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| 小栗まつりを創る Creating the Oguri Festival |
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| ◆明治以来の供養祭のページはこちらを参照 昔は １０年に一度の「○○年祭式典」だった ◆Click here for the page of memorial services since the Meiji era. It used to be a Celebration Ceremony, held once every 10 years. |
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 ▲模型船ポウハタン号の除幕 1999平成11年5月23日 ▲ Unveiling of the model of the USS Powhatan, May 23, 1999 (Heisei 11) |
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従来の「小栗上野介〇〇年祭」を変えたい We wanted to change the conventional "Kozukenosuke Oguri Anniversary" ◆見直しを提案 住職を継いで顕彰会理事となっていた私は、1996平成８年の顕彰会会議で ・来年の「小栗まつり」から以後毎年開催する ・お金をかけず、来た人が楽しめるおまつりにする ・村内に出店を募集して、手作りのお店を出してもらう ・子供からお年寄りまで誰でも参加できるおまつりとする ことを提案した。 ◆ Proposal to review the ceremony After succeeding my father as the chief priest of Tozenji Temple, I became a board member of the Memorial Society and proposed the following at the 1996 Society meeting: - Hold the festival annually starting with next year's Oguri Festival. - Make the festival that visitors can enjoy without spending a lot of money. - Invite villagers to open stalls and sell their handmade goods. - Make the festival open to everyone, from children to the elderly. ◆否決 しかし提案は受け入れられなかった。顕彰会ではこれまで「小栗上野介〇〇年祭」として実施してきて、それは ・「満○◯年祭」（神葬祭式の名称と数え方）だから１３０年祭は来年（平成９年）ではなく再来年（平成１０年）実施になる。 ・村からの補助金があって実施できるので、それは１０年に一度のこと。毎年実施するには予算がない。 というもの。 Result: rejected However, the proposal was not accepted. They explained the following circumstances regarding the fact that the ceremony had so far been conducted as the "Kozukenosuke Oguri xxth Anniversary": - The 130th anniversary will be held the year after next (1998), not next year (1997), because it is a "full Year Festival" (the name and counting system for Shinto funeral ceremonies). - The village subsidies allow us to hold the ceremony once every 10 years, and we do not have the budget to hold it every year. ◆お金がないー実績もない、自信もない お金に関して言えば、業者にテント・イスをセットし終了後に撤去してもらうだけで数十万円かかる。参加しそうもない近隣市町村長、議長や県議全員、他に関心のありそうな関係者に招待状を出すから、郵送料と返信ハガキ代もばかにならない。招待者には特別用意した記念品を渡し、レセプションで参加者全員に食事を提供していた。１０年に一度村の補助金でやっている式典だから、毎年実施は出来ないという。 顕彰会事務局を教育委員会が担当しているから、小栗まつりを地域振興につなげる発想は生まれにくい。 従来の式典しかイメージのない人たちに新しいやり方を提案しても、提案した自分自身がやり通せる実績も自信も予算もない。提案は引っ込めざるを得なかった。 ◆ No money - no achievement, no confidence As far as money was concerned, it cost several hundred thousand yen just to have a contractor set up the tents and chairs and remove them after the event. The cost of postage and return postcards would be prohibitive, as invitations would be sent to the mayors of neighboring municipalities, chairpersons, prefectural assembly members, and other interested parties who were unlikely to attend. Invitees were given specially prepared commemorative gifts, and all participants were served a meal at the reception. The ceremony was subsidized by the village once every 10 years, so it could not be held every year. Since the Board of Education was in charge of the Memorail Society secretariat, it was difficult to conceive of the Oguri Festival as a community development event. Even though I proposed a new way of doing things to people who only had an image of traditional ceremonies, I, the person who proposed it, did not have any achievement, confidence, or budget to go through with it. I had no choice but to retract my proposal. |
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 ボランティアが活躍してくれる Volunteers play active roles.  「勝手に前夜祭」も活気の元 "Self-Governed Eve Festival" that generates liveliness |
