである。 別荘の建築と同時に、嘉納は自らが理想とする学校を設立するための校地を我孫子に購入した。地元の史家の説によると、嘉納は英国の有名なパブリックスクール、イートンカレッジを手本とする全寮制の学校を作ろうとしており、ロンドン郊外のテムズ川畔にあるイートンの風景を思わせる手賀沼畔のこの地を選んだということだ。しかし、この頃はアジアで初めてのＩＯＣ委員に選ばれ、日本がオリンピックに参加するために各種のスポーツ団体をまとめる大日本体育協会（現日本スポーツ協会）の設立に尽力していた時期で、多忙のため学校設立の夢はかなわず、その地は農園として貸し出された。 我孫子の手賀沼畔は、土浦線（現常磐線）で東京都心と１時間あまりで結ばれて以降、風光明媚な別荘地として人気が出てきた。嘉納は自分の知人や後輩たちも熱心に勧誘している。そのなかには、東京帝国大学教授の村川堅固や朝日新聞記者の杉村楚人冠もいた。１９１９年（大正８年）に国は手賀沼の干拓計画を打ち出した。手賀沼の美しい景観を愛した杉村は、嘉納や村川や地元の名士に呼びかけて、手賀沼保勝会を結成した。この会は「一度破壊された自然は元の姿に戻すことは難しい」と訴え、景観保護を行いながら高級住宅地として発展させることを目指した。その結果、１９３５年（昭和10年）Kano, who liked the land of Abiko, had his niece, Yanagi Sueko, set up a villa next to his villa. Kano named it "Sanjuso" because three “shii” trees (a kind of beech tree) were on the premises. Before long Sueko got married and moved away, so the villa was vacant for a while. In 1914 (Taisho 3) her younger brother, Yanagi Muneyoshi, who was a nephew of Kano, went there as newlyweds with his wife, Kaneko, a vocalist. It is said that while experiencing the nature and heritage on Lake Teganuma, Muneyoshi further developed his thoughts on advocating the folk crafts movement.Yanagi was a member of the "Shirakaba-ha". This group was responsible for "Shirakaba", a coterie magazine that was rst published in 1910 (Meiji 43) by Shiga Naoya and Mushanokoji Saneatsu, who were students of the Gakushuin School, by inviting their friends from the school. Yanagi wrote articles introducing Western art and drew illustrations. In addition, he left the following description about the virtues of Abiko. “It was a good decision for me to come here. This place isolates me from all the useless hustle and bustle and gives me a new warmth. …... My house overlooking Lake Teganuma stands on a hill surrounded by trees. The morning sun loves to shine here providing especially beautiful light and heat.”In 1915 (Taisho 4), Shiga Naoya moved to Abiko in response to Yanagi's enthusiastic invitation. There Shiga wrote "At Kinosaki", "Reconciliation", and the first half of his masterpiece "Dark Night Route". Furthermore, in 1916 (Taisho 5), Mushanokoji Saneatsu moved there. Though he founded "New Village" and moved to Miyazaki two years later, at Abiko he wrote "Yamato Takeru" and other works. In addition, Bernard Leach, an Englishman who interacted with them, moved to Abiko and made a kiln in the backyard of Yanagi's house, and took his first steps as a potter. Reach became lifelong friends with Yanagi and returned to Japan in 1934 (Showa 9) to cooperate with him to establish the Japan Folk Crafts Museum.Yanagi left Abiko in 1921 (Taisho 10) and Shiga in 1923 (Taisho 12), and after the August 1923 issue was published, “Shirakaba” was forced to cease its publication due to the Great Kanto Earthquake. The activity of the Shirakaba-ha in Abiko lasted less than 10 years. However, Abiko City has preserved the site of Shiga Naoya's residence and built the Shirakaba Literary Museum opposite it in order to honor their activities.Sugimura often held an “Abiko Roundtable” by calling on local celebrities to develop and improve Abiko. Kano Jigoro joined the group, and sometimes he rented his villa to the venue.Also, when the bid for the 1940 Olympic Games Tokyo was decided, the Abiko people asked Kano to push for Lake Teganuma to be the venue for the rowing competition, and Kano did all he could. In the end, it was decided to set up a new articial course in Toda, but Kano’s love for Lake Teganuma can be seen from this episode.ⅩⅩ. Kano's nephew, Yanagi Muneyoshi and the Shirakaba-ha members28まいんど vol.29
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