明治から大正時代。近代化の波は、山を切り開き道を作り、川には堅固な石橋をかけました。自動車が走り汽車が通り、人々のくらしが便利になる一方で、耶馬渓の自然が損なわれるという新たな心配が生まれました。ここに、近代化を進めながら美しい景観を残してくれた二人の人物がいます。福澤諭吉と平田吉胤。彼らはこの命題にどのように向き合ったのでしょうか。
諭吉が守った景観ー競秀峰ー
「青の洞門」のある競秀峰。ここは中津出身の福澤諭吉が守った景観です。日本の西洋化を説き、近代への道を先導した諭吉は、幼い頃母に連れられ訪れた競秀峰の一帯が売りに出されていることを知りました。乱開発による景観破壊を危惧した諭吉は、私財を投じて土地を買い取り景観を守り抜いたのでした。自然保護、ナショナルトラスト運動の走りと言える活動です。
三階からの眺めー平田邸ー
頼山陽が見出した耶馬渓を、再び世に知らしめたのは地元の名士平田吉胤です。大正12年、耶馬渓を国指定名勝に導いた彼は、自宅の裏山（平田城跡）から周囲を見渡し「これからの耶馬渓には眺望台が必要だ」と考えました。彼が自宅に増築した三階はまさに「眺望台」。窓は大きく三方に開け、名勝指定の景観が座敷の襖絵のように展開します。吉胤の自宅は視点場の大切さを私達に教えてくれます。
産業をおこし、水路をひき、耶馬渓の発展につくした吉胤は、自らが住む平田の集落もデザインしました。新しい駅、郵便局、学校に石橋。神社や寺院も復興しました。彼が手がけた建造物の数々は、やわらかく風景に溶け込んでいます。暮らしを豊かにし、美しい景観を残した吉胤。尊敬の意を込めて、人々は彼を「馬渓翁」と呼びました。集落を望む地に立つ吉胤の頌徳碑（※１）。馬渓翁はいまも町を見守っています。
※１：頌徳碑（しょうとくひ）＝偉人の功績を伝え、誉め讃える文章を刻んだ碑のこと。
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Protecting and Passing Down Yabakei
The Hirata Residence
From the Meiji Period to the Taisho Period, the wave of modernization cut through the mountains to create roads and raised solid stone bridges over the rivers. Automobiles and steam trains began to run through the area, and, while this brought convenience to the lives of the people there, a new concern arose that the nature of Yabakei might be damaged as a result. Two individuals appeared during this time to preserve the beautiful scenery here while moving along with modernization. Their names were Yukichi Fukuzawa and Hirata Yoshitane. How did they deal with this challenge?
The Scenery Protected by Yukichi – Kyoshuho –
Fukuzawa’s Former Residence
Kyoshuho, in which the Ao-no-Domon (Carved Tunnel of Ao) is found, is a piece of the scenery which Yukichi Fukuzawa, a native of Nakatsu, protected. Yukichi, who advocated for the westernization of Japan and led the way down the path to the modern era, learned that the whole region of Kyoshuho, which he had visited with his mother when he was young, had been put on the market. Fearing the destruction of this scenery due to indiscriminate development, he invested his own private funds to buy the land and protect this scenery through to the end. His activities can be thought of as the beginning of nature conservation and the National Trust movement.
A View From the Third Floor – The Hirata Residence –
Hirata Castle Ruins
The person who once again made the Yabakei discovered by Rai Sanyo known to the world was a prominent figure of the area named Hirata Yoshitane. Yoshitane, who led Yabakei to become a nationally designated site of scenic beauty in Taisho year 12 (1923), looked out across the environs from the hill behind his home (the Hirata Castle ruins) and thought, “Yabakei will need an observation platform in the future.” The third floor which he built onto his home was exactly such a platform. Windows open wide on three sides, and the scenery of this designated scenic area unfolds like the art painted on the sliding screens of a formal Japanese room. Yoshitane’s home teaches all of us the importance of viewpoint.
Former Hirata Post Office
The Monument in Honor of Hirata Yoshitane
Yoshitane, who revitalized industry, opened waterways, and devoted himself to the development of Yabakei also designed the settlement of Hirata where he himself lived. He created a new station, post office, school, and stone bridge, and he even restored shrines and temples. The numerous structures he worked on gently blend into the landscape. The people of the area called Yoshitane, who brought affluence to their lives and helped preserve this beautiful scenery, “Bakei-Ou” (Old Man Bakei) as a way of showing their respect. Yoshitane’s shotokuhi (*1) stands on a plot of land overlooking the settlement, and Bakei-Ou continues to watch over the town from this spot even now.
*1: Shotokuhi – Monuments on which compositions conveying and praising the meritorious deeds of great people are carved.
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> episode 5 Creating Roads. Raising Bridges.
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