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「小栗まつり」を創る Creating the "Oguri Festival" ◆改革のチャンスはいま しかし、再来年（平成１０年）の「１３０年祭式典」の前年＝来年（平成９年）に新しいやり方の「小栗まつり」を実行しておけば、それをモデルに再来年の式典で同じにできる。来年やらなかったらずっと改革のチャンスはない。 否決となった会議の結果を受けて、顕彰会が出来ないなら東善寺として１３０回忌供養の「小栗まつり」を新しい方式で実施してみるしかないと考え、会議の終わりに「私なりに東善寺主催で来年１３０回忌のまつりをしますから」と提案し「実行委員会名義で」行なうことも了解を得ておいた。 ◆ The Chance for Reform is Now Despite the above situation, if we hold the new "Oguri Festival" in 1997, the year before the "130th Anniversary Ceremony" of the next year (1998), we can use it as a model for the next year's ceremony. If we don't do it next year, we will never have a chance for reform. After the proposal was rejected, I thought that if the Memorial Society could not do it, Tozenji would have no choice but to hold the "Oguri Festival" for the 130th memorial service in a new way. At the end of the meeting, I proposed that Tozenji hold a festival to commemorate the 130th anniversary of Oguri's death next year in my own way, and I obtained the approval of those in attendance. ◆金をかけずにみんなが楽しめるまつり ◆ Festival that everyone can enjoy without spending money そして新しい「小栗まつり」の骨組みは経費節約も含め次のように考えて1997平成９年の実行に取り組んだ。 The framework for the new "Oguri Festival" was then worked out for implementation in 1997 with the following ideas, including cost savings. １、招待状と広報 招待状を一切出さない。東善寺「主催」では、従来の顕彰会ー教育委員会の線から外れるから村の回覧板での広報は依頼できないので、村内は自費で新聞に折込みチラシを入れ、各新聞社には広報依頼状を送った。 お偉方に招待状を出すと「祝い金が欲しくて招待状をよこした」という陰口の元となりかねない。参加したい人が来てくれればいい。 その代わりに広報として、これまでに把握している小栗ファンやマスコミにプリント版『小栗上野介情報』を送って参加を呼びかけた。これは今でも継続して毎年７００～８００通、東善寺から発送している。 ＊まだインターネットは普及していない時代だった＊ 1. Invitations and Publicity No invitations were sent out. Since the "sponsorship" of Tozenji Temple was out of line with the traditional line between the Memorial Society and the Board of Education of Kurabuchi Village, we could not request publicity through the village's circulars. If we sent out invitations to the higher-ups, it could be the source of insinuations that we sent the invitations because we wanted the congratulatory money. We hope that those who want to participate will come. Instead, as publicity, we sent a printed version of "Kozukenosuke Oguri Information" to Oguri fans and the mass media that we knew so far, inviting them to participate. Even now, Tozenji continues to send out 700 to 800 copies of "Kozukenosuke Oguri Information" every year. * It was a time when the Internet was not yet widespread. ２、ボランティア 経費節約のカギはボランティアにある。前日の昼市用テント・テーブル設営と当日の運営・撤収はボランティアを募って行うことにした。関心のありそうな友人知人に助けを求め、手を貸してもらった。 ところがあいにく前日は雨が降る中でのテント設営となった。しかも途中で公民館から借りたテントの器具が一部違っていて、雨の中を再度借り出しにでかけてゆくはめになった。その時のボランティアのやりきれなさそうな顔を思い出すと申し訳なくて、以後の「小栗まつり」を簡単に投げ出すわけにゆかなくなった。これが続けられた要因の一つ。最初が苦難で始まったからあとの苦難は気にならない。 ボランティアが来てくれても、一人ひとりが効率よく動いてくれるスケジュールは自分が作らなければならない。設営の手順と、用具の事前借り出し、数量点検、任務割当と一覧表づくり、駐車場の確保と係の割当表、チラシの印刷と新聞折り込みの依頼、講演会講師の依頼、その送迎係、時間打ち合わせ、レジュメの作成、昼市券づくり、その袋詰め、…寺と教員の二足わらじの勤めをしながらお金をかけないように自分で事前準備する仕事は山のようにあった。 2. Volanteers Volunteers were the key to saving costs. Volunteers were recruited to set up tents and tables for the lunch market the day before the event, and to run the event and take down the tables on the day of the event. We asked friends and acquaintances who might be interested in working as a volanteer. Unfortunately, the day before the event, we had to set up the tents in the pouring rain. Moreover, during the process of setting up the tents, we found that some of the equipment we had borrowed from the community center was not correct, and we had to go out in the rain to borrow them again. When I recall the disappointed looks on the faces of the volunteers at that time, I felt sorry and could not simply abandon the "Oguri Festival" after that. This is one of the reasons why we have been able to continue. Since the festival began with hardships, I did not mind the hardships that followed. Even though volunteers came, I had to create a schedule that would allow each of them to work efficiently. I had to set up procedures, borrow equipment in advance, check quantities, assign duties and make a list, secure parking spaces and assign staff members, print flyers and request newspaper inserts, request lecturers, pick them up and drop them off, arrange times, make resumes, make lunch market tickets, pack bags, and so on... While working as both a temple priest and a high school teacher, I had a mountain of work to prepare in advance on my own so as not to spend money. ３、「昼 市」 境内に昼市を設けて村内有志や小栗上野介ゆかりの地の人に店を出してもらう。