春の八幡山城の堀を巡る Touring the moat of Hachimanyama Castle in spring
今回は滋賀県近江八幡市にあります八幡堀巡りに行ってきました。
4月入ってすぐに行きました。桜はまだ3分咲きみたいでしたが、舟で八幡堀を巡るのは凄く気持ちよかったです。
折り返し地点では、滋賀県で最初に煉瓦の製造を始めた旧中川煉瓦製造所の煙突が見えます。
日本の近代化を支えた滋賀県の煉瓦工場、“富国強兵”“殖産興業”をスローガンに日本全体が近代化に力を尽くした明治時代、その象徴ともいうべきものが煉瓦を使った建築物でした。ヨーロッパの町並み、とくに日英同盟の関係から、英国風の町並みを模倣することは当時の最先端のモードで、日本中の重要な建築物に大量の煉瓦が用いられました。煉瓦建築の需要が高まると、滋賀県内でもいくつかの煉瓦製造工場が操業を開始しており、そのうちのひとつが、近江八幡にある旧中川煉瓦製造所なのです。
動画内でも見られる煙突は、日本の近代化を支えた旧中川煉瓦製造所ホフマン窯の煙突です。ホフマン窯とは、ドイツ人技師フリードリッヒ・ホフマンによって1858年に特許を取得された、煉瓦を焼くための窯のことを指します。その構造上、連続して大量の煉瓦を焼成するのに適しており、一時は日本全国に50基以上ものホフマン窯が築かれていたと言われています。現存するホフマン窯のなかでも旧中川煉瓦製造所のホフマン窯は最大規模を誇ります。
日本の近代化を支えた煉瓦工場の巨大な窯と煙突が、役目を終えて40年以上もの歳月を経た今も、往時の面影を残しながら奇跡的に同じ場所にたたずんでいます。
#八幡堀めぐり ＃八幡堀 ＃hachimanbori
This time, I went to visit Hachimanbori in Omihachiman City, Shiga Prefecture.
I went right after April started. The cherry blossoms were only about Three‐part bloom, but it was really nice to go around Hachimanbori by boat.
At the halfway point, you can see the chimney of the former Nakagawa Brick Works, which was the first brick manufacturing company in Shiga Prefecture.
Brick factories in Shiga Prefecture supported Japan’s modernization, and buildings made of bricks are a symbol of the Meiji era, when Japan as a whole worked hard to modernize under the slogans of “enriching the country and strengthening the military” and “expanding industry.” was.
Imitating European townscapes, especially British-style townscapes due to the Anglo-Japanese alliance, was the cutting-edge mode at the time, and large amounts of brick were used in important buildings throughout Japan.
As the demand for brick construction increased, several brick manufacturing factories began operations in Shiga Prefecture, one of which was the former Nakagawa Brick Factory in Omihachiman.
The chimney seen in the video is the chimney of the former Nakagawa Brick Works’ Hoffman kiln, which supported Japan’s modernization.
The Hoffmann kiln is a brick kiln patented in 1858 by German engineer Friedrich Hoffmann.
Due to its structure, it is suitable for continuously firing large quantities of bricks, and it is said that at one time there were over 50 Hoffmann kilns built across Japan.
Among the existing Hoffman kilns, the former Nakagawa Brick Works’ Hoffman kiln is the largest.
The huge kilns and chimneys of the brick factories that supported Japan’s modernization have miraculously remained in the same location, retaining the vestiges of the past, even though more than 40 years have passed since their use ended.