庄川流域における大規模開発と観光化による地域変化 : 研究史と開発史との関わりを中心に

本稿は，五箇由と白川郷に計３ヶ所の世界遺産登録地域を有する庄川流域を事例として，観光化の進展によって忘れられていった開発の歴史と研究史をあらためて見直し，かつての山村生活の様子を思い起こす試みをおこなったものである。現在の五箇山と白川郷においては，世界遺産に登録された相倉集落，菅沼集落，荻町集落の合掌造り民家ばかりが注目されているが，かつては庄川流域一帯で同様の民家に住み，焼畑や養蚕を中心とした生活を営んでいた。それが，1920年代からのダム開発とそれに伴う道路改良事業によって合掌造りの屋根を下ろす民家が急増し，その一方で生活水準の格差が拡大して，離村・廃村が相次いだ。また，研究上においても，1900年頃から合掌造り民家の起源に注目が集まっており，その後，ダム開発に対する住民の対応や生活様式の変化に関心が移っていった。ダム開発は，庄川流域の集落を農業主体の生活から土木建設業や商業，サービス業中心の生活へと変えていき，さらに第二次世界大戦後から本格化した合掌造り民家の文化財保護や，1970年における相倉集落と菅沼集落の史跡指定は観光化を促進させた。そして，研究上の関心も合掌造り集落の景観保護や観光化の影響へと移行したため，かつての山村生活は忘れられていった。しかし，そのことは観光化以前の生活を経験してきた世代に違和感を抱かせる要因となっている。By reviewing the course of research and the history of development that has faded away with the promotion of tourism, this article aims to recall the past life in mountainous villages. To this end, the Sho River Basin, including Gokayama and Shirakawa-go with three World Heritage sites, is analyzed as a case study. Although now in Gokayama and Shirakawa-go, attention focuses on farmhouses with steep thatched roofs in Ainokura, Suganuma, and Ogimachi villages designated as World Heritage sites, similar farmhouses used to be common throughout the Sho River Basin, where people mainly engaged in slash-and-burn agriculture and sericulture activities. Due to the dam development since around the 1920s, followed by road improvement projects, a rapidly increasing number of households abandoned steep thatched roofs. Moreover, as the gap in the quality of life between each of the villages was growing, many villages were depopulated and abandoned. On the other hand, around 1900, researchers focused their attention on the origin of farmhouses with steep thatched roofs, and then they shifted their interests to the response of residents to the dam development and the changes of their lifestyle.The dam development transformed the lifestyle of villagers in the Sho River Basin; agriculture fell into decay while the construction, commerce, and service sectors were growing. In addition, cultural property protection activities for farmhouses with steep thatched roofs gained momentum after World War II, and Ainokura and Suganuma villages were designated as historic sites in 1970, which further promoted tourism. Researchers also shifted their attention to the landscape preservation of villages with farmhouses with steep thatched roofs as well as the impact of tourism. Thus, the past life in mountainous villages has been forgotten. These trends, however, are hard for the generations who experienced the life before the advent of tourism to follow