初めの頃に小栗上野介と高井鴻山の縁で長野県小布施の熱心な小栗ファンがリンゴをたくさん広げて出店してくれたのが嬉しかった。お店があれば遠来の参加者が簡単な昼食を取れるし、お土産も買える。「昼市」という名称は今あちこちで使われているが、よそで開かれていた「朝市」から連想して私が「昼市」と命名したもの。でもどこかでも同じに造語した人がいるかも知れないから、こだわらないがー。 ふだんこういう商売をしていない地元農家の出店者は馴れないから一生懸命に応対する。それが新鮮で、シロウトっぽいから、参加者が気軽に立ち寄ってくれる。地元民はこんな田舎に人が来てくれることがうれしくて「どちらから？」という声かけが歓迎の声となり、参加者との会話が弾み、たのしい昼市風景が展開した。 3. "Lunch Market" A lunch market was set up in the precincts of the temple, with stores set up by volunteers from the village and people from places related to Kozukenosuke Oguri. I was happy to see, in the beginning, that enthusiastic Oguri fans from Obuse, Nagano Prefecture, who had a connection with Kozukenosuke Oguri andi Kozan Takai, opened their own stalls to sell apples. With the stores, people who had come a long way could have a quick lunch and buy souvenirs. The name "Hiruichi (Day Market)" is now used here and there, but I named it "Hiruichi" by connecting it with the "Asaichi (Morning Market)" held in other places. I am not particular about the naming, though, because someone else may have coined the same term somewhere else. Local farmers who do not usually engage in this type of business are unfamiliar with the market, so they try their best to respond to the customers. This is a fresh, newcomer-like atmosphere, so people feel free to drop by. The locals are happy to have people come to such a rural area and ask, "Where are you from?" This was a welcome call, and the conversation with the visitors became lively, creating a pleasant lunchtime market scene. ４、テントとテーブル 村の人は店を出したくても、テーブルもテントもない。寺がテント・テーブルを用意し、設営・撤収をボランティアにしてもらう方式を考えた。ボランティアにテントを張ってもらうのだから、出店料は無料とした。 テントは寺のテント３張り・小学校から借りたテント8張りのほかに、本堂屋根や、庫裡の軒端から架け出す大きなタープを考えて設計し、知り合いの山道具屋に注文して軽い防水布で縫ってもらった。しだいにタープが増えて現在は本堂正面から東の庫裡の内玄関までタープを架けて重宝している。タープは柱がないから数人で張れて、柱がいらないから多少の傾斜地でも広い空間を作り出せる。 テーブルはデコラ張りの事務机では傷がつきやすく値も高い。ちょうど庫裡改築中の大工さんの作業台からヒントを得て、短いコンパネ板に切込みを入れて十文字に組むとテーブルの脚となる。２つの脚の上に大きなコンパネ板を乗せれば簡単にテーブルとなり、コンパネだから傷つきを気にすることもない。解体・収納も簡単にできる。５月の連休に切り込み作業をボランティアにしてもらって用意した。 4. Tents and Tables Even if villagers wanted to set up store, they had neither tables nor tents. We came up with the idea of having the temple provide tents and tables, and having volunteers set up and take down the tents. Since the tents were set up by volunteers, there was no charge for opening a stall. In addition to the three tents provided by the temple and eight tents borrowed from the elementary school, we designed a large tarp to be erected on the roof of the main temple and from the eaves of the quarters of the priest family, and ordered it from a mountain tool shop I knew and had it sewn with lightweight waterproof fabric. The number of tarps gradually increased, and now the tarp extends from the front of the main temple to the inner entrance of the quarters of the priest family to the east, making it very useful. The tarp can be put up by several people because it has no pillars, and because it does not need pillars, it can create a large space even on a slightly sloping ground. Tables are expensive and easily scratched by the decorated office desks. Inspired by a carpenter's workbench during the renovation of the priest family quarters, we came up with the idea of cutting a short piece of composite board and assembling it crosswise to form the legs of a table. The table can be easily made by placing a large composite board on top of the two legs, and because it is composite, there is no need to worry about scratching the table. The table can be easily dismantled and stored. The tables were prepared by volunteers who did the cutting work during the consecutive holidays in May. ５、受付は横に置く 招待客がいないから受付は不用として、当初は受付を置かなかった。参加者から質問などがあるので、しだいに受付を置くことにしたが、入り口の正面ではなく横に引っ込んだ位置とした。有料のイベントは入ってゆく正面に受付を置くが、それだと関所になって、招待状のない一般の人は躊躇する。 だから誰でも歓迎する『まつり』では、受付に用事のある人だけ受付を探してもらえばいい。 5. Reception desk is placed on the side Initially, a receptionist was not placed because there were no invited guests and therefore no need for a receptionist. However, visitors began to ask questions, so the reception desk was gradually placed, but not in front of the entrance, but rather tucked to the side. For events that charge a fee, the reception desk is placed in front of the entrance, but this creates a barrier, and people without invitations hesitate to enter. Therefore, at the "Festival," where everyone is welcome, only those who have something to do at the reception desk need to look for it. |
