水俣紀行／金子 和夫

地域再生おやじの水俣紀行
The Minamata Journey of a Community Revitalization Man

講師を務めている女性農業コミュニティリーダー塾の修了生に会いに、熊本県水俣市に行ってきました。水俣市は公害の町のイメージが強く、これまで旅行したことはありませんでした。しかし、そこには、美しくおだやかな不知火湾、農畜水産物、温泉など、魅力的な地域資源が多く、豊かな風土であることに驚きました。また旅の途中で映画「MINAMATA」の初回上映会に参加することができるなど、思い出深い旅となりました。

I visited Minamata City in Kumamoto Prefecture to see one of the graduates of the Women’s Agricultural Community Leader School, where I work as a lecturer. For me, Minamata had  a strong impression as a city of pollution, so I had never visited the city before. However, in my first trip to Minamata, I was surprised to find that the city had many attractive resources and a rich climate, such as beautiful and calm Shiranui Bay, agricultural, livestock and marine products, and hot springs. In addition, I had a chance to attend the first screening of the movie “MINAMATA” and it made my trip very memorable one.

大学に通った昭和40年代後半は学生運動がさかんで、構内に立て看板やポスターが張られ、ビラを配るヘルメット姿の学生が日常的な風景でした。水俣病も大きなテーマで公開講座や支援活動がありましたが、水俣病や成田空港の闘争などは左翼の学生活動家が主導している印象が強く、学生運動と距離を置いて、関わることなく傍観していました。

When I was a university student in the late 1960s, the student movement was very active. The campus was covered with billboards and posters, and students in helmets handing out leaflets were a common sight. Minamata disease was also a major theme, and there were public lectures and support activities, but I kept my distance from them and watched the movement from the sidelines without getting involved because I had a strong impression that Minamata disease and the struggle for Narita Airport were led by left-wing student activists.

次に水俣市と接点ができたのは、水俣市役所の職員である吉本哲郎氏が書いた「地元学をはじめよう」を読んだことでした。水俣病でばらばらにされた地域コミュニティを再生「もやいなおし」するための、具体的な活動が紹介された地域づくりの名著です。わたしはシンクタンクの地域再生コンサルタントでしたが、この本と巡り合い、地元学の「ないものさがし」から「あるものさがし」の重要性を知り、各地で実践し、大学で学生に紹介してきました。しかし、この本を読んだ時点では地元学と水俣病の関係が頭の中で結びついていませんでした。

My next contact with Minamata City was when I read “Let’s Start Local Studies” written by Mr. Tetsuro Yoshimoto, an employee of Minamata City Hall. It is a famous book on regional development that introduces specific activities to regenerate the local community that was torn apart by Minamata disease and “restore the bond ” between people. When I came across this book, I worked as a consultant for regional revitalization at a think tank, and I learned the importance of “finding what you have” , instead of “finding what you lack in” in local studies. Since then, I have been practicing “finding what you have” in various places and introducing it to students at universities. Now I know, at the time I read the book, the local studies and Minamata disease were not yet connected in my mind.

その後、水俣市が環境先進都市として情報発信したり、水俣市の農畜水産物が紹介されるようになり、水俣市が変わったと感じていました。

After that, Minamata City began to send out information as an environmentally advanced city and Minamata’s agricultural, livestock and marine products were widely introduced. I felt Minamata City had changed.

今回の2泊3日の旅で、自分の中でずっと気にしていた水俣病と水俣市を、修了生と友人たちに案内していただき、学びなおすことができました。映画「MINAMATA」をはじめ、水俣病資料館、水俣病歴史考証館、エコパークみなまたなどで、過去の取組をしっかりと検証、保存していることに感動して、多くの資料や文献を読みました。

During this 3-day trip to Minamata, I was able to relearn about Minamata City and Minamata disease, which had been on my mind for a long time, with the help of friendly and polite guidance by alumni and friends. I read many materials and documents, including the movie “MINAMATA,” and was impressed by the Minamata Disease Museum, the Minamata Disease Historical Museum, and the Eco Park Minamata, where the efforts of the past were carefully examined and preserved.

水俣病は加害者である大企業と被害者である漁民の闘いが原点ですが、水俣市には企業城下町、漁村、農村など、いくつもの地域コミュニティを持っています。そのため、公害問題が地域コミュニティ間の分断を招き、問題が複雑な構造となっていきました。しかし水俣市は水俣病だけでなく、多様な地域コミュニティの日々の生活があり、続けていかなくてはいけないのです。そこから水俣病と地元学のつながりが見えてきました。

The origin of Minamata disease is the struggle between the perpetrators, the large corporations, and the victims, the fishermen. While there are conflicts between these two, the city also has several different communities, such as a corporate castle town,  fishing villages, and farming villages. Therefore, the pollution problem led to a division between the local  communities, and the structure of the problem has become more complex. However, Minamata City is not only about Minamata disease, but it also is a place for daily lives of diverse local communities, which must go on. This is where the connection between Minamata disease and local studies came into view.

その中で特に印象的だったのが、漁民が漁業をできなくなり、ミカン農家に転身した人たちの物語です。ミカン栽培を始めた人たちは、自身が水俣病という病魔に侵されていることから、農薬散布に疑問を持ち、水俣病の被害者が、今度は加害者になってはいけないと声を上げ、農薬を使わないミカンの生産と販売に取り組みました。つまり、水俣病は、公害の加害者と被害者の関係からスタートしましたが、地域社会や環境問題を考えると、すべての人が被害者であり、加害者であるという認識に至っていると感じました。

One of the stories that particularly impressed me was that of the fishermen who turned into mandarin orange farmers after they could no longer fish. Having been affected by Minamata disease themselves, the people who started growing tangerines questioned the spraying of pesticides. They spoke out to prevent the victims of Minamata disease from becoming the perpetrators this time, and worked to produce and sell tangerines without the use of pesticides. This is what the story represents. When we think about the issue of Minamata disease, we base our thinking on the relationship between victims and perpetrators of pollution. However, when Minamata disease is considered as a community and environmental issue, the people in Minamata recognize that everyone involved in the community is both a victim and a perpetrator.

水俣の人々は、かつて壊れてしまったコミュニティを再生し、世界に誇れる環境先進地域づくりに取り組んでいます。また水俣病を支援するため全国から支援に来た人々とその子供たちが定住して、地域に新しい価値を創造しています。難産の子供はよく育つと言われるように、水俣市の未来におおいに期待しています。今回案内してくれたリーダー塾の修了生と友人の皆様に感謝します。

The people of Minamata are working to rebuild their once broken community and create a world class environmentally advanced region. People who came from all over the country to support Minamata disease patients and their children have settled in the city, creating new value for the community. As it is said that children of difficult births grow up well, I have high hopes for the future of Minamata City. I would like to express my gratitude to the graduates of the Leader School and my friends for guiding me through this trip.

Writer　Kazuo Kaneko  
ライター／金子　和夫
金子和夫事務所株式会社（地域ブランド・コンサルティング）
Kazuo Kaneko Office Co.　（Local Branding and Consulting）