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 ▲ コンパネテーブルの脚 この上に大きなコンパネを載せる。 ▲ Table legs of composite boards: Place large composite boards on top of them.  ▲雨、軒端から張ったタープの下で作業する ▲ In the rain, the volanteers worked under a tarp stretched from the eave edge. |
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| はじめての新しい小栗まつり First New Oguri Festival ◆東郷元帥の書額 こうして平成9年5月に現在のスタイルとして初めての「小栗まつり」を「墓前祭」という名前で実施することになった。 ちょうどその頃曾孫の小栗忠人氏から「『小栗上野介情報』にまつりの案内があったけど行ってられないから、代わりに東郷元帥の書額を送るから、寺で皆さんに見てもらってくれ」と東郷平八郎が小栗家に贈った書額「仁義禮智信」が寄進された。 「これを見てもらえば、曽祖父の名誉回復になるだろうから」 という言葉が添えられていた。曽祖父小栗忠順は明治政府軍に殺されて以来いまだに名誉回復がされていない、と曽孫が受け止めている言葉である。 記念講演を小栗上野介研究家小板橋良平氏にお願いして、小栗道子夫人の会津逃避行とそれを守った権田村人護衛隊の経路をたどる調査の報告を語ってもらった。はじめに電話をくれた方も東京からバスで仲間を大勢連れて参加してくれた。 東郷の書額を新聞社に連絡したら記事にしてくれ、それが小栗まつりの予告記事となって、当日はたくさんの方が参加してくれ、ボランティアもやりがいを感じる一日であった。人はみんなが楽しそうにしているところに集まるものだ、と感じた。 ◆The calligraphy of General Heihachiro Togo Thus, in May 1997, the first "Oguri Festival" in the current style was held under the name of "Graveside Service." Just around that time, Kozukenosuke Tadamasa Oguri's great-grandson, Tadato Oguri, donated a calligraphy plaque, "Jin, Gi, Rei, Chi, Shin (benevolence, justice, gratitude, cleverness, faith)," which was presented to the Oguri family by Heihachiro Togo in 1872 (Meiji 45). Along with the plaque, Tadato Oguri sent us a letter saying, "I found the information about the festival in the 'Kozukenosuke Oguri's information,' but I can't go. Instead, I will send you General Togo's calligraphy, so that everyone can see it at the temple." He continued to write, "If people see this, it will help restore my great-grandfather's honor." These were the words of Tadamasa's great-grandson, who accepted that his great-grandfather, Tadamasa Oguri, had been killed by the Meiji government forces, and that his honor has yet to be restored. I asked Mr. Ryohei Koitabashi, a local historian and a school teacher, to give a commemorative lecture. In his lecture, he talked about Mrs. Michiko Oguri's escape to Aizu and his research to trace the route of the Gonda villagers' convoy that protected her. The person who called me in the spring of 1996 asking about a 130th anniversary event from Tokyo brought a busload of friends from Tokyo to attend. When we contacted a newspaper compnay about Togo's calligraphy, they wrote an article about it, which became a preview of the Oguri Festival, and many people participated on the day of the festival, making it a rewarding day for the volunteers. I felt that people gather when everyone is having fun. ◆公式に顕彰会主催…「130年祭式典」（平成10年） 翌年平成10年は顕彰会主催の「130年祭式典」が境内の胸像前で行われ、小栗上野介の顕彰に熱心な小寺弘之群馬県知事が「総務省で先輩の横須賀市長澤田さんがおいでになるから」と、市長・知事ともにご夫人同伴で参列してくれ、前年の新しい「小栗まつり」方式を踏襲したので昼市もにぎやかに展開しお客さんもおおぜい参加して、これで軌道に乗ったと思われた。 The "130th Anniversary Ceremony" (1998) was officially hosted by the Memorial Society. In the following year, 1998 (Heisei 10), the "130th Anniversary Ceremony" was held in front of the bust in the precincts of the Tozenji Temple. Mr. Hiroyuki Kodera, Governor of Gunma Prefecture, who is enthusiastic about honoring Kozukenosuke Oguri, attended the ceremony with his wife, saying, "Mr. Sawada, the mayor of Yokosuka City, is my senior at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and he will be here with his wife." As he said, Mr. Sawada attended the ceremony with his wife. The lunchtime market was lively and well attended, following the new "Oguri Festival" format of the previous year, and the event seemed to be on the right track.
The festival is a source of information: As the Oguri Festival continued, the name recognition of the festival increased,
and even after the festival was over, more and more people stopped by as
they passed by, saying, "There is a festival here every year."
The effect of continuing the festival is that people who come to the festival
bring important information to the festival, which is sometimes valuable
information that we cannot find even if we look for it, and that even after
the festival is over, more people stop by with interest, saying, "I
couldn't come at the time of the festival."
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 ▲ボランティアのマイケルワート氏はいまアメリカで大学准教授となって『明治維新の敗者たち』（みすず書房）を出版 ▲ Mr. Michael Wert, a volunteer, is now an associate professor at Marquette University in the U.S. and has published "Meiji Restoration Losers" (Misuzu Shobo).  ▲本堂前のタープ ▲ Tarp in front of the main temple |
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| 手作りの「昼市」 Handmade "Lunch Market" ◆来客は何人? 初めての年、昼市に出店を引き受けてくれたグループから「仕込みをするけれど、お客が何人くらい来るの？」と聞かれて困った。 「マスの塩焼き」の例で言えば、養魚場から仕入れて腹を割いてワタを抜き、竹を伐ってきて作った手作りの串に刺して準備する。では何百匹仕入れて串を何本作ればいいか・・・、私だって初めてのまつりはフタを開けてみなければどうなるかわからない。手作りまんじゅうだって、どれくらい小豆を用意して餡を煮込んだらいいかーこれも答えようがない。 せっかくたくさん用意して一日出店したけど参加者が少なくてたくさん売れ残ったら、来年から出店してもらえなくなる。かといって参加者の予想を少なく言えば「それくらいなら田植えで忙しい日曜日にもったいない」と出店取りやめを言い出されかねない。どうしたらいいだろう。 ◆ How many visitors? The first year, I was asked by a group that had accepted to have a booth at the lunch market, "We are going to prepare the food, but how many visitors will come?" I was troubled by this question. In the case of "grilled trout," for example, they would buy trout from a fish farm, split open the belly, remove the guts, and prepare them on handmade skewers made from bamboo. Then, how many skewers should they make from the hundreds of fish they have procured?... I never know what will happen at my first festival until we have the festival. Even for handmade manju (steamed yeast bun with filling), I have no idea how much adzuki beans they need to prepare and how much red bean paste they need to cook. If they prepare a lot of red beans for a one-day event, but not enough people come and they end up with a lot of leftovers, they may not be happy to participate again next year. On the other hand, if I tell them that we expect only a small number of visitors, they might say that it would be a waste of time on a Sunday when they are busy planting rice and cancel the stall. What should I do? ◆「品物券」システム 思いついたのは昼市の「品物券」システムだった。ボランティアには前日からテント張りやテーブル・看板をセットしてもらい、当日は駐車場整理、最後の撤収までしてもらう。そのボランティアの昼食やおやつ用に「ソバ券」や「マスの塩焼き券」などのセットを渡して店で交換して食べてもらい、夕方に店から券を買い取る方式を考えた。これならボランティアの数だけは品物の最低保証になるから、安心して仕込みができる。最初の難題はこれでようやく解決した。 Food Coupon System We came up with the idea of an "Food Coupon" system for the lunch market. Volunteers are asked to set up tents, tables, and signs the day before the market, and on the day of the market, they are asked to organize the parking lot and clean up afterwards. We then give the volunteers a set of "buckwheat" or "grilled trout" coupons for lunch or a snack, which they exchanged at a store and buy back from the store in the evening. This way, the number of volunteers would be the minimum guarantee of foods, and they can stock up without worry. The first problem was finally solved. ◆声かけが歓迎メッセージ プロは売れないといい顔をしないが、村人はよそから人が来てくれればそれだけでうれしくて「どちらから？」と声をかけ、それがもてなしの声かけになる。遠来の客は村人との語り合いが楽しくて、「知り合いができた」気分でリピーターになっている。 ◆ Calling out is a Welcome Message Professional sellers are not happy if they can't sell their products well, but villagers are happy when someone comes from somewhere else and asks them, "Where are you from? This is a way of offering hospitality. The visitors from afar enjoy talking with the villagers, and they become repeat customers because they feel like they have made an acquaintance. ◆狭いから活気 東善寺は山寺だから境内は狭い。初め昼市は学校のグラウンドのような広い場所がいい、と思っていた。ところが実施するうち狭いから活気が生まれていると気がついた。狭いと隣の店の客と売り手のやりとりが楽しく聞こえて会話に加わる。知り合いや、よく来る人に出会う確率が高くなり、自然ににぎやかな活気が生まれる。広い会場だと店が散在し、活気が分散して盛り上がりに欠け、客も「だいたい見たから、さあ草津温泉にゆこうか」となってしまう。狭いところにごった返す雰囲気がまつり気分を盛り上げる。 Smaller Venue that Creates Liveliness Tozenji Temple is a mountain temple, so its precincts are small. At first, I thought it would be better to hold the lunch market in a large space like a school ground. However, as I had the market for some years, I realized that it was the narrowness of the space that made it lively. When the space is small, people can enjoy listening to the conversation between customers and sellers in the neighboring stores and join in the conversation. The probability of meeting acquaintances and frequent visitors increases, and a lively atmosphere is naturally created. In a large venue, the stores would be scattered, the energy would be dispersed, and the customers would think, "We've seen most of the shops, so let's go to the Kusatsu-Onsen hotspring now." The atmosphere of crowding into a small space enhances the festival atmosphere. ◆午後のプログラムで滞在型に 午前中の式典・講演だけでなく午後も演奏や講演、発表などきちんとしたプログラムを用意することで参加者は滞在型になり、店にも活気が生まれる。熱心な参加者は少しでも長い時間小栗上野介の場所に浸っていたいのだ。 Afternoon programs that create long hours of fun By preparing a proper program of not only ceremonies and lectures in the morning but also performances, lectures, and presentations in the afternoon, participants will stay longer and the stalls will become more lively. Enthusiastic visitors want to spend as much time as possible in Kozukenosuke Oguri's place. ◆雨で撤収不能 当日雨天になると、濡れたテントは撤収出来ない。ボランティアは翌日からそれぞれの仕事があるから手を貸してもらえない。翌日晴れてせっかく乾いたと思ったのに午後また雨で片付けられない、ということもあった。2、3日後に夕方一人で重いテントを畳み、小学校から借りたテントを担いで片付けるとヘトヘトになる。そういう時「今日は片付けられそうだから」と気を利かせて駆けつけてくれる人もいて、本当にありがたかった。 Unable to take down the tents due to rain If it rains on the day of the event, wet tents cannot be taken down. Volunteers have their own work to do the next day, so they cannot help us. Two or three days after the festival, I would fold the heavy tents by myself in the evening and carry the tents borrowed from the elementary school to put them away. At such times, some people would thoughtfully rush over to help me, saying, "I think I can clean up today," for which I was very grateful. ◆合併で毎年開催が定着 平成15年に顕彰会主催で135年祭を行ったことをきっかけにこれからは毎年実行しようという機運が強まり、毎年開催されるようになった。歯を食いしばって続けたことが無駄ではなかったと実感した。 平成18年、高崎市と合併することになり、村で小栗まつりを「市の公的補助を受けるべき大事な地域の行事」と位置づけたので、そのころ顕彰会事務局が地域振興課に移されたことと相まって毎年実施が継続され、以後の運営をスムーズに行えるようになった。 顕彰会の役員組織も充あて職だけでなく、関心が高く熱心に動いてくれる人に会長委嘱で企画委員や編集委員に入ってもらい、基本的な活動の中心としたので、企画運営がスムーズに動くようになった。合併後は役所の職員数が減って一人の職員がいくつもの組織の事務局を受け持っているから、職員に頼りすぎて負担をかけないよう会員が責任を持って動く組織運営をすることが大事になる。 組織は動かないと停滞する。小栗まつりを毎年開催するから顕彰会の会議や準備で役員どうしや職員との顔のつながりも深くなる。しだいに顕彰会活動に活気が出てきて、県庁や明治大学博物館・横須賀市・高崎市での「小栗上野介企画展」開催などにつながった。 企画展の梱包や搬送などを業者に丸投げすれば完璧な仕事をしてくれるが、その分経費もかさむ。会員がほとんど手作りで梱包し搬送することで、経費をかけなくても企画展を実施できるようになった。 "Every Year Festival" Established by Municipal Merger In 2003 (Heisei 15), the 135th anniversary celebration was held under the sponsorship of the Memorial Society, and momentum grew to the point that the event would be held every year ever after. I realized that all the hard work we had put in with clenched teeth had not been in vain. In 2006 (Heisei 18), Kurabuchi Village decided to merge with Takasaki City. The village positioned the Oguri Festival as "an important local event that should receive public subsidies from the city," and this, combined with the transfer of the Memorial Society's secretariat to the Community Development Division of the City at that time, enabled the festival to continue to be held every year and to be managed smoothly thereafter. The organization of the executive committee of the Society is not limited to the members of the Board of Directors, but also includes people who are highly interested and enthusiastic about the Society's activities as members of the planning committee and editorial board. Since they became the core of the basic activities, the planning and management of the Society were done smoothly. After the merger, the number of municipal government employees has decreased and one employee is in charge of the administrative offices of several organizations. Therefore, it will be important for the Society members to manage the organization in a responsible and mobile manner so as not to be overly dependent on and burdened by city staff. An organization will stagnate if it is not active. Since the Oguri Festival is held every year, the meetings and preparations for the festival deepen the bonds between the Society members and city staff members. Gradually, the activities of the Society became more active, leading to the holding of the "Kozukenosuke Oguri Special Exhibition" at the Gunma Prefectural Office, the Meiji University Museum, Yokosuka City, and Takasaki City. If we entrusted the packing and transportation of materials for the exhibition to a contractor, they would do a perfect job, but the cost would be prohibitive. However, by having members pack and transport the exhibits almost entirely by hand, they were able to hold the exhibitions without having to spend a lot of money.
高崎市に合併後は小栗上野介顕彰会主催・東善寺共催で小栗まつりが毎年実施され、しだいに軌道に乗ってきた。ある年、小学校体育館の式典で顕彰会役員の席が会場の前方に指定されていて、招待状のないフリーの参加者はその後ろになっていることに気がついた。役員をお客様扱いする昔のやり方が残っていたらしい。 本来、役員は駐車場手配から受付接待など運営の中心、船でいえば漕ぎ手のはず。漕ぎ手が客になってはいけない。指定席があるのは招待客と、役員は会長だけとし、あとは座席フリーで遠来の客がなるべく前に座れるように方式を変えることを提案した。あの人の講演は聴きたい、と思いながらまつりの仕事に責任を果たしているボランティアがたくさんいる。申し訳ないと声をかけると「『たつなみ』に講演の記録が乗るから後で読むよ」と言ってくれた。申し訳なくもありがたい陰の力だ。 高崎市と合併以前の倉渕村は、烏川を挟んで倉田村（群馬郡）と烏渕村うぶちむら（碓氷うすい郡）に分れていた両村が合併したのでもとのムラ意識が根強く残り、小栗まつりについても「あれは権田のこと、こっちは関係ない」という声が聞こえた。ところが平成１８年に高崎市と合併すると過疎が進むこの倉渕地区を何をもって外にアピールしたらいいかがしぜんに頭に上るようになる。 |
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| 以上文責：村上泰賢 (Responsibility for the above: Taiken Murakami) |
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 ▲横須賀市から来たオグリンは大人気 ▲ Ogrin from Yokosuka City is very popular.  ▲子供もお年寄りもにぎやかに集まってくる ▲ Children and the elderly gather in a lively atmosphere. |
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